Monday, September 2, 2019

Never Give Up / Listening to Three Women On Labor Day 2019



When I was in my late teens in 1969, I worked for the telephone company in California as a long distance operator for AT&T before dropping out of college.  In my early 20s, I was a letter carrier in California and belonged to the Postal Workers Union.  I spent one year working in a factory that made pacemakers in Massachusetts and three years here in Bellingham, Washington, as an industrial sewing machine operator, first in a union shop as a member of the International Garment Workers Union, then in a shop where I sewed backpacks together, and finally in a sailmaker's loft where I sewed sails, spinnakers, and boat covers.  Because I am tall, I developed neck and back problems from bending over to work on industrial sewing machines. When I was 30, I returned to college to finish a degree in English Literature and Studio Art and then found myself unemployable in our small college town until I forced myself to learn to type and then became a medical transcriptionist at the local hospital.  Through most of my working life, I was a production worker, working hard for only modest compensation.  I am proud of the work I did.  Watching "Union Maids" is an emotionally powerful and empowering experience.













(1970 -- telephone operators)

4 comments:

Elizabeth said...

So cool -- thanks for sharing this!

37paddington said...

English literature and studio art, my own college pursuits, along with cartography. Yes, not much well compensated work in those areas, but there is love. Thank you for sharing.

Sabine said...

This was a great listen. Thank you.

ellen abbott said...

wow. I had a variety of jobs before I finally started my studio but I was never a factory worker. it never even occurred to me to look for those jobs. one of the last jobs I had was as a nude model for life drawing classes mostly just to pick up some extra cash while I was getting started.