Generations of Auto Workers: Anderson, Indiana 1930-1982

Donald L. Alexander, born on April 13, 1934 in Anderson, Indiana, recalls his family life growing up during the Great Depression and compares his youth to that of his own children. He talks about his working experiences at Guide Lamp in Anderson, including the different jobs he had in both production and the skilled trades as well as his extensive United Auto Workers (UAW) participation in several leadership positions. He discusses several aspects of his work over the years, including discrimination towards women and minority groups, relationships between various groups of workers within the plant, and issues surrounding wages and job security at Guide Lamp. Alexander gives insight into union politics and elections and offers commentary on the importance of labor education and the Quality of Work Life Program. Finally, he highlights the major issues facing the automobile industry and the union at the time, including negative public opinion, reaction to the current union contract, the global economy, and rampant unemployment.

Joe Armstrong, born September 10, 1922, talks about living and working before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement. He describes his work history, first in non-unionized jobs, then as a janitor at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, and finally in production and semi-skilled jobs there. He details the discriminating practices, harassment, and bad working conditions that minority groups and women were subject to in the plant and his own personal struggle to get the union to help him advance. Armstrong also recalls his own active participation in the United Auto Workers (UAW) in several leadership positions and describes how member attitudes have changed over the years. Finally, he offers an assessment of the changes that have occurred nationally as a result of the Civil Rights Act and suggests several political, social, and economic areas where the union's influence would be useful in the future.

Randy L. Bennett, born on October 4, 1954, discusses his own work history and plant life at Delco Remy in Anderson, Indiana during the nineteen seventies. He details what he sees as management's blatant disregard for product quality at the plant. He discusses the adversarial relationships that often exist between supervisors and their workers. These situations commonly lead to increased rates of substance abuse, depression, and absenteeism in the work force, according to Bennett. He also talks about the ways that the union is an advocate for the workers, the feeling of support workers get from each other and from the local Anderson community. Bennett comments on the effects that frequent layoffs have had on his career and how workers are responding to widespread unemployment. He also discusses what he thinks must be done by the United Auto Workers (UAW), corporations, and government to improve working conditions.

George and Loma Berkebile, born on November 22, 1904 and September 13, 1910, respectively, recall their working experiences and the birth of the union at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, including the social, political, and economic climates surrounding it. They describe the working conditions in the plant prior to and during unionization, including discrimination against women and minority groups, lack of job security, substandard wages, and management harassment of workers, and they detail ways in which the United Auto Workers (UAW) helped to improve these areas and built a sense of solidarity among workers. The Berkebiles also thoroughly discuss the 1937 sit-down strike, including its organization, the reaction of plant workers and the community to it, and their own particular roles in the strike. Finally, they talk about the effect of internal conflict over the years on the UAW and offer suggestions on how the union can work with corporations to aid the rampant unemployment facing the United States at the time.

Ron Clark, born on August 25, 1927, recalls his family life and his early employment growing up in Indiana, and he describes how this influenced his own parenting. He discusses his work life at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, including his opinion of factory work, his various jobs in the skilled trades, and his participation in the United Auto Workers (UAW). He also describes several aspects of plant life there, including details of discrimination towards women and minority groups and relationships between both skilled and unskilled workers and between workers and their supervisors. Clark goes on to talk about the issues surrounding widespread unemployment, including expansion of the global economy, and cites the need for changes in attitudes among General Motors and union leadership in order to bring the automobile industry out of the crisis. Finally, he discusses the role of the union within the local community and sees education of the union membership and community activism as key methods of improving support.

Ted Davis, born on May 31, 1913, recalls his family life growing up during the Great Depression in Anderson, Indiana and compares his youth to that of his own children and modern families in general. He describes the impact of layoffs and lack of job security on his career at Guide Lamp during the nineteen thirties and forties, and he details other aspects of plant life at the time, including the poor working conditions and discrimination towards women and minority groups. Davis discusses the role of the union at Guide Lamp from its inception, including its organization and goals, the events of the 1937 sit-down strike, and the reaction of the community and non-union workers to it. Finally, he discusses the widespread unemployment facing the automobile industry at the time, including its causes, worker responses to it, the United Auto Workers' (UAW) role in correcting the problem, and what it means for the future of General Motors in Anderson.

Raymond Everitt, born on December 25, 1907 in Scottsburg Indiana, recalls his family life growing up on a farm, his personal ambitions for education and employment, and his aspirations for his own children. He also recollects his early work life up to, during, and immediately following the Great Depression, including his work in steel mills and his education in several trades. He discusses early unionization at the steel mills and at Delco Remy and Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, including worker responses to independent unions and the companies' attempts to stop them. Everitt talks about work life during the years he was at Guide Lamp, including issues surrounding discrimination towards women and minority groups, relationships between different groups of workers in the plant, strikes, and ways the United Auto Workers (UAW) changed working conditions for the better. Finally, he discusses worker attitudes, including his own opinions, workers' perceptions of the union, General Motors, and work in general.

Norman Goodwin, born on May 25, 1926, recalls his childhood growing up in Anderson, Indiana, his military service as a teenager and young man, and how his early life shaped his own parenting. He describes his work life at Guide Lamp in Anderson, including his job as a buffer, the relationships he had with his supervisors, and the many leadership positions he held in the United Auto Workers (UAW). Goodwin cites that, as a union leader, he helped bring about a safer and cleaner working environment, better job security, and equal opportunity for women and minority groups at the plant. He talks about the development and growth of the union in Anderson, detailing the impact of strikes, technology, foreign imports, and community reaction on its history. Finally, he discusses existing problems at Guide Lamp and prevailing negative attitudes among workers, management, and the union there, but states that he sees potential for the Quality of Work Life Program and greater political involvement to help the situation.

James L. Hensley was born on May 14, 1936. He moved with his family to Anderson, Indiana in the nineteen forties because of the factory work available, including at the General Motors plant. He began working at Guide Lamp in 1954 and began a machine repair apprenticeship program there in 1955. Hensley became an active member of the union in 1965, serving in various capacities for the next seventeen years. He talked extensively about the working standards at Guide Lamp for white male apprentices and workers, women, and minority groups, standards that were upheld until the United Auto Workers' (UAW) changes took effect in the early nineteen eighties. He also spoke extensively about worker and community discontent with then-current union leadership and policies and about the need for active changes on the union's part in order to revive member involvement.

Jerry L. Hodson was born in Anderson, Indiana on October 2, 1941. He hired on at Guide Lamp in 1963, beginning an apprenticeship program as a tinsmith there the same year. He became active in the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1972, and in 1974 he received an international appointment as a health and safety representative. Hodson discusses working conditions for workers in the skilled trades, including women and minority groups, during the nineteen sixties and seventies and how the UAW helped improve them. He also discusses the then-current status of the automobile industry from both political and economic standpoints. Hodson speaks extensively about opinions of the union held at that time by union factory workers, management workers, and the community and the need for compromise on all sides in order to improve union support and involvement.

John E. Hodson was born on October 15, 1917 and as a young boy moved with his family to Anderson, Indiana. In April 1941, Hodson hired on at Guide Lamp and held a variety of positions, eventually beginning an apprenticeship program as a pipefitter. After obtaining seniority there, he became active in the United Auto Workers (UAW) where he served in a variety of capacities, including president of the local union and chairman of the retirees committee. He talks about working conditions for the average automobile factory worker, including women and minority groups, and how they began to change in the early nineteen sixties because of various union policies, including Equal Pay for Equal Work and supplemental unemployment benefits. Hodson also discusses relationships over the years between union factory workers, management workers, the community, and the union; speicifically, how they were impacted by large events such as World War II and the strikes of 1945 and 1970 and where they stood at the time of the interview.

James Lee King was born on October 14, 1953. He began working at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana in April 1973 where he held a variety of positions before beginning an apprenticeship program as an electrician there in June 1976. He became active in the United Auto Workers (UAW) the same year, serving in several positions during his career, including Benefit Plans Representative. He discusses the relationships between union factory workers, management workers, and the union and how union programs such as Quality of Work Life were meant to improve them. King describes the many ways that union advances such as supplemental unemployment benefits improved the lives of the average factory workers, and how union policies in general aided in the United States' economic growth. He comments on the economic problems plaguing the automobile industry at the time and the need for improvements in community and worker attitudes towards the union.

Judith Lee was born on January 14, 1942 in Anderson, Indiana. She details much of her personal life and its effect on her career, including the influence of her parents' opinions in childhood and the impact of her marriages and family life. She was employed in various places before hiring on at Guide Lamp in 1973, where she held a several positions over the years, including assembly operator. She describes her work life experiences, comparing the dangers of her non-unionized job at Firestone to her working conditions at Guide Lamp with the union. Lee also talks about worker attitudes there towards management and towards factory work in general, as well as worker interaction with the United Auto Workers (UAW) at Guide Lamp.

Ronald L. Mahoney was born on January 11, 1945 and as a young boy moved with his family to Anderson, Indiana. He talks a lot about his childhood there, comparing his life to his own children's, and he comments frequently about his aspirations for them. He also relates the details of his early working experiences at Guide Lamp, where he was hired on September 25, 1963. Mahoney became active in the union in 1970 and served in a variety of positions over the years, including president of the local union. He cites the many ways that the United Auto Workers (UAW) helped the common worker in the past and the ways its role continued to expand with programs such as Quality of Work Life, created to improve relations between the union and management. Mahoney became involved in the UAW in order to help change its negative image in the community and to improve worker involvement with the union through education. He discusses the situation of the automobile industry at the time from political and economic standpoints, commenting on the current contract then under negotiation, worker responses to unemployment, and what needed to be done to improve the outlook of the industry.

Tom Matthews was born on October 20, 1948 in Anderson, Indiana. He was hired by Guide Lamp in the nineteen sixties in the skilled trades, and he details his working experiences there as well as his United Auto Workers (UAW) participation in such positions as vice-president of the local union. He also discusses the UAW's role at Guide Lamp, management attitudes towards the union, and union policies such as Quality of Work Life that were meant to improve relations between the union and management.

Margaret A. McCurry was born on January 30, 1920 in Anderson, Indiana. She gives an overview of her family and personal background. She then describes her work at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, detailing the working conditions there, particularly for women, the impact of unemployment on the workers, and the United Auto Workers' (UAW) role there.

William M. McCurry was born on December 6, 1944 in Anderson, Indiana. He talks extensively about his childhood and teenage years in comparison to those of his own children, and he speaks about his aspirations for them. He hired on at Guide Lamp in 1964 and was elected to the union there in 1969, serving in several positions over the years, including chairman of the Bargaining Committee. He talks about the changes in working conditions that the United Auto Workers (UAW) helped initiate, paricularly for women and minority groups, and he gives an analysis of the union's role as it has changed over the years. McCurry discusses the complex relationships between skilled and unskilled workers, older and younger workers, and union and management workers, and he elaborates on how union policies such as Quality of Work Life were meant to improve them. He also speaks about prevailing attitudes towards the union among workers and in the community, and how they had developed and changed over the years. He describes the automobile industry at the time from political and economic standpoints, commenting on the current contract then under negotiation, and what was needed from the government, corporations, and the union to improve the economic outlook.

Carroll "Bud" Miller, born on June 26, 1932, recalls the hardships of growing up during the Great Depression in Indiana, comparing his childhood to that of his own children. He talks about his working experiences in the skilled trades at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, including his active roles in both the local and international United Auto Workers (UAW) and the many changes the UAW helped to usher in for the average worker, particularly women and minority groups. He discusses the complex relationships at Guide Lamp between skilled and unskilled workers, average workers and the union, as well as between the union and management, and he elaborates on programs, such as Quality of Work Life, meant to improve relationships. Finally, he discusses the futures of both the automobile industry and the union, commenting at length on the recently negotiated contract, the expanding role of the union, and what was needed from government, corporations, and the union to improve the industry's economic outlook.

Gerald E. Needler, born on January 26, 1915, recalls the hardships of living during the Great Depression in Indiana and compares his young life to that of his own children. He talks about his working experiences in production at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, including the interaction between the union and management, his own active role in the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the many changes in working conditions the UAW helped bring about for the average worker, particularly for women and minority groups. He elaborates on the history of the UAW's role in Anderson, Indiana from its inception, the development of its various policies and procedures, and its current role in the local power structure, including its negative image in the community. Finally, he discusses the factors which contributed to the weakening of the automobile industry and the national economy in general, and he talks about union and worker responses to the unemployment that resulted.

Charles David Nevin, born on August 31, 1945 in Anderson, Indiana, recalls aspects of his childhood and teenage years, comparing them to those of his own children. He discusses his early days at Guide Lamp, including his experiences as a foreman, how and why he became active in the union, and how the United Auto Workers (UAW) helped to change working conditions there for the average worker, particularly women and minority groups. He speaks extensively about the problems facing the automobile industry at the time from both political and economic standpoints, commenting on the contract then-under negotiation, the negative impact on gains made by women and minority groups, and the various worker responses to unemployment and uncertain job security. He elaborates on the past and present roles of General Motors and the UAW in the Anderson community, the changing relationships between the union and management and among workers at Guide Lamp, and the uncertain futures facing both General Motors and the UAW at the time.

Beverly Pickett, born on June 24, 1944, recalls her experiences working in production at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana, particularly the impact of layoffs on her career, and she elaborates on the ways that the United Auto Workers (UAW) improved work life for the average worker. Pickett speaks at length about the troubled economic situation facing the automobile industry at the time, the contract then under negotiation, and worker responses to unemployment and uncertain job security. Finally, she discusses the positions of General Motors and the UAW in the Anderson community, commenting on their past and present roles and the uncertain futures facing them then.

George F. Poteet, born on April 6, 1924, recalls his childhood and young adult life living and working on a farm in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and he compares his experiences with those of his own children. In the early nineteen fifties, he began a job in production at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana. He describes his working experiences there, including his many appointed and elected positions with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the ways in which the union helped improve work life for the average worker, particularly women and minority groups. Poteet discusses the relationships between the union and management and among workers at Guide Lamp, prevailing worker attitudes there, and the past, present, and future roles of the UAW in the Anderson community. He comments on the troubles facing the automobile industry at the time from both political and economic standpoints, the recently negotiated contract, and worker responses to unemployment and uncertain job security.

Johnie L. Roberson, born October 21, 1945, recalls his life growing up in rural southern Indiana on a farm and his first jobs working in non-unionized factories. He talks about his work in several production jobs at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana as well as his various experiences as a union representative there. Roberson comments on the United Auto Workers' (UAW) history, its policy and procedure, and its expanding roles in the Anderson community and at the national level. He discusses several aspects of plant life at Guide Lamp, including relationships between different groups of workers, issues surrounding discrimination towards women and minority groups, and worker responses to the troubled times facing the automobile industry and the recently negotiated contract. Finally, he talks about the changing relations between management, the union, and workers at Guide Lamp, citing the Quality of Work Life Program as an example of the promising direction the relationships were taking.

David L. Tierney, born on May 10, 1942, recalls his early family life and community living where he grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts, including his work in non-unionized factories there and his first union experiences in a brief membership with the Teamsters union. He talks about his work life in production at Delco Remy in Anderson, Indiana from the nineteen sixties until his layoff in 1981, and he discusses aspects of plant life during that time such as discrimination towards women and minority groups; the relationships between workers, management, and the union; and worker responses to unemployment, uncertain job security, and the recently negotiated contract. Tierney also talks about his participation in the United Auto Workers (UAW), elaborating on several of its policies and procedures, the local chapter's position within the Anderson community, and the need to educate people about the UAW's history. Finally, he talks about the problems facing the automobile industry at the time, and he discusses the need to train workers in new technologies, attract more women into leadership positions, and improve the union's image.

Joseph R. Wilson, born on November 8, 1911, recalls his family's early struggles when they moved to Anderson, Indiana in the years just before the Great Depression and the many types of work he and his father did to earn a living, including work in various factories. He talks about his own experiences during the thirty-six years he worked for Guide Lamp in Anderson, including different jobs he performed, how his wages and benefits changed as a result of the United Auto Workers (UAW), and his often tumultuous relationships with various foremen and supervisors. He discusses several aspects of plant life at Guide Lamp over the years, including early union-led improvements in the areas of working conditions and job security, the impact of World War II on production, and issues surrounding discrimination towards women and minority groups. Wilson also elaborates on topics affecting work life there, namely the widespread unemployment, its root causes at the corporate level, and negative worker responses to the situation.

Joseph R. Wilson, born on November 8, 1911, recalls his family's early struggles to make a living in farming in Bowling Green, Kentucky as well as their various pursuits, including bootlegging, factory work, and several odd jobs, after moving to Anderson, Indiana in the early nineteen twenties. He discusses the important events of the United Auto Workers' (UAW) history at the Guide Lamp plant there starting with the 1937 sit-down strike, describing its impact on worker relationships within the plant, public opinion in the Anderson community, and the recognition of the union as a powerful entity. Wilson also details subsequent strikes there, elaborating on the manner in which they were organized, the benefits gained from them, the changing role of women at the picket line, and the feeling of solidarity such events built among workers. He comments on the troubled times facing the automobile industry then, which caused a rise in unemployment levels, and he cites specific root causes at the federal government and corporate levels, as well as in the negative responses of some union members. Finally, he talks about the current and future roles of the UAW in Anderson, specifically its position in the local power structure and its expanding role as an agent for change in the community.

Naomi J. Wilson, born on August 29, 1917, recalls her family's life when she was growing up during the Great Depression, as well as her own working experiences at Guide Lamp in Anderson, Indiana before and after the plant was unionized. She describes at length the 1937 sit-down strike at Guide Lamp, including its organization and goals, women's roles during the strike, and public reaction to it. Wilson also details how the United Auto Workers (UAW) influenced gradual improvements in working conditions, job security, wages, and benefits at the plant, highlighting specific changes for women, minority groups, and retirees. Finally, she talks about the evolving attitudes of management, the average worker, and the public towards the union at Guide Lamp; the changing nature of relationships among workers there; and the impact of technology on the unemployment plaguing the automobile industry at the time.

Danny Lee Wood was born on April 21, 1950 in Anderson, Indiana. He details his working experiences, and worker attitudes in general, at both Delco Remy and Delco Electronics from 1970 to 1982.