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JUL
Jim Cole, Negro
Packinghouse worker
Betty Burke
May 18, 1939
I'm working in the Beef Kill section. Butcher on the chain.. Been
in the place twenty years, I believe. You got to have a certain amount
of skill to do the job I'm doing.
Long ago, I wanted to join the AFL union, the Amalgamated Butchers and
Meat Cutters, they called it and wouldlt take me. Wouldn't let me in the
union. Never said it to my face, but reason of it was plain. Negro. Thstts
it. Judt didn't want a Negro man to have what he should. That 's wrong. You
know that's wrong.
Long about 1937 the CIO come. Well, I tell you, we Negroes was glad
to see it came. Well, you know, sometimes the bosses, or either the company
stooges try to keep the white boys from joining the union. They say, 'you
don't want to belang to a black man's organization. That's all the CIO is.'
Don't fool nobody, but they got to lie, spread lyint words around.
There's a many different people, talkin' different sppech, can't under-
stand English very well, we have to have us union interpreters for lots of
our members, but that don't make no mind, they all friends in the union,
even if they can't say nothin' except 'Brother', an' shake hands.
Well, my own local, we elected our officers and it's the same all over.
We try to get every people represented. President of the local, he's Negro.
First V. President, he's Polish. Second V. Presdient, he's Irish. Other
officers, Scotchman, Lithuanian, Negro, German.
Well, I mean the people in the yards waited a 1 ng while for the CIO.
When they began organizing in the Steel towns, you know, and out in South
Chicago, everybody wanted to know when the CIO was ooming out to the yards.
Twelve, fourteen men started it, meeting in back of a saloon on Ashland,
talk ng over what to do, first part of 1937. Some of my friends are charter
members, well I got in too late for that.
VV3631
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Union asked for 15 extra men on the killing floor, on the chain.
Company had enough work for the -TI, just tried to make us carry the load.
After we had a stoppage, our union stewards went up to the offices of
the company and talked turkey. We got the extra help.
I don't care if the union don't do another lick of work raisin' our
pay, or settling grievances about anything, I'll always believe they done
he greatest thing in the world gettinl everybody who works in the yards
together, and break n' up the hate and bad feelings that used to be held against
the Negro. We all doing our work now, nothing but goodto say about the
CIO.