Working Americans
odd: label: Introduction
content: In its third year, the Working Americans program in 1975 presented the skills and lore found within the work days and nights of transportation workers. The goal of the program was to put names and faces in place of services and machinery, to approximate as closely as possible the actual work place, the human feelings and the tone of the occupation. By focusing on the skills, styles, stories, jokes, beliefs and customs of contemporary workers, the Festival sought to reveal the similarities and differences of occupational backgrounds. Programs focused on air traffic controllers, commercial aircraft machinists and maintenance workers, railroad workers, workers in trucking, and deep sea and inland boatmen.

Visitors to the Working Americans section of the Festival had three areas in which to share the occupational folklore and skills of workers in transportation. The first presented simulated work sites, including areas for bulk freight trucking, maritime skills, airline maintenance, and railroad maintenance of way. The second was devoted to the performance of stories, jokes, personal experiences and other narrative expressions of transportation workers. The Working Americans stage also featured the performance of songs and music growing out of the work experience. The third area was the Learning Center, where photographs of skills in the work environments, videotapes and sound recordings taken on-the-job could be experienced by the Festival visitor. Regular workshops and scheduled discussions dealt with such topics as the safety considerations in these occupations, the 24-hour work rhythm of transportation workers, and the similarities and differences found in the movement of people and goods by various transportation occupations.

This presentation was the result of extensive planning and cooperation among the AFL-CIO, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Smithsonian Institution and its folklife scholars, the National Park Service, and transportation workers throughout the country.

Shirley Askew served as Program Coordinator, with Robert McCarl as Field Research Coordinator and Susan Donahue as Assistant Program Coordinator. Sponsors included the AFL-CIO, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of Transportation.
label: Presenters
content: Kenneth S. Goldstein, Archie Green, Teresa Pyott, Andy Wallace
label: Participants
content: Air Traffic Control Association

Joseph P. O'Brien, President

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers

Burrell N. Whitmire, President

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees

Harold C. Crotty, President

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen of America

Charles J. Chamberlain, 1921-, President

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Floyd E. Smith, President

International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America

Frank E. Fitzsimmons, President

Seafarers International Union of North America

Paul Hall, President

United Transportation Union

Al H. Chesser, President

District of Columbia Truck Roadeo

Gerald F. McCully, Chairman

American Federation of Musicians

Hal C. Davis, President

in cooperation with

The Music Performance Trust Funds

Kenneth E. Raine, Trustee

The music for this occasion is provided by a grant from the Music Performance Trust Funds, a public service organization created and financed by the Recording Industries under agreements with the American Federation of Musicians.

John Benson, singer, fiddler

Saul Broudy, singer, guitarist, harmonica player

Mickey Clark, singer, guitarist

Elizabeth Cotten, 1893-1987, singer, guitarist

John Jackson, 1924-2002, singer, guitarist

Louis Killen, 1934-2003, singer, concertina player

Lewis London, singer, dobroist

Bruce Phillips, 1935-2008, singer, guitarist

Jim Ringer, 1936-1992, singer, guitarist

Bodie Wagner, singer, guitarist

Gerret Warner, singer, guitarist, banjo player

Jeff Warner, singer, guitarist, banjo player
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1975 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1975, Series 9
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials