Oral history interview with Eula McGill, December 12, 1974
Subtitle: interview G-0039, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Lipsitz, Lewis, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2006
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Labor unions; Officials and employees; Women labor union members; Attitudes; Women textile workers; Organizing; Textile workers; African American labor union members
Other titles: Interview G-0039, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Eula McGill, December 12, 1974; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Eula McGill talks about being raised in a family of Alabama textile workers and gaining an early appreciation for unions despite the physical threats to workers and organizers from bosses and non-union workers. She shares well-formulated thoughts about union members' motivations being not just about garnering a living wage, but establishing personal and economic independence in a world ruled by company stores and company-owned housing. Despite some failings, she says, unions do more than any other institutions to improve the conditions of working people.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on May 6, 2008).

Interview participants: Eula McGill, interviewee; Lewis Lipsitz, interviewer.

Duration: 00:48:20.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Mike Millner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 83.3 kilobytes, 88.5 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series G, Southern women, interview G-0039, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Joe Jaros. Original transcript: 22 p.

Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.