Oral history interview with Cary Joseph Allen, Jr., April 3, 1980
Subtitle: interview H-0001, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Hester, Rosemarie, 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; Steel industry and trade; Employees; Labor unions; Officials and employees; Organizing; Company towns; Paternalism; Aluminum Company of America; AFL-CIO
Other titles: Interview H-0001, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Cary Joseph Allen, Jr., April 3, 1980; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Cary Joseph Allen, Jr., was an aluminum worker for Alcoa in Badin, North Carolina, during the 1930s. Focusing specifically on efforts to unionize aluminum workers circa 1936 to 1937, Allen describes how initially the only organized labor in the community was within the American Federation of Labor. With weak representation in the AFL, Allen and some of his fellow workers organized to establish a local branch of the Aluminum Workers of America in Badin, N.C. With the goal of local autonomy for the newly formed union, Allen describes local working and living conditions. Alcoa exercised a strong paternalistic influence within the community, and Allen discusses the poor living conditions workers faced in company housing. Moreover, the strong paternalistic influence, according to Allen, made it initially difficult for the union to attract new members. Fearful of losing their jobs, workers were reluctant to organize. Despite these kinds of early setbacks, Allen emphasizes the long-term goals of the union to better working conditions, earn higher wages, and challenge the company's control over the community. By 1937, efforts to unionize had succeeded.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Feb. 29, 2008).

Interview participants: Cary Jospeh Allen, Jr., interviewee; Rosemarie Hester, interviewer.

Duration: 01:00:13.

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 Steve Weiss.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 78.1 kilobytes, 110 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series H, Piedmont industrialization, 1974-1980, interview H-0001, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 21 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.