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- Description:
- Wayne Nunheimer recalls his career at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc., in Lansing, MI, from 1945 to 1975. He talks about his father working for REO, the REO Clubhouse, the 1937 strike, the company in the post-war period, his job as a spot welder, lawnmower production, piecework and the beautiful REO Flying Cloud automobile. Nunheimer also recalls the mergers which led to the end of the company, ongoing legal battles in bankruptcy, and says how fortunate workers were to have union representation and what a positive influence the union was in the plant. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Don tells of being hired in 1962 at Flint Chevrolet, AC Spark Plug and describes his first years and Army service. He talks about his educational accomplishments and entering skilled trades in 1982. Don explains why he declined to go on management several times and why he has always respected the union. He comments on the Flint strikes, wildcats, the differences between Flint and Lansing, UAW-management relations differences, females in skilled trades, and the 1984 change to small cars in Lansing.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-12-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Mabel McQueen talks about her career at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, MI, from 1953 to 1975. She describes her youth on the family farm, working at Motor Wheel through the war, her work as a secretary and bookkeeper, her supervisors, and her feelings about the union. McQueen says that many of her family members also worked at REO and that REO itself felt like one big family. She says that the bankruptcy was a terrible time and that it was heartbreaking watching friends and co-workers being fired and losing their pensions. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-06-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Darrell Tennis, labor activist and political consultant, talks about his career advocating for Michigan organized labor. Tennis reflects on working for a number of labor unions before finally opening his own consulting firm in Lansing. Tennis also talks about lobbying in the state, the influence of the United Auto Workers in the AFL-CIO, tensions between unions as state workers were organized, the administrations of Governor William Milliken and John Engler, and the creation of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He says that he expects continued attempts to privatize public services in the state, that electing more Democrats to office does not insure a pro-labor legislature and that a fundamental problem in Michigan politics is the "gerrymandering" of voting districts. Tennis is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor emeritus of Labor and Industrial Relations.
- Date Issued:
- 2008-12-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Keith Groty, former MSU Assistant Vice President of Personnel and Employee Relations, talks about his involvement with the university's Faculty Grievance Procedure (FGP). Groty says that he supported the FGP because he saw it as a mechanism for heading off faculty unionization, but that he really didn't have a role in the development of the FGP or the position of Faculty Grievance Official (FGO). Groty also says that MSU's FGP has worked through the years because it found an appropriate balance between the administration's power and faculty concerns. He talks about the failed faculty attempts at unionization and says that the main issue at MSU was always the disparity in faculty pay. Groty is interviewed by Robert Banks, former Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources and professor emeritus of the James Madison College at MSU, and John Revitte, MSU professor emeritus of Labor and Industrial Relations. Via telephone.
- Date Issued:
- 2018-06-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Herbert Heinz talks about his career as an electrician at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc., in Lansing, MI, from 1951 to 1974. He discusses REO products, plant safety issues, exporting trucks around the world, and the union and various labor actions. Heinz also recounts management abuses and irregularities, alleging that managers used REO workers to build their cottages in Northern Michigan and that as the plant died at the time of the 1975 bankruptcy, managers began stripping parts and equipment from the plant. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1993-03-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Frank tells of being hired in August 1969 and working in the cushion room. He recalls receiving a copy of the union contract on his first day, the 1970 strike for 30 and Out, living on strike pay of $25 a week, and performing picket duty. Frank tells how he became a substance abuse counselor for the GM/UAW Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and how he has appreciated the union.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-09-13T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Marvin Grinstern talks about his employment at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, MI, from 1965 and 1975. Grinstern describes growing up in Lansing, farming, visiting his father at the plant, as a boy, during the 1937 strike and finally joining his father and other relatives at REO. Grinstern also talks about a fatal accident on the shop floor, managers abusing their position, the REO bankruptcy, the plant closing, and the resulting shock, depression and suicides among workers. Grinstern laments the loss of manufacturing companies and jobs in Lansing and remarks on the great changes that came to factories in the wake of unionization and women in the workplace. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-12-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Lynette tells of being hired in February 1985 shortly after nursing school. Lynette describes working conditions, antiquated equipment, supply shortages and treating the UAW Fisher workers for a range of maladies with unorthodox methods. She comments on the effect unionizing the nurses had on working conditions. She also talks about normal hazing of new nurses.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-08-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Randy recalls being hired in June 1973 at age 17 for summer work before he went to General Motors Institute (GMI) now Kettering University in Flint. He talks about his education and coming to Fisher in 1985 following the reorganization to BOC, merging with Oldsmobile, the different cultures and working with two UAW locals and contracts. Randy talks about the salaried cafeteria at Fisher, pranks, firing Rusty Ziegler, the conversion to small cars and the Lansing work ethic. He discusses working his way up through various positions to plant manager in Doraville, GA. before coming back to Lansing and being named the Lansing Delta Township Plant Manager.
- Date Issued:
- 2006-06-29T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection