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- Description:
- Russell Alberts talks about working at REO Motor Car Company, in Lansing, MI, from 1928 to 1939. Alberts describes conditions in the plant, his jobs, pay, benefits, and hours, before unionization and the great strides made by workers after the big labor strike of 1937 and the Lansing Labor Holiday. He also talks about the REO Clubhouse, the radio station, REO products and making experimental vehicles for the American military. Alberts' wife, Eva Alberts, describes her work in the REO Navy Department during the war and both discuss an accidental death in the plant and the safety issues which plagued the manufacturer for decades. The interviewer is Shirley Bradley. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-04-16T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Dorothy tells about being hired in December 1952. She describes the brutal work, working conditions, the swing shift, lack of relief and the disparate treatment of women including lower pay and no restrooms. Dorothy also tells about being the first woman to exercise her contractual rights to transfer to a better paying job. She tells of participating in wildcat strikes over the lack of basic necessities like gloves, fountains and fans. Dorothy talks about being elected to the committee and being the lone woman in the male dominated environment. She comments on building the union hall, the need for unions, and her political activity in retirement.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-01-06T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Linda Maxon discusses her early years at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc., in Lansing, MI. She says that she started as a temporary stenographer in 1967 and stayed to work as a secretary for several managers until the plant closed in 1975. Maxon shares many experiences about company social events and institutions and describes the loss of the REO Clubhouse and the burning of the factory itself. Maxon says that in the end, she was able to draw money from the REO pension fund before it was drained and describes the terrible depression suffered by other workers who lost all of their retirement money. The interviewer is Shirley Bradley. Recorded as part of the commemoration of REO Motor Car Company’s 100th Anniversary.
- Date Issued:
- 2004-06-25T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Sam tells of being hired in May 1971 and being put on "the worst job" - welding wheelhouses. He tells of transferring to Security seven months later. Sam talks about his duties dealing with strikes, discharges, occasional fights, and describes an industrial accident in 1982 that claimed the lives of three men. He tells about GM outsourcing Security to Pinkerton and his last years before retirement.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-12-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Doug Sleep talks about his career in the export department at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc., in Lansing, MI, from 1961 to 1975. Sleep talks about preparing trucks to be shipped for sale overseas, about becoming a UAW steward and the deterioration of worker/management relations when the company changed ownership. Sleep describes the difficulty in running a shop with the chronic shortage of parts in the company's last days and final owner Francis Cappaert's attempts to break the union. He also laments the loss of the worker pension fund and the creation of federal pension guarantee program. The interviewer is Shirley Bradley. The first minute of the interview was not recorded. Recorded as part of the commemoration of the REO Motor Car Company’s 100th Anniversary.
- Date Issued:
- 2004-06-22T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Louis Garcia discusses his career as an assembly worker, press operator, and manager at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, Mi, between 1946 and 1975. Garcia talks about his Hispanic heritage and his childhood spent as a migrant farm worker. He says that in his early years at REO he was singled out and "tested" by other workers and management because of his ethnicity, but still excelled in the workplace, becoming a journeyman and later a supervisor. Garcia also talks about Francis Cappaert’s ownership of REO, the company bankruptcy, loss of the worker pension fund, the final days of plant operations, and employee depression and suicide. Interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine. Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-01-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Walt describes being overwhelmed when he was hired in September 1968, joining management in 1978 and finding it difficult to supervise people he worked with on the line. Walt describes a typical day for supervisors, the dress code for supervisors, meeting his wife in the plant and their struggles with an interracial marriage.
- Date Issued:
- 2006-05-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- John Bowles talks about his career at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, MI, from 1938 to 1971. Bowles says that he came to Lansing from Indiana in 1931 searching for work and was happy to finally land a good paying job at REO in 1938. He describes the various jobs he held in the plant, struggling to fill military truck orders, the inspection process, the early novelty of women working in the plant, war production, and trying to diversify in the post-war era by manufacturing lawnmowers. He says that working at REO was truly a family affair and that, in fact, most employees had relatives working along side of them in the plant. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine.Recorded as part of the REO Memories oral history project.
- Date Issued:
- 1992-06-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Lyle describes growing up in the neighborhood near Fisher, being hired in November 1956 and his first day on the wet deck. He reflects on segregation in the plant, the swing shift, and changeover. Lyle talks about transferring to Security in 1966, describes the duties, interactions with workers, strikes, and the 1982 deaths in the Paint Department. He also discusses GM's decision to outsource plant security to Pinkerton. Lyle also discusses his other passion - coaching baseball.
- Date Issued:
- 2006-01-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
- Description:
- Barbara talks about her career prior to being hired in July 1981. She describes her duties at Fisher covering vacationing salaried workers, walking the shop floor and developing rapport with the UAW production workers. Barb talks about becoming the plant manager's executive secretary and working for four plant managers - three men, one woman, the front office culture, how the reorganization to BOC was received, the many transfers and reassignments, and the Oldsmobile/BOC talent show.
- Date Issued:
- 2005-11-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection