Union: Benefits of Union Membership
Dublin Core
Title
Union: Benefits of Union Membership
Subject
In this video Janie Golightly, Jan DeLap, Harvey Goodstein, Dianne Hause, Jerry Hause, and Fred Bass explain how union membership benefited Deaf workers.
Creator
Zilvinas Paludnevicius
Source
Drs. John S. and Betty J. Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center Collection
Date
2022
Rights
This Item has been made available for educational and research purposes by the Drs. John S. and Betty J. Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center at Gallaudet University. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You may need to obtain permission for your intended use if your use is otherwise not permitted by the copyright and applicable related rights legislation. For specific information about the copyright and reproduction rights for this Item, please contact the Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center: https://www.gallaudet.edu/drs-john-s-and-betty-j-schuchman-deaf-documentary-center
Language
American Sign Language
Moving Image Item Type Metadata
Video Description
A video featuring ASL interviews with several subjects. Janie Golightly, an older white woman seated in a darkened studio; Jan DeLap, an older white woman seated in a darkened studio; Harvey Goodstein, a white older man seated in a darkened studio Jerry Hause and Dianne Hause, an older white man and woman seated at home; and Fred Bass, an older white man seated at home. The video begins with a black and white photograph of a large workspace with several fair skinned older men scattered around the room, their hands on the various machinery as they work and chat with each other. Text reads Benefits of Union Membership.
Transcription
Janie Golightly: I joined in 1974, and have been a member since. I pay dues every month. I feel like unions are good for everyone, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, it’s still good. It ensures equal pay, and that’s important. Our brothers and sisters were all equal, one wasn’t better than the other. Suppose I worked hard and earned a lower salary, while another person took it easy and was lazy with a higher salary - that wouldn’t happen. We were equals, which was good. I think it was a wonderful experience.
Jan DeLap: I know our printers tend to talk about the Washington Post and how it was the best around, I loved it, all of that, but I have to emphasize it was the union that was key to the whole thing. The Washington Post was a pretty good place to work, but the security, the safety, and the comradery all happened through the union. We knew that we could all do the same work, maybe not of equal quality. But many of us take on other roles proofreading, or other stations, like paste up etc. And if someone was in trouble, got called to the office and was nervous to meet the boss because they could possibly be fired you didn’t go alone to the office. The chairman of the union would go with you. They would speak for you, support you, and argue on your behalf. You felt safe. Also, the union was good in terms of salary. You didn’t feel that another person was making more money than you, while you were doing all the work. You knew everyone was getting paid the same, except for the supervisors. They were paid a premium, an increase in pay. But the rest of us were paid the same salary which was fair and that was really nice.
Harvey Goodstein: I’ve noticed there are some people who oppose unions. and I can see the pros and cons but for me from what I saw as a Deaf printer, I think the union gave Deaf people good protections, if not for unions I'm pretty sure that Deaf people would have been paid less than hearing or they would have discriminated against Deaf people. I think the union protected Deaf people a lot so for me I've always supported unions because I know that they give Deaf people additional protections.
Dianne Hause: Now did we get our jobs at the Post through the Washington Post? No. I got a job through the union. That's how I worked there
Fred Bass:The union didn’t allow discrimination. If you were a man, a woman, black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, whatever, it didn’t matter. You were equals. That was the Union. Other shops that weren't union they pushed women out, yes. But if you were union, you couldn’t. If a woman was on that slipboard, you couldn’t reject her. And she’d be paid the same. That was the union.
Jan DeLap: I know our printers tend to talk about the Washington Post and how it was the best around, I loved it, all of that, but I have to emphasize it was the union that was key to the whole thing. The Washington Post was a pretty good place to work, but the security, the safety, and the comradery all happened through the union. We knew that we could all do the same work, maybe not of equal quality. But many of us take on other roles proofreading, or other stations, like paste up etc. And if someone was in trouble, got called to the office and was nervous to meet the boss because they could possibly be fired you didn’t go alone to the office. The chairman of the union would go with you. They would speak for you, support you, and argue on your behalf. You felt safe. Also, the union was good in terms of salary. You didn’t feel that another person was making more money than you, while you were doing all the work. You knew everyone was getting paid the same, except for the supervisors. They were paid a premium, an increase in pay. But the rest of us were paid the same salary which was fair and that was really nice.
Harvey Goodstein: I’ve noticed there are some people who oppose unions. and I can see the pros and cons but for me from what I saw as a Deaf printer, I think the union gave Deaf people good protections, if not for unions I'm pretty sure that Deaf people would have been paid less than hearing or they would have discriminated against Deaf people. I think the union protected Deaf people a lot so for me I've always supported unions because I know that they give Deaf people additional protections.
Dianne Hause: Now did we get our jobs at the Post through the Washington Post? No. I got a job through the union. That's how I worked there
Fred Bass:The union didn’t allow discrimination. If you were a man, a woman, black, Puerto Rican, Mexican, whatever, it didn’t matter. You were equals. That was the Union. Other shops that weren't union they pushed women out, yes. But if you were union, you couldn’t. If a woman was on that slipboard, you couldn’t reject her. And she’d be paid the same. That was the union.
Duration
00:03:08
Citation
Zilvinas Paludnevicius, “Union: Benefits of Union Membership,” DeafPrinters, accessed November 21, 2024, https://deafprinters.com/items/show/127.