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Aliotto, Marie (audio interview #1 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of three interviews conducted with Marie Aliotto as part of a series on the Chicago Women's Local (275). The interview was conducted by Kris Feichtinger, in cooperation with the Feminist History Research Project in Los Angeles. The details of the recording session are unknown. TOPICS - family background; early work experiences; formation of Local 275; women's choir and Dramatic Club, Local 275; positions held by Aliotto in Local 275; and picketing and organizing activities;membership of Local 275; social activities; Clara Leon; family background; early work experiences; working conditions; ACWA Social and Athletic Club; attitudes towards work; workplace demographics; picketing; and Progress Tailoring Company;Progress Tailoring Company; working conditions; chairlady responsibilities at C;B; Shane & Company; family background and history; schooling; neighborhood; living conditions; childhood; social activities; and All Indian Athletic and Social Club; 9/12/1975
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- SUBJECT BIO - Marie Aliotto, an activist in the Chicago Women's Local (275) of the ACWA started working in the garment industry when she was only fifteen years old. She joined the union during the major organizing drive in 1919 and eventually switched to the Women's Local in the late 1920s, and almost immediately assumed a series of leadership posts. Born and raised in a multiethnic neighborhood, Aliotto became the sole source of her family after her father's death. Until her health began to suffer, for almost eight years she worked a second job at a movie house. She never married and continued to support and care for her mother. The union and the Women's Local became the focus of her life, particularly after the ACWA built a new hall which included a gymnasium. She remained active even after retirement in 1965. Aliotto's oral history was conducted in Chicago by Kris Feichtinger, in cooperation with the Feminist History Research Project of Los Angeles. It was part of a larger series of interviews with women active in the Chicago Women's Local (275). INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of three interviews conducted with Marie Aliotto as part of a series on the Chicago Women's Local (275). The interview was conducted by Kris Feichtinger, in cooperation with the Feminist History Research Project in Los Angeles. The details of the recording session are unknown. TOPICS - family background; early work experiences; formation of Local 275; women's choir and Dramatic Club, Local 275; positions held by Aliotto in Local 275; and picketing and organizing activities;membership of Local 275; social activities; Clara Leon; family background; early work experiences; working conditions; ACWA Social and Athletic Club; attitudes towards work; workplace demographics; picketing; and Progress Tailoring Company;Progress Tailoring Company; working conditions; chairlady responsibilities at C;B; Shane & Company; family background and history; schooling; neighborhood; living conditions; childhood; social activities; and All Indian Athletic and Social Club;
- File: lhgwmaliotto1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:03)... Aliotto's father died in 1920 when she was fifteen years old. As the oldest of five children still living at home, she was responsible for supporting the family. She was hired as a seamstress at Progress Tailoring Company @ $1.25/hr. She also worked as a cashier at a local movie theater in the evenings. She gave the money she earned at the tailor shop to her mother. Aliotto used the money she earned as a cashier at the movie theater for clothing and spending money. She worked two jobs for seven and a half years. During this time, her siblings finished high school. She continued to be the sole support for her mother. She divided her time between her two jobs and union activities. She finally quit working at the theater when a doctor advised her that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. (2:03-4:37)... After a gymnasium was constructed at the ACWA union building, Local 275 (Women's Local) implemented several programs. Clara Leon was the "backbone" of Local 275. She organized a women's choir and hired a singing teacher from the WTUL.; the general manager, Sam Levine arranged for a choir director. The Chicago Joint Board was the first to have a choir. After performing at the National Convention in Atlantic City, men in the ACWA asked that a mixed choir be formed so that they could participate. Local 275 also formed a Dramatic Club and a bowling league. The women were young and full of "pep." They talked about activities they wanted and Leon did an excellent job of getting things started. (4:37-6:42)... Local 275 was not a large. Shop chairmen often neglected to tell women about the Locals that catered to specific nationalities, or that there was a woman's local. When Aliotto was a shop chairman, she brought new members into Local 275. The Local held a luncheon every year to raise money to send delegates to the National Conventions. The Local had its own group of officers and belonged to the Joint Board. It often participated in WTUL activities. (6:42-7:35)... During strikes, Aliotto arrived at the picket line around 5:00 a.m. and picketed until 9:00 when she went to work. She returned to the picket line later in the afternoon. She was not paid for her picketing activities. She worked piecework and lost a lot of time because of her union activities. (7:35-8:51)... After Aliotto quit her evening job as a cashier at a movie theater, she became more active in Local 275. She was a member of the Executive Board and vice president of the Local. When the financial secretary retired, Aliotto was elected and worked in this capacity until she retired. Among her many leadership roles, she was a member of the Joint Board, a delegate to the CIO in Chicago, and secretary of the choir. (8:51-11:51)... Local 275 was formed because "the men wouldn't give the women a break." Men made all of the decisions on union matters and were the only ones who attended national conventions. Sarah Rozner and Sophie Kolbash were among the initial group of women who formed the Local. Members of 275 were elected to the Joint Board. After a new building was constructed to house the local around 1927-28, they became more active. (11:51-16:00)... By the time she became active in Local 275, people had accepted the idea that women needed recognition. While she was on the Joint Board, she criticized the discrimination of women in relation to ACWA insurance payments, arguing that women should receive just as much as men, if not more, because they had the double duty of managing their household and work responsibilities while a man comes home after work and "waits for dinner." Although men were given better jobs than women, she believes that women received equal pay for equal work because of the nature of piecework. She does not recall there being any outstanding examples of gender discrimination after Local 275 was organized. In the beginning, men referred to Local 275 as the "old maid local" because many of its members were single women. (16:00-21:03)... Aliotto organized canvass and leather workers in Chicago shops. (21:03-26:13)... During an organizing campaign, the ACWA planted Aliotto in a shop in order to learn about about the working conditions and business practices. After a few days, the employer was tipped off about the presence of union spies in his shop. He fired Aliotto without pay. ACWA took the employer to the NRA Board. The union won the case and the shop owner was required to pay her five days in back pay. End of tape. File: lhgwmaliotto2.mp3 (0:00-2:37)... The women in Local 275 shared a close relationship. During the summers, they rented a beach house for $350 for the entire summer. Approximately seventeen women shared the house and split the cost of food. Sam Levine, the general manager, occasionally visited the beach house with his family. Aliotto remembers sunbathing on the sand dunes and enjoying the company of her friends. (2:37-4:06)... Aliotto describes Clara Leon as a wonderful woman. The women in Local 275 would do anything for Leon. Aliotto indicates that Local 275 operated until Leon died. She digresses regarding her own career, indicating that she retired in 1969 to have a cataract surgery. When she retired, she decided to dedicate most of her time taking care of her mother. (4:06-13:20)... Aliotto started working while in grammar school. Her first job was at a book bindery cleaning book covers, earning $6.50/week. She was approached by a neighbor who was the floorlady at a garment shop organized by the ILGWU. who offered her a job sewing snaps on women's skirts for $10/week. When the employer fired one of her friends, Aliotto and the small group of women quit their jobs. Aliotto was then hired at a tailor shop called Shapiro's (Editor's note: in the second interview, Aliotto identifies this company as Progress Tailoring Company, which bought Shapiro's). Initially, her job responsibilities involved clipping threads. She was then placed in the coat department sewing the lining into coats. She worked at this company for approximately four months and met workers in the shop who were members of the ACWA. (13:20-16:07)... Aliotto joined the ACWA in 1919 during a large-scale organizing campaign, after which she received a $5 raise, increasing her wages to $17/week. She eventually went to work for Progress Tailoring Company. When her father died in 1920, the foreman learned that she was the breadwinner of the family and offered to teach her how to use the machinery in the shop so that she could earn a better wage. She was taken off piecework and paid $1.25/hr during her training period. She learned lining making and worked in that line of clothing manufacturing for many years. In the interim, she learned how to work on other parts of a garment, including buttonholes. (16:07-19:32)... Note: there is a brief interruption during this segment. Aliotto enjoyed working because it helped her meet new people and enhanced her social life. During her twelve-year career at Progress Tailoring Company, the boss considered her the "ringleader" of the work force. She encouraged workers to sing songs while they worked. She also helped organize the a Social and Athletic Club. [Editor's note; it is not clear if this was associated with ACWA; in the next interview she notes that the club had nothing to do with the union.] She collected .25 cent dues from her fellow co-workers, and this money was used to fund social activities. A dance was held once a month and the club sponsored various sporting teams. The workers treated each other like family. She was able to dedicate her life to work and her social activities because she had very few domestic responsibilities. Her sister was responsible for cleaning and cooking for the family. (19:32-20:37)... The workers at Progress Tailoring Company during Aliotto's employment there were Polish, Lithuanian, Italian, Jewish, and Bohemian. The women were employed as finishers while the men operated the machinery. There were a few women employed as machine operators, some of whom were members of Local 275. (20:37-25:57)... When Progress Tailoring Company moved its operations to Fort Wayne, Indiana. the workers picketed. A Jewish worker approached the owner of the company and criticized him for putting so many people out of work. Subsequently, he committed suicide in the restroom of the shop. After the plant moved, the ACWA organized workers at the new plant. At that time, the company decided to return to Chicago because the labor pool was larger and more experienced. Aliotto was unemployed for two months after Progress Tailoring Company moved to Indiana. She eventually found work at C.B. Shane & Company, where she worked for twenty-three years. Clara Leon was the business agent at that shop. End of tape. File: lhgwmaliotto3.mp3 (0:00-0:32)... Aliotto discusses the ACWA organizing campaign at Progress Tailoring Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. (0:32-1:31)... When Progress Tailoring Company moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, Aliotto went to work at C.B. Shane & Company, eventually becoming a chairlady. She played that role for twenty years, until the company went out of business. She then went to work for Hart, Schaffner & Marx for the next twelve years. (1:31-4:19)... Note: the audio is marred by the sound of airplanes flying overhead. Aliotto wanted to join the union to improve her working conditions. She heard of instances when people were fired if a boss did not like them or when a woman declined a request for a date. Although this never happened to her, she was often late to work and would have been suspended had she not been a member of the union. The only time a member of the union could get fired was for stealing or poor work habits. (4:19-11:23)... Note: airplanes can be heard flying overhead in the background of this segment; and when Aliotto steps away from the recorder towards the end of the segment, her voice becomes faint. Alliotto describes an incident that occurred while she was working as a chairlady at C.B. Shane involving a worker who was accused of cheating with his coupon book. She digresses regarding women breaking shop rules and smoking in the restroom. Aliotto felt that anyone who was too lazy to throw their cigarettes in the toilet deserved to be fired. (11:23-18:20)... When Aliotto finished grammar school, she went to work full time instead of attending high school. Although it was required, she avoided going to continuation school. She enjoyed working and contributing her earnings to the family income. When her father died in 1920, it was imperative that she work to support her family. She discusses her siblings' and her mother's life in Italy. Aliotto believes that it was typical for women her age to work rather than go to school because education was not compulsory. Her family never suffered economic hardships. They always had a nice place to live that was equipped with indoor plumbing, gas, and heat. (18:20-28:20)... Note: in this segment, Aliotto can be heard talking to her dog; airplanes passing overhead are also heard in the background. The neighborhood in which Aliotto was born and raised was mainly Italian, Jewish, and Irish. She remembers the presence of gangsters in the neighborhood who were referred to as the "Black Hand," and during Prohibition, several bootleggers resided there as well. In addition to being active in typical childhood activities, she was the treasurer of All Indian Athletic and Social Club. She recounts an incident when the police almost raided one of their meetings. Aliotto and her siblings also frequented Columbia Hall, a dance hall, and entertained themselves by going to the beach and Lincoln Park. End of tape.
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