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Dollinger, Genora (Johnson) (audio interview #5 of 8)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This fifth interview with Genora Dollinger was conducted after almost a four month hiatus, during which she suffered some health setbacks. 1/20/1977
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- *** File: lhgdollinger16.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:47)... The worker on WPA projects were informed that WPA was opening a training program for jobs in defense. The program, for which trainees were paid, was held five days a week for eight weeks. Dollinger left her supervisory position in a WPA program at the county hospital to enroll in the program, which focused on machine shop skills. There were very few women in the program. Convinced that she couldn't get hired in Flint, Dollinger planned on moving to Detroit to get a defense job when the program ended. At the time, she was the sole support of her children. After Sol Dollinger returned from the Merchant Marines, they moved to Detroit. (3:47-6:48)... Dollinger's first job in Detroit was in the munitions department at Bud Wheel. She went into the plant with about twenty-five women, all of whom were homemakers and new to production work. The quotes the attitude of the men in the plant: "Well, if these damn women want to come in here and get the same money that we do, we're going to move over on the easy jobs and give them the hard jobs." She was assigned to a shell-testing operation and her duties included lifting heavy shells into a liquid solution in order to test them for leaks. The work was physically demanding, but she stuck with it because she wanted to see what it was like to work in a factory setting. During her breaks, she walked around the plant and observed the other operations and talked to people about their jobs. (6:48-11:16)... Three months Dollinger started work at Bud Wheel, when they learned about her activities in Flint, she was fired. The working conditions in the plant were poor because of the fast pace of retooling. Even though the plant was under UAW Local 306, the union was in a state of flux, losing many of its most active and militant members to the draft. The new workers were uneducated about the labor movement and this was the first task facing union representatives. The homemakers were easier to organize than the women with professional backgrounds, but they were less likely to participate in union activities because of the double burden of work and domestic responsibilities. (11:16-15:07)... Because she was under a ninety-day probationary period, Dollinger did not attend meetings of Local 306 when she first hired at Bud Wheel. Rather, she attended meetings among the five or six men working there who were in the SWP. They discussed the needs of the Local and how to implement their program in the plant. Dollinger was initially asked by the party (SWP) to go to work at Bud Wheel to help build up the Local, but when she was fired, the men in the Bud Wheel faction of the SWP told her to go her own way. She then applied for work at Briggs, using "Dollinger" instead of "Johnson," in an effort to conceal that she was blacklisted. The workers at Briggs were in Local 212. She waited until her probationary period ended to approach the Local. (15:07-19:03)... When Dollinger applied at Briggs, the hiring manager was impressed with her personality and educational background and offered her a position in the personnel office. She convinced him that she was better suited for production and he assigned her to drill press operation at the Burner Highway plant, with the intent of moving her into an inspection position when one became available. Dollinger describes her job responsibilities at Briggs, which was manufactured small parts as well as various bombers, including the B-21. There was no time to socialize with her co-workers, all of whom were women, and she found the job boring. Two weeks later, she was transferred to Department 15 in the main plant to work as an inspector. The workers in the department were mainly women, with a few veterans who trickled in after they were released from military service. The parts were inspected for each branch of the Armed Forces. The department was enclosed within metal cribs and personnel from other departments were not allowed in. Inspectors completed their work while sitting at a bench. (19:03-22:52)... The shop steward for Department 15 was an old man from another department who made only an occasional appearance, leading the women to feel that he did not represent their interests. Dollinger restrained herself from talking to her co-workers about the union before her ninety-day probationary period ended and she got seniority, knowing full well that she would have no recourse with the union if her background was discovered and she was fired. Just outside the inspection cribs was the press room where a militant group of unionists were stationed under the leadership of Roy Snowden. Like the older shop steward, they also had very little success in organizing the women in inspection. The inspection foremen resented the women in the department and subjected them to both verbal and sexual harassment. (22:52-26:56)... Ordinance people from the Armed Forces came into the inspection department daily to ensure that there was no sabotage during the inspection process. The foremen who supervised the inspection workers were longtime employees accustomed to working with men. They resented the women a great deal, telling them how they'd be out on their asses and back home where they belonged when the war ended. Eventually, a few of the women got fed up and organized a meeting at the Local. Although Dollinger avoided them the first time around, she was pulled into the situation when they organized a second meeting, at which the Local president pointed her out as one of the original organizers of the UAW in Flint. She tried to downplay her presence at the meeting because she knew there were stool pigeons in the group. (26:56-30:56)... After the president of the Briggs Local pointed Dollinger out as a union organizer at a meeting, she told him she was concerned about losing her job if her past activities in Flint were discovered prior to the end of her probationary period. He claimed that if she was fired, he would initiate a walkout and he left instructions to this effect with his successor. A few days later, she was fired for lying on her employment application and misleading personnel about her identity. The new Local president called the walkout. Local 212 was the second largest in Detroit and the most militant in the city. (30:56-31:55)... Although the Briggs plant was well organized, it was difficult to pinpoint the number of members in Local 212 during the war years; as new members entered the Local, old members left as they were drafted into the service. More women joined the Local, as well as the workers who migrated to Detroit for war work. And Blacks joined the Local for the very first time. The first task in organizing workers was to educate them about the labor movement so that they understood what conditions were like prior to unionization and the benefits of a union. (31:55-33:30)... The chief stewards in each department were notified when to pull workers out of the plant once the walkout was initiated at Briggs following Dollinger's dismissal. Even workers who were not members of Local 212 left the plant because they were heavily influenced by the chief stewards in their departments, who concentrated on organizing and educating new workers. The tactics used to organize men were different than those used for women. However, it was customary to talk to women about their disparate wages and the poor treatment they received from male supervisors. (33:30-36:51)... On her way out of the plant, Dollinger told a few people from the Local that she had been fired. Immediately after she clocked out, she went to Local 212 and spoke to the Local leader about the promise previously made to her about pulling a walkout if and when she was fired. He then ordered two shifts to walk out of the plant. The walkout lasted one day and ended when Briggs agreed to re-hire her. During the walkout, workers stationed themselves outside the plant and instructed people not to enter because they were on strike. Local 212 was a powerful unit in the city and "you got your head busted if you went across the picket line at that time." (36:51-38:56)... After Dollinger was reinstated at Briggs, the women in Department 15 elected her as their chief steward. At this time, union dues were automatically deducted from the workers' paychecks. There were stool pigeons at Briggs who acted as company informants and complained about union dues checkoff even though they belonged to the union, at least on paper. (38:56-41:26)... Dollinger's shift started at six or seven in the morning and she worked eight hours a day with a coffee break in the morning and a half hour for lunch. The women in the department usually ate their lunch at their inspection tables because there was not enough time to go to the cafeteria in the plant. The restrooms for the department were located what seemed liked one or two blocks away from their work area and the facilities were very rudimentary. She describes how the work stations in the department were arranged and how the work was distributed among the inspectors. End of tape. *** File: lhgdollinger17.mp3 (0:00-4:00)... The work setting in Department 15 enabled Dollinger to communicate with co-workers more freely than when she was a drill press operator. As chief steward of the department, she was constantly pulled away from work to handle grievances. She also had a line steward who informed her of any problems. She devised different tactics when dealing with the Army crib foreman, which usually involved matching him in yelling and cussing skills. Initially, the grievances she handled dealt with petty jealousies and gossip. The foreman in the Navy crib used this to his advantage and played one girl off another. She informed the women that while she would listen to their personal problems, she would not put up with gossip. She told them it was important to stick together and help each other out if they wanted to develop any kind of a sisterhood on the job and in the union. (4:00-7:15)... One of Dollinger's roles as chief steward was listening to women's personal problems, which frequently involved resolving their guilt complexes over extramarital affairs. The Catholic background of the many Hungarian and Polish American women made them feel more guilty. Dollinger pointed out that they were no different than men in their needs and that their husbands were just as incapable of resisting temptation while stationed overseas. She also couched her advice in strong union terms, encouraging unity. And while the company was feeding women a heavy dose of patriotic propaganda, Dollinger maintained her anti-war stance in talking with them. (7:15-11:10)... Dollinger called a meeting with the women to devise a plan for dealing with the stool pigeons in the department, both of whom had previously worked in professional positions as a nurse and a teacher, respectively. They decided to institute the silent treatment until the two women broke down. The vast majority of women in Department 15 were from working-class backgrounds who came directly from the home and had little or no previous job experience. These women were either trained in a WPA program or in another department in the plant before being transferred to inspection. (11:10-12:06)... Even though her background differed from the working-class backgrounds of the women in Department 15, Dollinger related to them because of her past experiences organizing women in Flint. For the most part, the women in the department viewed her the same way they viewed the officers and committee members of the local. (12:06-15:27)... When Dollinger was chief steward, she discovered that there were three lesbian couples working in Department 15. Although uneducated about lesbianism at the time, she could figure out who they were. One of the women was very masculine in appearance and demeanor. She wore men's pants, which a front zipper, in contrast to women's pants that had side zippers. Dollinger claimed that this women viewed her as a threat because she, too, was an aggressive woman. Dollinger quelled this woman's resentment by explaining that she was a happily married woman and not interested in competing with her. The other women in the department did not know about these lesbian relationships, but they disliked Elaine because she was too bossy. (15:27-19:09)... Dollinger talks about the line stewards who assisted her in Department 15. all of whom were very loyal and managed their crib in different ways. The line stewards were at the bottom of the hierarchy of the Local's representation structure inside the plant. Chief stewards, who also were referred to as department committeemen, were second in command followed by five committeemen who coordinated all the chief stewards in the plant and reported directly to the Local. Whenever a strike was called, these committeemen informed the chief stewards of the action and instructed them to mobilize their departments. Department 15 was very well organized under her stewardship and participated in every strike called by the Local. (19:09-20:20)... The women in Department 15 often came to her with childcare and family concerns. There were no nurseries in the area and Briggs did not operate a childcare center. Most of the working-class families arranged childcare through relatives. (20:20-21:49)... Initially, Dollinger indicated there were two shifts in Department 15 and she worked the day shift, but then corrected herself, noting that there was only shift. (21:49-23:57)... During the period she was employed at Briggs, Dollinger's sons were in school. They took care of themselves in the morning and she was home in the evenings. Their first apartment in Detroit was located in a converted house and had only one room and a hot plate. Her commute to work from that location was two hours round trip by way of street car. Their second apartment was located in a dilapidated apartment house and had one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and two living areas, one of which they converted into a second sleeping area. Although she could not recall the exact amount of her wages, she earned more as an inspector than she did in production. (23:57-28:10)... Although men initially were hostile towards women in war production and treated them like pariahs, as the cost of living increased, they realized that it was necessary for their own wives to go to work. Women were willing to work hard in order to ease their family's financial burdens. The union was helpful and opened credit unions in each Local, providing families with better savings and loan plans. Dollinger believes that the union changed women's lives. She believed that when they returned home a great change would be evident and was disappointed when they "moved into suburbia and started having more kids." During the war period, women understood their work in defense was a temporary arrangement. Some women, particularly those with older children, were interested in remaining in the plants after the war. (28:10-30:18)... Dollinger believes that women were pleased to be making their own money during the war years, particularly housewives who had previously relied on an allowance from their husbands. Many of them opted not to contribute their pay to household expenses, while others saw it as an opportunity to improve their home or plan for their children's education. Dollinger constantly heard statements from women regarding the satisfaction they felt about not having to ask their "old man" for money. These expressions of economic independence influenced her postwar expectations for women. In addition, she believed that her efforts in educating women about class consciousness, socialism, and unionism would impact their futures. (30:18-35:36)... Like Dollinger, the leadership of Local 212 were opposed to WWII and her views were widely accepted in the Local. However, in addition to being chauvinists, the men in the local were racists. Black workers at Briggs were segregated into certain departments like the burr and anodizing departments. In an attempt to break down the racial barrier, she occasionally spoke with the chief stewards of these departments, but it wasn't something that the union wanted to touch. When she suggested the Local file a grievance because there were no Blacks in the inspection department, committeemen told her to drop the issue if she wanted to be elected to the Executive Board. When she refused, the "green slate caucus" withdrew her nomination, telling her, "it's bad enough you're a woman and then doing this other thing with race...." Even though it was the more militant of the two caucuses in the Local, the green slate caucus members were not affiliated with any radical groups. (35:36-41:34)... Dollinger was dismissed a second time from Briggs for her role in orchestrating a plant-wide walk out. During this period, she and the chief stewards in the plant organized he "IOA" caucus for the purpose of holding daily meeting in the plant to discuss issues in their departments. It was this group that pressured her to initiate the strike from Department 15. In order to get the foremen off the floor so workers in the department could initiate the walk out, she went to the superintendent's office and complained about the foreman of the Army crib. When all of the foremen and assistant foremen were in the office discussing this matter, her line stewards called the walk out and the entire plant went on strike. She was one among seven people from Local 212 who were fired at that time. End of tape. *** File: lhgdollinger18.mp3 (0:00-4:02)... When Dollinger and the six stewards at Briggs were fired for initiating a plant-wide strike, the union filed a grievance and their case was mediated by an impartial arbitrator, and she and four of the stewards were reinstated. Two of the assistant stewards were fired on a technicality based on records that they were the first two people to clock out during the strike. Dollinger refers back to the arbitration of her first dismissal in which the union lawyer advised her to wear a pretty dress and to keep quiet in an attempt to fool the arbitrator into believing that she was incapable of doing the things for which she was accused, which proved to be a successful tactic. [Editor's note: earlier she had noted that this termination took place during her probationary period, and that she was not covered by union protection, which is why they organized a protest walkout.] (4:02-8:53)... The strike that was pulled off when she was dismissed the second time from Briggs made her really appreciate the women with whom she worked. Most of them came into production directly from the home where, she claims, they were dominated by their husbands and somewhat isolated. Some of these women, particularly the Poles, were prejudiced against Blacks, but their exposure to different ethnic groups and her educational efforts changed their attitudes. Of the more than 500 workers in Department 15, 100-200 attended department meetings at the Local. Dollinger arranged for speakers to talk to women about the union and the labor movement at these meetings. Occasionally, speakers from the CIO Educational Department lectured at the meetings. In addition to department meetings, she met with women at their work tables on a daily basis in order to get acquainted with them and establish a level of trust. (8:53-10:22)... The veterans who worked in Department 15 did not take an active role in department activities. Because of their war injuries, they were situated in a separate section in the department where they could sit, and the work typically was brought to them. Most of these men were sympathetic to the issues affecting women in the department and "understood the value of unions." (10:22-13:50)... Dollinger notes that despite the chauvinism of the men in Local 212, she was appreciated. She was on the Education Committee and was eventually elected educational director. She turned this down, fearing that she would be targeted by the FBI,a position supported by the SWP. The local leadership told her that she would have to take the position unless she found someone qualified to take her place. She suggested the educational director at Ford Local 600. In talking about her roles in Local 212, Dollinger notes that she taught public speaking. If contract negotiations failed because of the men's speaking abilities, she was blamed because she trained them. (13:50-17:07)... Dollinger talks about the competing caucuses during a Local election, and the statements made about her. Although she was not running for an office at that time, she was active in campaigning for her caucus and held other assignments in Local 212. In late 1945 when people from Local 212 were beaten, including her, she was on a special committee dealing with those beatings. (17:07-20:52)... The Education Committee was to communicate with every department in Local 212 and educate them about unionism. Periodic bulletins were issued to accomplish this, along with Dollinger's classes in public speaking, parliamentary procedures and labor history. These were attended by approximately 100 people out of the 18,000 members in Local 212. It was difficult to get people to classes because of wartime inconveniences and busy schedules. In addition to mass meetings, each plant held separate department and plant meetings at the Local headquarters. While it was difficult to get people to classes, bulletins were circulated regularly in order to educate and inform and "was one of the things that made it such a cohesive local." (20:52-23:01)... Even though the Education Committee encountered opposition because of its militancy, Dollinger was actually the only person on the committee who belonged to a radical political group, although Local members were loyal to one of the leaders, who was a member of the SP. Rather than having problems with committeemen because of her membership in the SWP, she had more difficulty dealing with their chauvinism. When the no-strike pledge was presented to Local 212, there were no differences in opinion among the militant and conservative groups. During elections, however, it was quite a different story and the opposition would make outlandish charges if they thought someone they opposed would get elected. Women did not get involved in political activities in the Local, but if she asked them to vote for the "green slate caucus," they followed her direction. (23:01-27:28)... The SWP faction at Briggs Manufacturing was a small contingent. She comments that because of her role in the Local and the radical movement, Briggs "detested me." But she was protected by the union, especially because she was the one who relate to the women. During this period, her SWP activities revolved around the opposition to the no-strike pledge in the CIO, and political campaigns for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. She also ran for the US Senate at one point. She maintained her SWP contacts in Flint and frequently went there for meetings with her husband, Sol Dollinger. (27:28-30:56)... The anti-war position of the Education Committee was one reason the "white slate caucus" of Local 212 opposed the committee. Dollinger describes the conservatives of the Local as "red-blooded patriots" in contrast to the committee members, who she describes as "real class conscious... and anti-boss." The militants in Local 212 maintained their anti-war ideals throughout the war period. When he was drafted, [?] Macey protested and gained national attention when he organized the troops stationed in Okinawa for a back-home movement. He was respected in the Local and when the Flying Squadron was formed, the "international said they couldn't be controlled." The differences between the two factions in the Local were based less on politics than class consciousness. (30:56-34:04)... Dollinger believes that women went to work in war production for both patriotic and monetary reasons. Nevertheless, she was not afraid to express her anti-war attitudes when she talked with them. She claims that by the end of the war, most of the women in her department understood the "class nature of war" and that they were changed women. This optimistic assessment is why she was so disappointed with the postwar trends in women's lives. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Genora Johnson Dollinger is best known for her role in forming the Women's Emergency Brigade (of the UAW) during the Flint strike, 1936-7. Born to a relatively prominent and affluent family in Flint, Dollinger developed a heightened sense of women's subjugation as a result of her father's treatment of both his wife and daughters. She became interested in socialism through discussions with Carl Johnson, the father of her future husband, auto worker Kermit Johnson. She married Kermit Johnson over her parents objections, and they had two sons, both of whom were later killed in a car accident. Together with her husband and father-in-law, Dolliinger helped to build the Socialist Party (SP) in Flint, which became one of the organizing avenues for the 1936 strike. After the strike began, frustrated with the traditional roles to which she was initially relegated, Dollinger formed the Women's Emergency Brigade, a militant group of women popularized in the documentary, With Babies and Banners. Dollinger remained active in the UAW following the strike. Later, during the war, and after her marriage to Sol Dollinger, she went to work in Detroit at Briggs Manufacturing. She was badly beaten later, in the postwar years, during the vicious anti-union campaign organized by the manufacturers. While still in Michigan, she became active in the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), worked for the ACLU, and continued to be involved in the UAW. The Dollingers moved to Los Angeles in 1967, when her third son was fourteen years old. Despite her growing health problems, she remained active in a host of liberal and progressive causes and heaped to form the Community Advisory Councils of the LA Unified School District. In 1977, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Flint strike, Dollinger returned to Michigan and, despite her health problems, led a protest against the slighting of women's role in the strike. After her death in 1995, Sol Dollinger published their jointly authored book, Not Automatic: Women and the Left in the Forging of the Auto Workers Union (Monthly Review Press, 2000), which includes an oral history of Genora by Susan Rosenthal. TOPICS - WPA training program; defense job at Bud Wheel; attitude of men towards women in production jobs; working conditions; effects of work on physical condition; UAW Local 306; women's attitudes towards unionism; SWP meetings with Bud Wheel workers; being blacklisted and losing job at Bud Wheel; applying for work at Briggs Manufacturing; Briggs, Local 212; drill press production work; promotion to inspection; sexism and sexual harassment in Department 15; termination from Briggs and support walkout; election to chief steward of Department 15 after reinstatement; and hours and working conditions;description of Department 15; wages; housing; chief steward position; grievances; sexism and sexual harassment; counseling women as part of steward role; stool pigeons in Department 15; work force demographics; lesbian relationships; steward structure and relationships; child care issues; men's attitudes towards women in production jobs; women's economic independence; Local 212 political caucuses; racism and chauvinism in Local 212; segregation in the plant; stewards caucuses; role in initiating plant-wide strike; and second dismissal from Briggs;arbitration over termination; racism among women; department meetings; veterans in Department 15; Education Committee, Local 212; SWP activities; anti-war stance of militants in Local; class consciousness; educating women in Department 15 about war; and expectations for women in postwar period;
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