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Rozner, Sarah (audio interview #14 of 20)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the third interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home on May Day. Both before the interview began and throughout, she references her ideas about May Day. TOPICS - social and class consciousness; Socialist Party; workers education; Hull House; sexual harassment; and union organizing;sexual harassment in ACWA; roles in Local 39; attitudes towards WWI; her various roles and positions in the union and shop; formation of Women's Local (275); and Boston convention; 5/1/1973
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- 2020-04-06
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- SUBJECT BIO - Sarah Rozner joined the ranks of the labor movement the minute she set foot on US soil and began working in men's clothing in Chicago just prior to the 1910 strike. She organized practically every shop in which she worked - unless she was fired first - and was particularly interested in mobilizing women and helping them to assert their rights. Her woman/feminist consciousness led her to work on the establishment of a Woman's Local of the ACWA in Chicago (Local 275). She worked with other women in the ACWA to establish a Woman's Bureau, but did not succeed. She became one of the first women Business Agents in tailoring in Chicago in 1921, and held various positions in the shops and in the union. When she moved to Los Angeles in 1938, she continued to organize at the shop level, establishing education programs for workers at Louart. She continued to advocate for women, and when she retired in 1959, she established a scholarship for women. Even after her retirement, Rozner remained involved with the union, became a member of CLUW (Coalition of Labor Women) after its formation, and remained outspoken on women's issues, particularly in the labor movement. The interviews with Rozner totaled almost hours, divided fairly evenly between her activities in Chicago and in Los Angeles. She was interviewed as part of the Feminist History Research Project labor series, referred by the ACWA. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the third interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home on May Day. Both before the interview began and throughout, she references her ideas about May Day. TOPICS - social and class consciousness; Socialist Party; workers education; Hull House; sexual harassment; and union organizing;sexual harassment in ACWA; roles in Local 39; attitudes towards WWI; her various roles and positions in the union and shop; formation of Women's Local (275); and Boston convention;
- File: lhgwsrozner5.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:10)... Tape introduction. (2:10-5:34)... Dorothy Bellanca was an excellent organizer who never received credit for her accomplishments within the union. Although Bellanca reportedly left the union because she was ill, she resigned because she married. Rozner often had conversations with Bellanca about the lack of representation of women within the union and the lack of credit Bellanca received for her union activities. Rozner wrote an article on Bellanca which detailed her role in the union. (5:34-10:05)... Although the ACWA was a progressive union at the time, some of their policies - or lack of them - did not reflect this progressivism. For instance, she constantly challenged union officials to provide educational opportunities for women and workers; also, it was very difficult for both men and women to accept the formation of a women's Local. Nevertheless, Rozner believes that several leaders within the union taught her what she knows about unionism and the labor movement today. [Note: there are two tape interruptions in this segment.] (10:05-13:01)... Although her concept of class and social struggles did not fully develop until after the 1915 strike, she was initially introduced to the union and strikes following the 1910 strike when she began attending union meetings. (13:01-22:11)... After the 1910 strike, she attended lectures by socialists, anarchists, and Wobblies. She was very active in the Socialist Party and participated in activities, distributed leaflets, and occasionally, financially contributed to the party. However, she did not join the party until 1927, after she attended Brookwood Labor College. In 1922, she made plans to travel to Russia and participate in the Russian Revolution, but decided against it because she wanted to become an American citizen. She applied for citizenship on three occasions and was finally accepted when she told the men at the citizenship office that she "wanted to die a good American citizen." (22:11-26:10)... When she joined the Socialist Party, she was admired for her "rough and tough" personality. She was initially placed in the Jewish branch of the party, but became annoyed and frustrated with the way the Jews conducted themselves at meetings. In particular, she found their manner of speaking very peculiar; it was a form of Yiddish that she could not understand. So she transferred to another branch and remained active until she left Chicago in 1938. Her branch was still associated with the Cook County Socialist Party. (26:10-28:18)... Prior to the 1915 strike, she read several pamphlets and literature published by anarchists. She also read literature distributed during the lectures she attended. [There is a brief discussion on tape of the availability of Rozner's papers and how they can be used to write a book of her life.] (28:18-31:20)... There were several women active in the labor movement, including Rose Schneiderman and Agnes Nestor, who Rozner describes as "wealthy women with finesse." Although she socialized with women in the Women's Trade Union League and at Hull House, she did not want to be one of these women. In general, she does not believe that her beliefs have changed over time, but that she continues to carry the ideas instilled in her by union officials. (31:20-34:36)... She discusses the importance of May Day, indicating that in 1910-11, she participated in the labor strikes, marching with a sign that stated, "Join the Union." She recalls giving a May Day speech while attending Brookwood Labor College. After the 1910 event, she never missed a May Day celebration. (34:36-36:04)... The "Girls Civic and Educational Club" was held at Hull House and was organized by a woman in the union who had connections there. The club gave lectures on civics and hygiene. Originally, its purpose was to develop women leaders in the labor movement. However, this was very difficult because as soon as a woman came into a power, the male leadership tried to "knock her down." The general attitude towards women in the union was that they would get married and leave the union so that it was fruitless to hire them into official positions. (36:04-40:19)... When the Women's Local (275) was formed, she was also a member of Local 39, which was a Coat Makers Local. She tried to recruit women from other Locals to join the Women's Local as well. In discussing sexual harassment, she notes that she did not have too many problems because she always fought back. There were times when she used her tools to fight these men off. However, these events bothered her on an emotional level and she often cried when she was alone. (40:19-45:27)... In 1910, she became a member of Local 197, which was under the United Garment Workers Union. She left this Local and rejoined it in 1915. In 1916, it became Local 39 of the ACWA, and she remained a member from that point on. She provides a general overview of her activities after 1915. She was very independent at this time and often organized nonunion shops without orders from the union. In fact, she took days off while working at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, and went to non-union shops in an attempt to organize the workers. File: lhgwsrozner6.mp3 (0:00-1:05)... The tape begins abruptly with a discussion of a woman who visited Rozner and told her that when she refused to ride home with a man after a Local meeting, he destroyed her work at the shop and she was suspended. (1:05-1:46)... Following the 1915 strike, she returned to work at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx. At this time she was on the Executive Board of Local 39. She was elected to the Joint Board in 1918. (1:46-4:52)... Initially, the ACWA was opposed to WWI, but this changed in 1917 when Frank Rosenblum was drafted, at which time union officials became very patriotic and pressured people to purchase liberty bonds. Rozner opposed the war and refused to purchase liberty bonds. She was working for Hart, Schaffner, and Marx and was very vocal about her opposition, at which time the union asked her to leave the shop. She found work at another union shop, where she was asked to make war uniforms. Again, she refused to do this and was terminated. She later discovered that this employer was an anarchist, even though he required his employers to work on materials for the war. (4:52-8:43)... During the war, she left Chicago and went to Youngstown, Ohio to live with her sister and attempted to find work there. Shortly after she arrived, she received a telegram informing her that her mother was ill. When Rozner returned to Chicago, she took her mother to a physician, who diagnosed her mother with diabetes. This doctor attempted to seduce Rozner, but she rejected him. She believes that there is really no difference between male behavior then and now. Today, men are perhaps a little more obvious and open about their motives. When she returned to Chicago to care for her mother, she went back to work for Hart, Schaffner, and Marx and became the chairlady of the shop. She describes the years between 1918-20 as a period when her union activities blossomed. (8:43-10:50)... Once the union's position on the war shifted, the other workers generally went along with the union. Most of the union officers purchased liberty bonds, which disillusioned her. (10:50-12:03)... During the Thomas Moony trials, union leadership advised representatives to prepare to organize a general strike. Although the union then changed its mind, she told the workers to leave Hart, Schaffner, and Marx anyway. At this time, she was working as the chairlady of the shop. She explains that she made decisions independent of the union, which was, perhaps, the main reason why union officials disliked her. However, she contends that nine times out of ten, she made the right decisions. (12:03-15:46)... She was elected as the chairlady [sic] of Hart, Schaffner, and Marx when she returned to the shop at the end of 1918. She was also elected to the Joint Board of Local 39 and describes the process of electing delegates to this board. In 1919, the union embarked on a substantial organization drive, but she did not participate in any organizational activities at that time. (15:46-23:48)... Around 1920, she became conscious of the problems facing women within the union. Before workers were organized, they resorted to unethical or destructive behaviors to protest poor working conditions. For instance, she often orchestrated work stoppages whenever she saw labor abuses. She did not follow the rules and often took chances to challenge labor injustices. Even when union agreements stipulated rules against work stoppages and walk outs, the union could not stop workers from organizing these types of protests. (23:48-27:06)... She describes the election process that took place at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx when she was elected chairlady [sic]. She initially was the chairlady for one floor with approximately 400 workers. She then became the head chairlady for the shop and managed three floors. In addition to her responsibilities as chairlady, she also worked on garments. In contrast, when a man became chair, he generally allowed the workers to do his work for him, but she refused to allow anyone to take responsibility for her work. At this time, she was making approximately $5,000 a year and the union paid her dues. On a typical day, she handled workers' needs first and then worked on garments. (27:06-30:40)... When she ran for the position of Business Agent in 1921, she encountered opposition by both union officials and women workers. She was elected to this position by the men, who expected her to give them special treatment once she was elected. She recalls that when she was a Business Agent the manufacturers offered women workers $200 to vacate high-paying positions that required machine skills so that men could replace them. She begged the women not to leave these positions, but when she returned from Brookwood Labor College, they had been supplanted by male workers. (30:40-38:59)... When seven women were defeated as delegates to the 1920 labor convention, she began coordinating her efforts with union organizer, Nettie Richardson, to form a Women's Local. Meetings were held and leaflets were distributed to the female workforce in an attempt to get the Local started. In 1920, Local 275 was formed in Chicago. (It was dissolved in the 1970s). Rozner also attempted to work with Dorothy Jacobs (Bellanca) to form a Women's Bureau within the ACWA, but this was never accomplished. The purpose of the Women's Local was to increase the representation of women within the union as Business Agents and delegates to the labor conventions. At the time, Rozner's attitude was that the majority of the membership of ACWA was not being represented within the union, and that the union was completely indifferent to this fact. She made it her personal mission to guarantee that women would always be represented at labor conventions, which was accomplished when the women's local was formed. (38:59-43:19)... Before the 1920 labor convention, the women who helped her organize the Women's Local collected enough funds to send temporary delegates to the labor convention in Boston. From January to May of 1920, activities and meetings were held to raise money for this delegation and to obtain enough members to organize the Local. Approximately 200 women came to the first meeting; most of whom were from the Coat Makers Local, to which Rozner's belonged. In an attempt to calm the opposition in the union for its lack of female representation, representatives of Local 39 gave Rozner funding to attend the 1920 labor convention. (43:19-46:06)... When she attended the labor convention in Boston, there were approximately three or four women from the newly formed Local 275 and Rozner represented Local 39. There were several other women there from other Locals throughout the country. She could not recall any particular events occurring during the convention, indicating that she played a lot of poker and socialized with other delegates at the convention. There was a Women's Committee at the convention headed by Mamie Santora, but Rozner does not believe that this committee did anything remarkable for women. End of tape
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