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Dotson, Alma (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews with Alma Dotson conducted on the couch in her living room. Although Dotson was pleased to be interviewed, it took a while for her to become more relaxed. Also, as a result of several strokes, her memory was not always sharp. 10/20/1980
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- 2021-03-22
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- *** File: rrradotson4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-0:40)... Dotson lived in California during Prohibition. She was aware that bootlegging occurred, but she was not associated with this activity because she did not drink. (0:40-4:02)... Dotson and her husband worked for the Pattersons for seven years. Her husband quit after seven years and went to work for another wealthy family as a chauffeur. She remained with the Pattersons for an additional five years. She and her husband lived on the premises. She gave birth to a second child in 1933 and both of her children lived with her aunt in Glendale. Dotson left the Pattersons some time in the 1930s. (4:02-5:28)... Her family was not living in poverty during the Depression. They always had food and clothing and were never "hard up." When her second child was born in 1933, she left her employers in Beverly Hills and stayed home to care for her daughter. They rented an apartment in east Los Angeles for a few years and moved sporadically until they purchased their home in the late 1940s. (5:28-9:31)... She did not work between the years of 1933-43. However, she did do seamstress work out of her home to make extra money for the family. Her husband worked for the railroad and was hired at North American in 1942. Dotson did not intend on returning to work but her friends convinced her to apply at North American because there were so many other women working in the defense industry. She and her husband both worked at North American for a short period of time, but in different departments. He left North American during the war and enlisted in the Merchant Marines. (9:31-13:51)... Dotson had friends employed at North American. A neighbor took her to the plant to apply for a position. She heard rumors that the company was not hiring Black women or older women. She lied about her age by about three years to increases her chances of being hired. There were lines of men and women of varying ages and races applying for positions. She was required to take a physical, which she passed. She was sent to a training facility in downtown Los Angeles located on Figueroa. When she finished training, she returned to North American to work in the plant. (13:51-16:11)... Note: there is an interruption in this segment when Dotson answers the telephone. She earned .50 cents an hour while in training. She learned how to read blue prints and how to operate the tools and machinery used in various phases of aircraft production. Initially, she was scared to operate these tools, but felt more confident about her skills by the time she started at the main plant. She trained for two weeks before being assigned to a department at the plant. Her pay increased to .80 cents an hour when she started working at the plant. (16:11-19:23)... Dotson started working at the main plant in April 1943. Her impression of the plant was that it was overcrowded with employees. She had never worked in this type of environment and it was difficult for her to adjust. She worked the day shift for a couple of years and then was transferred to a plant in Downey. The working conditions at the Downey plant were "horrible." The foremen were difficult people to work for. The plant did not have any heating and during the winter employees had to work in their overcoats. One year, there was a flood and employees had to walk in water up to their knees to get to their cars. (19:23-22:15)... While Dotson worked at North American, her aunt cared for her daughters. Dotson carpooled to work with her co-workers. During the war years, the plant parking lots were covered with chicken wire and there were no lights, which made it difficult for people to safely walk to the plant. When she entered the plant on her first day, she thought it looked liked "hell and damnation." The plant was noisy and there was no heat. [Note: it is not clear if this description is in reference to the Downey plant or the main North American plant ] (22:15-24:26)... Dotson's first assignment at the plant was bench work, in which she made small parts. She also worked the "jig," on which larger parts of the airplane were made and then removed and fitted onto the airplane. Before she left North American she was working in thermoplastics, which was a position she enjoyed because she was allowed to sit on a stool and no one bothered her. Stools were not available for employees doing bench work and people were required to stand while doing their jobs. (24:26-27:24)... There were predominantly women working at North American during the war years because the men were fighting in the war. The Black employees were not segregated at North American. Dotson never encountered any negative or racist attitudes while working at the plant. The majority of the employees at the plant were White. Most of Dotson's friends were White, not Black. There was not a lot of time to socialize with co-workers after work during the war years. In later years, however, she and her co-workers did things outside of work and she has maintained close relationships with some of these people over the years. End of tape. *** File: rrradotson5.mp3 (0:00-2:36)... The employees at North American were mainly women. There were some middle-aged men working at the plant; they were never disrespectful towards the women as far as Dotson knew. Naturally, men flirted with the women because "men will be men." The men and women socialized together during their lunch hours and had a good time. (2:36-5:54)... She reported to work at 6:00 a.m. and worked a ten-hour shift with only a thirty-minute break for lunch. When she first started at the plant, the workers were not organized into a union. She later became a charter member of the union and the employees were granted a ten-minute break in addition to their lunch break. She earned .80 cents an hour and time and a half when she worked over time. The money was good at the time because the cost of living was low. When she reported to work she punched a time card and then reported to her department and deposited her card there until the end of the day. The department she worked in was an open area and employees worked near each other on their respective tasks. (5:54-7:41)... During lunch breaks, the plant organized entertainment programs for the employees. The entertainment programs were meant to keep people's minds off of the war. She had to rush back to work at the end of her thirty-minute lunch break. She worked until her shift ended at 4:30 p.m. (7:41-11:28)... Dotson's aunt took care of her children while she was at work. Her oldest daughter was in high school by the time the war ended. Her daughter met a soldier and they married when she was seventeen years old. She gave birth to a son shortly thereafter and moved to Florida to live with his family. When the war ended, they returned to California and moved in with Dotson. A short time after purchasing their home, Dotson's husband became ill and died at the age of forty-eight while he was in a hospital in Pasadena. She did not intend on marrying again. Her first husband was an alcoholic and she did not want to be with a man who smoked or drank. She describes how she met her second husband, Walter. They dated for two years before marrying in 1950. (11:28-13:00)... She worked at the North American plant in Downey for two years during the war. The working conditions at this plant were bad. The supervisors were tough and demanded that employees exceed their work quotas. She also did bench work while employed at this plant. (13:00-20:07)... Dotson was a charter member of the UAW (CIO) at North American. She learned about unionism through her husband who was a staunch supporter and member of the maritime union. A union organizer at North American approached Dotson about joining the union and she agreed. The union dues at that time were $1. The union worked on behalf of the employees at North American for better working conditions and benefits. During the Korean War, she and other employees at North American went on strike for fifty-six days. The union provided her with medical benefits and a pension when she retired. She attends yearly picnics and Christmas parties organized by the union, which gives her an opportunity to visit with her old co-workers. (20:07-25:25)... She was a member of the Second Baptist Church. She does not recall whether her church was associated with the Negro Victory Committee. In 1944, she was involved with a fundraising drive that raised $55,000.00 to pay off the mortgage of her church. Dotson worked ten hours a day, six days a week and did not have a substantial amount of free time to participate in church activities. She was a member of the choir for thirty-eight years and prior to joining the staff at North American, she was heavily involved in church activities. (25:25-27:26)... North American sent people to work at the Downey plant because of housing shortages in the Inglewood area. She worked in bench work in the Structural Department at the Downey plant. In 1962, she was transferred to Canoga Park where she worked on bench work in the Engineering Department for two years. She had to drive over sixty miles to work every day. While at the Canoga Park plant, she also worked on special parts in the "cold room," in which she had to wear gloves so that the parts were free of handprints. End of tape. *** File: rrradotson6.mp3 (0:00-0:37)... When Dotson was assigned to work in the Inglewood and Downey plants, she did not receive a tour of the plant. She was simply sent to a department where she was assigned bench work. (0:37-1:17)... There were company services available to employees, such as a Women's Counselor; however, Dotson did not use these services and could not provide any information on the matter. A bus transported employees to different buildings, but it was not allowed to leave the plant. (1:17-1:59)... Security officials patrolled the plants and all of the employees were required to wear identification badges. To ensure secrecy, employees were "buttoned lip" about the work they did at the plant. (1:59-5:18)... Dotson describes several different jobs she had while at North American. These positions were physically uncomfortable for her and she requested transfers. She explains, "We had to fight for our rights." The union supported employees who wanted to change into different positions. (5:18-5:53)... Dotson believed that her job at North American would last for many years. Women who started working there before she did are still employed at the plant. (5:53-8:12)... Dotson was required to wear slacks, safety shoes, safety glasses, and a hat when she worked at North American. She was extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable the first time she wore pants. The machinery she worked around was dangerous and she heard stories of people getting injured while on the job. (8:12-9:50)... Dotson worked at North American for twenty-three years. For eight of those years, she worked with her first husband Bill and the rest of the time she worked with her second husband Walter. Outside of work, her social life during the war period was "wonderful." She remembers wearing beautiful clothing, most of which she made herself. (9:50-11:11)... Dotson's daughter Billie lived with her and her husband while they were employed with the Pattersons in Beverly Hills. Her daughter did not know any "colored" people other than Dotson and her husband for the first five years of her life because all of her activities took place in the Beverly Hills area. While Dotson was employed with North American, her aunt lived with them and did most of the cooking for the family. On her days off, Dotson was responsible for cleaning the house and taking care of other domestic chores. (11:11-12:03)... North American organized picnics and parties for the employees. Dotson attended these events after the war. She also frequented the gymnasium that North American built for its employees. (12:03-15:06)... When Dotson retired from North American in 1965, she was earning more than $2 an hour. She did not consider the money her own, but contributed it to the family income. She did not like the woman she was renting from and planned to save money to purchase a home. After her husband died, she used her savings as a down payment on a new home. (15:06-18:56)... Dotson was laid off from North American in 1945. She expected that employees would lose their jobs after the war and was glad to leave the plant. She was not worried about finding work in the postwar job market. Her husband was employed at the time and helped support the family. She went to work for a linen store in Beverly Hills that served wealthy clientele. She earned .85 cents an hour at this job. In 1946, she was called back to North American and offered a wage of $1.26, which was a substantial raise in her income. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Alma Dotson began her long career at North American in 1943 almost accidentally. A full-time homemaker for the previous ten years, she simply joined some friends who were on their way to apply for war jobs. Born in South Carolina, the third of four children, Dotson came to Los Angles in 1924 at the urging of an aunt living here. A year later she married and she and her husband worked as live in help at a Beverly Hills home until 1922, when her third child was born. After a one year layoff at war's end, during which time she worked as a monogrammer, she was recalled to North American, where she continued to work until retirement in 1965. Referred to the Rosie the Riveter project by Tina Hill, a co-worker at North American, Dotson was pleased to be interviewed. The interviews were conducted seated by side side on the couch in her living room, a room decorated with African memorabilia acquired during her trips there. Although she was often rather formal and stiff at the start of each interview, she relaxed after a while. Dotson had suffered from several stroke and these seemed to have impaired her memory to some extent, as well as her ability to concentrate. As a result, her thoughts often wandered and the the interviews are not strictly chronological. TOPICS - Prohibition; work; children; application process at North American; job training; impressions of plant; working conditions; job responsibilities; work force demographics; and friendships;work force demographics; gender relations; work schedule; wages; work breaks; unionism and labor strikes; company entertainment; children; marital relationships and husbands; working conditions; religion and churchworking conditions; company security measures; job responsibilities; work attire and safety gear; family life; children; economic status; earnings; and postwar layoffs;
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