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Rozner, Sarah (audio interview #17 of 20)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the sixth interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home. Before beginning, Rozner indicated she had a very bad night, and it was obvious she was not in good health. As a result, the interview was concluded early. During the interview, Rozner seemed to have more difficulty breathing; her memory and concentration abilities were also worse than on previous occasions. TOPICS - return to shop; role as chairwoman at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx; ACWA Philadelphia convention; Brookwood Labor College; Note: She had problems with memory due to illness;Brookwood Labor College; 1925 Women in Industry conference; and personal reflections; Note: memory problems due to illness were noted; 6/1/1973
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- File: lhgwsrozner11.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:13)... Tape introduction (2:13-4:26)... While working at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, Rozner met a woman who was an anarchist and introduced her to literature on the anarchist movement, particularly the Haymarket Riot. The two became close friends after a lengthy debate on their political philosophies. Rozner notes that she has a strange way of connecting with people; usually only after a fight or debate is involved. (4:26-10:39)... At the end of 1922, she was re-elected Business Agent, but declined the position and went back to work at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, where she experienced poor treatment from shop managers. [Note: there is a long pause and then a interruption in the tape.] After she returned to Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, she also became involved in the internal struggle between Frank Rosenblum and Sam Levine, which was discussed in detail in previous interviews. She aligned herself with Rosenblum and the tailors, while Levine aligned himself with the cutters. As a result, she often experienced problems with workers in the shop who opposed Rosenblum. She believes she was the head chairlady [sic] at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx in 1924, managing four floors of the shop, with assistants to help her with these responsibilities. (10:39-17:23)... This segment includes a discussion of the Philadelphia labor convention in 1924, of which she has little recollection. [Note: this lapse of memory may be a result of her poor health during this interview.] However, she does recall meeting a woman at the convention who told her about Brookwood Labor College, which prompted Rozner to visit the school. She also vaguely recalls the debate at the convention regarding a Women's Bureau. (17:23-20:24)... When she visited Brookwood Labor College, she wrote an article on her impressions of the school; however, she does not discuss any of these impressions in the interview. After she made this visit, she decided to enroll there and received a scholarship for two years. After her first term, she went to work from June to October and made enough money to pay for expenses not covered by the scholarship. She recalls that many of the students called her "the rich student" because she always had money to do extra-curricular activities, such as eating out, going to the theater, etc. (20:24-27:13)... When she went to Brookwood Labor College, she left money with her family since they were financially dependent on her income. There were seven other siblings who helped her mother and father; however, she believes that her siblings never took proper care of her parents. She discusses the structure and operation of Brookwood Labor College, including the types of classes taught and the background of the students. The students and faculty had a cooperative relationship and the students shared the responsibilities of caring for the school. She worked as the chairman (sic) of the hall and was a very strict. She was serious about her studies because she was deprived of an education as a child. While women like Rose Pesotta held tea parties and other social gatherings, Rozner was more introverted socially because she was focused on her studies. (27:13-33:23)... She recalls an incident at Brookwood when the caretaker of the kitchen reprimanded Rozner for not doing the dishes correctly. Rozner defended herself and the woman threatened to report this to the school officials. However, Rozner did not care because she refused to take a back seat to anyone. There were fifty students at the school and the workload was shared by each student. Each week, the students worked together in establishing a schedule to complete the various responsibilities. The men mainly did the hard labor outside, while the women did the kitchen and housecleaning duties. [Note: Rozner's version of gender roles differs from Rebecca Hoilland's description of the duries assumed by men and women at Brookwood.] (33:23-36:07)... The purpose of Brookwood Labor College was to provide people with the tools to become leaders in the union. However, not every student was capable of union leadership, and not every student wanted to become a leader. In fact, she did not want to work as a union organizer, but was merely seeking an education. The school offered a labor education to all nationalities and races; however, there were only two Black students at the school when Rozner was a student. (36:07-42:32)... When Brookwood Labor College was founded it was widely supported by the AFL; however, the AFL later developed an opposition to the school because AFL leaders believed the college was too radical. Students at Brookwood Labor College were also responsible for raising funds for the school. For instance, she went on a fundraising campaign with Sadie Goodman, who was associated with the YWCA. She recalls traveling to Rochester with Goodman and attending an exclusive dinner party. Rozner felt very out of place here because she describes herself as a "roughneck," while Goodman was a refined woman. She discusses some of the school officials, including Polly Colby, who was a graduate from Bryn Mawr and dedicated to the labor movement. However, Colby was the woman who voted against admitting Rozner to the college because of her educational background. The two women later became friends. (42:32-46:14)... The AFL stopped supporting Brookwood Labor College because of a debate between school officials and communist students. Rozner believes that the communists did not appreciate all they were given while attending the college. Even though they were provided with free food, board, and an education, the communist students criticized the college during a meeting held by the board of directors. end of tape File: lhgwsrozner12.mp3 (0:00-4:20)... She attended Brookwood Labor College from 1924-26. Her mother died while she was attending college, but Rozner was unable to attend the funeral because she was in Washington, DC attending a conference on protective legislation for women. After leaving Brookwood, she intended to return to work in the shops. She describes the years she attended the college as the two happiest years in her life. She valued the education she received and put her social life on hold while attending school. She recalls that Sam Levine accusing her of being a "big shot" because she attended the college. (4:20-8:24)... The purpose of Brookwood Labor College was to prepare trade unionists for constructive leadership roles in the union. Students were provided with literature and instruction from several different people, including anarchists, communists, conservatives, etc., so that they could draw their own conclusions and develop independent thought processes. She believes she was the only student at the school who had so little previous education. It was ironic she was able to work as a Business Agent setting prices and coordinating with Labor Managers who were highly educated. Even though her education was limited, she had the practical experience that many students at Brookwood Labor College lacked. (8:24-12:16)... Rozner believes that Brookwood focused a lot of its efforts on educating women for labor positions. Men and women were equally represented among both the faculty and students. The students had a lot of power in the school and were able to make decisions on school conditions, funds, and daily responsibilities. However, she does not see this as a revolutionary institution; students demand these same rights at their schools (12:16-18:13)... During the summer before she returned to school she worked in the shops to earn money to pay for her expenses. In 1925, she attended the "Women in Industry" conference in Washington, DC, which focused on gaining protective legislation for women. She went sent as a delegate to represent the ACWA along with Dorothy Bellanca, Bessie Hillman, and Rose Reicher. There were also women at the conference who wanted equality and women's rights [ERA], which Rozner believes was similar to the demands in the women's liberation movement. However, Rozner was there to fight for protective legislation for women. As a unionist, her fight focused on improving conditions for workers, both men and women, but women required special attention because they were suppressed and under-represented within the union. (18:13-21:33)... She provides some insight into her personal philosophy, indicating that she was endowed with certain attributes and qualities that someone else may lack, but she is not better than anyone else. [Note: there is an extremely long pause while she attempts to find some information from her life to introduce into the interview.] End of tape
- 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 sixth interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home. Before beginning, Rozner indicated she had a very bad night, and it was obvious she was not in good health. As a result, the interview was concluded early. During the interview, Rozner seemed to have more difficulty breathing; her memory and concentration abilities were also worse than on previous occasions. TOPICS - return to shop; role as chairwoman at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx; ACWA Philadelphia convention; Brookwood Labor College; Note: She had problems with memory due to illness;Brookwood Labor College; 1925 Women in Industry conference; and personal reflections; Note: memory problems due to illness were noted;
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