Other
Bell, Rose (audio interview #1 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - The circumstances of the interview are not known, particularly since Bell was a member of the ILGWU, not the ACWA, which was the focus of the interviews by Feichtinger. Another woman was present during the interview and often chimed in.
- Date
- 2020-04-02
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- Notes
- File: lhgwrbell1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:10)... An unidentified woman participates in the conversation throughout this interview. Bell was twelve years old when WWI began. The Russian town where she lived was near a railroad terminal that carried soldiers and ammunition. Whenever the train stopped at the station, soldiers came to town for supplies and medical care. The girls in her town were drafted at the age of fourteen to assist soldiers who were suffering from war wounds. When the war ended and the Russian Revolution began, soldiers were not provided with any financial assistance by the Russian government and were desperate. They formed bandit units and burglarized the town regularly. The town folks survived by bartering and exchanging goods with each other. (4:10-9:42)... Bell discusses the post-WWI climate and how the Russian Revolution affected her family and the town where she was raised. Her father worked as a tailor and employed five workers. He accepted work from clients who wanted to pay with food. Whenever bandits invaded the town, Bell and her younger sister hid in her neighbor's home. Her mother was forced to cook for these bandits and wash their clothes. (9:42-16:22)... Bell's husband was born and raised in Poland. During the struggle between Russia and Poland for control of Kiev, her husband proclaimed himself a Polish citizen and they fled to Poland. The train ride from Kiev to Warsaw lasted seven hours. When Russian bandits raided the train in search of women, Bell hid in a sack and her husband sat on top of her. When they arrived in Poland, Bell's husband was drafted into the Polish army and sent to the Ukraine to fight the Russians. Bell and her small baby sought refuge with a Polish family until her husband's return. (16:22-26:19)... During the Russian Revolution, the schools and libraries in Kiev were destroyed. In the initial years following the Revolution, some schools were opened and four of Bell's younger sisters attended. Bell discusses the political climate in Kiev following the Revolution, and other woman in the interview relates a friend's experiences growing up in the Ukraine. Bell interjects and notes the educational and language barriers that resulted because of the political turmoil that plagued the Ukraine. End of tape. File: lhgwrbell2.mp3 (0:26-8:10)... Note: The interview does not begin with consistent sound until 0:26. Bell's parents immigrated to the US with five children around 1924. She describes their journey to Poland after being robbed by the man they paid to take them across the border. (8:10-12:03)... When Bells' arrived in Poland, she received a telegram about their precarious situation. She paid for their journey to Warsaw and her older sister wrote a letter to the Senator from Indiana appealing for help. She claims that he agreed to assist them in bringing the rest of the family to the US. (12:03-17:24)... Bell recounts a story about a Jewish man who sought vengeance against a Russian bandit who murdered his family and stole their fortune. (17:24-25:37)... Bell describes Kiev before the war. He family owned a substantial piece of land with a large house. They raised animals, and cultivated vegetables and fruits. During the war, her family hid in the basement as soldiers fired bullets fired bullets into their home. The town was very prosperous prior to the war because it was a railroad center and ammunition storage area. The Gentiles in the town were given educational opportunities at government funded schools and libraries. The literature she read during this period in her life was obtained from her Gentile girlfriends. End of tape. File: lhgwrbell3.mp3 (0:00-5:10)... Bell was largely self-educated because her father could afford to send only two children to state-funded schools in Russia. Her brother, like most Jewish boys, was educated by a rabbi who was paid for his lessons. (The other woman in the interview talks about Felix Adler and the Ethical Society in the US.) (5:10-17:15)... Jews were banned from Russian schools and libraries. They were not permitted to go outside during Christmas or Easter because Gentiles were taught that Jews killed Jesus Christ. Rumors ran wild that Jews used blood to make matzo bread. Bell talks about the trial of some who was accused of murdering a Gentile boy for this purpose. (The other woman in the interview talks about attending grammar school with two Jewish children who were constantly beaten by other students because of their religious and cultural differences.) (17:15-23:22)... Bell talks about her religion and Judaism. She believes that her faith in God helped her persevere during the difficult times in her life. End of tape. File: lhgwrbell4.mp3 (0:00-3:55)... When Bell immigrated to the US, she spoke Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish. Her husband was ill most of the time and worked very infrequently. Although Bell had never worked outside the home previously, in the US she had to work to support her husband and baby. It was difficult for her to communicate with people because she did not speak English. Three days a week, she attended night school to learn English. It took her six years to receive a grade school certificate and graduate from the course in English. She later attended Roosevelt Labor College and took courses in labor history and economics. (3:55-7:39)... Bell supported her family by working in a garment factory. For two years, she sewed snaps because she was afraid to operate a machine. She earned approximately $15-17.00 per week. Her rent was $9.00 a month. In 1925, she decided to learn how to operate a machine. For six months, she went from shop to shop learning the skills required of machine operation until she became proficient. Her earnings were approximately $90.00 a week. [Editor's note: Although Bell claims this was her weekly earning, this is not consistent with the wages at the time.] (7:39-14:57)... Once Bell's wages increased, she began talking to her co-workers about unionism. She participated occasionally in strikes in New York, one of which lasted approximately seven weeks. But losing pay while fighting for better working conditions sent her back to the shop. In 1930, she moved to Chicago and got a job through her brother, who was a foreman at a dress factory, earning $12-$14/week. When she was promoted to a floor position supervising ten women, her wages increased to $18/week, but she often worked more than sixty hours a week. Bell was dismayed with the working conditions in the garment shop and she shut off the power so that women could take a lunch break. In 1933, she went out on strike and joined the ILGWU. (14:57-20:26)... Note: another woman speaks quite frequently in this segment. During the 1933 national strike called by the ILGWU, law enforcement cooperated closely with management, impeding the progress of the strike. Bell recounts an incident when scabs beat picketing strikers with rolling pins. A police officer gave Bell a movie ticket and told her to get lost so that she could avoid the violence. Besides using scabs and enlisting the help of law enforcement, employers would run shop machinery in an attempt to fool picketers into thinking that scabs were maintaining production levels. (20:26-27:00)... Two tactics were used to organize workers: calling a strike and/or organizing workers in the shop. Workers often boycotted products if the shop owner refused to sign a union contract. Unions also organized using violent means or by signing contracts with employers before organizing workers. Bell recounts some of her experiences with "characters" she met working in the garment industry. The other woman interjects to talk about her experiences as a chairlady in a garment shop. She once organized a work stoppage in an attempt to force the employer to set better piecework rates. She was instructed by the manager of the union to return to work so that the union would not violate the Taft-Hartley Act. She refused and the workers walked out of the shop. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Rose Bell, like many women in the needle trades in the 1920s, worked at the grass roots level to unionize her fellow working women. Born to and raised in a relatively privileged Jewish family in Kiev, Russia, she became involved with workers organizing a union there after the Russian Revolution when she was only fourteen. She married four years later and a year later, emigrated to Poland with her husband and baby. By the time they immigrated to the US, in approximately 1924, her husband was too ill to work and she went to work in the women's clothing industry. She participated in strikes in New York, occasionally, and after she moved to Chicago in 1930, became more active. She participated in the 1933 ILGWU strike and joined the union at that time. Not much is known about her life after this period although it is clear that she remained actively engaged in the union. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - The circumstances of the interview are not known, particularly since Bell was a member of the ILGWU, not the ACWA, which was the focus of the interviews by Feichtinger. Another woman was present during the interview and often chimed in. TOPICS - childhood; life in Russia during WWI; Russian Revolution; parents; husband and political instability in the Ukraine;childhood; political instability before and after WWI; parents; living conditions; housing; and family history;education; religion; religious persecution; and ethnic discrimination and anti-Semitism;education; family history; early work experiences in garment industry; wages; working conditions; attitudes towards unionism; strikes and picketing; ILGWU; and organizing tactics;
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