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Houston, Josephine (audio interview #3 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the final interview with Josephine Houston conducted in the living room of her Los Angeles home. This interview focuses on her work during the war years and later at Lockheed. As before, she enjoyed the interview process and found it easy to reflect on her past. 7/24/1980
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- 2021-06-02
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- *** File: rrrjhouston9.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-6:41)... Employees at North American were laid off according to seniority. She expected that people would be laid off when the war ended. After leaving North American, her life revolved around her home and children. Her mother left Los Angeles in 1946 and Houston resumed full-time responsibility for the care of her children. Houston liked being at home with her children but also missed going to work. Between 1945-51, she earned money by doing domestic service work. In 1951, she went to work at Lockheed. (6:41-8:53)... Houston's wage when she was laid off at North American was $1.05 an hour. As a domestic worker, she helped her sister-in-law serve food to guests at parties. Although the wages were far less than what she made while at North American, her earnings contributed to the family income. She continued to engage in many of the same activities with her family and took her children to Louisiana to visit relatives. (8:53-12:49)... Although North American offered Houston a position in 1946, she declined the offer because she did not want to work the swing shift. Throughout the period of 1945-51, she thought about returning to the aircraft industry because she enjoyed the work and it was good pay. She decided to return to work because it was becoming increasingly more expensive to raise her growing children. Her husband was resistant to her going back to work, but she convinced him it was the best thing for the family. She learned about job opportunities at Lockheed for experienced structural assemblers through advertisements in the newspaper and on the radio. A friend was hired at Lockheed and convinced Houston to apply for a position there. In 1951, she went to the Burbank plant and filled out an application. (12:49-16:57)... When Houston applied for a position at Lockheed, she advised the management of her previous experience as a structural assembler at North American. As part of the application process, she was required to undergo a thorough physical examination. She reported to work within a few days after being hired. Her work clothing consisted of pants, a safety cap, and Oxford shoes. She started in "bench work," assembling small parts. The work force at Lockheed was equally divided between men and women. Houston's starting wage was a little over $2 an hour and she received incremental raises. When she left Lockheed in 1972, she was making $4.30 per hour. (16:57-18:49)... Houston was employed at Lockheed between 1951-72. During that time, she did bench work and worked in area dispatching. She describes her responsibilities as an area dispatcher, which was a position she held during the period of 1969-72. (18:49-20:03)... The number of Blacks employed at Lockheed was relatively high during the period Houston worked there. Approximately thirty-five to fifty Black employees worked in her department. (20:03-21:18)... Houston worked the day shift at Lockheed. She does not recall there being many differences between Lockheed and North American. Although she did not work on the assembly line, her responsibilities were relatively similar in terms of building parts. (21:18-22:33)... She discusses her sons and their careers in the armed forces. (22:33-25:22)... The airplanes built at Lockheed during the period Houston was employed there were mainly commercial aircraft. She did not have many opportunities to converse with co-workers during her workday. Workers had a thirty-minute lunch break, and a ten-minute break in the morning and in the afternoon. On Fridays, employees ate lunch in the cafeteria because the plant provided live entertainment. Houston does not believe that employees at North American received any breaks during the war period, except for a thirty-minute lunch break. (25:22-26:53)... The women employed at Lockheed did the same type of work that was completed during WWII. Houston displays some photographs that illustrate people at work in the plant, and these photographs are discussed. End of tape. *** File: rrrjhouston10.mp3 (0:00-5:02)... Houston joined the IAM, Local 727 while at Lockheed. Typically, employees who were members of the union encouraged their co-workers to join. She decided to join the union because she learned that it protected workers and processed grievances on behalf of employees. She filed a grievance when she was denied a position at the plant even though she had more seniority than the man who was hired for the position. The union also was beneficial because it negotiated contracts for better pay and position upgrades. (5:02-6:23)... While at Lockheed, Houston decided to leave bench work and go into area dispatching. This allowed her to interact with people on a more frequent basis. Her pay also increased and she enjoyed the position immensely. (6:23-10:07)... Houston's husband died in 1957 and she assumed sole responsibility for her family. However, only three children lived with her at the time; the youngest was eight years old. He attended school during the day and a neighbor watched him until she returned home from work. She was able to support herself and her young son with the income she earned at Lockheed. However, her older children helped her when necessary. She also received social security payments for her son until he reached the age of eighteen. (10:07-17:34)... When her husband died, she decided never to marry again. Her supervisor at Lockheed told her it was time for her to find a new husband. She began dating Hugh A. Houston in 1959 and they married on Easter Sunday, 1960. Her children liked her new husband and treated him with the love and respect they showed their father. She discusses Houston's background and employment history. He accepted the fact that she worked and did not complain about it. (17:34-21:28)... Houston discusses the birth of her ninth child, a son, in 1949. Even though there was a ten-year time span between her eighth and ninth pregnancies, she did not have any difficulties during her pregnancy or the delivery. When she returned to work in 1951, her son was two years old. Her husband and her daughter helped care for her son while she was at work. (21:28-22:29)... She discusses her relationship with her daughter. Houston did not encourage her daughter to go to work. Her daughter worked in a shoe factory until she married and then became full-time housewife and mother. End of tape. *** File: rrrjhouston11.mp3 (0:00-2:59)... Houston does not recall ever feeling overwhelmed by the size of her family. She accepted the situation and made the most of it. She was young and had a lot of energy to keep up with her children. She never had any scheduling conflicts with her workload and family responsibilities. Her husband was home with the children for part of the day and he helped her with childcare, housework, cooking responsibilities. (2:59-7:20)... Houston discusses retirement. She is much more active in community and social activities now that she is retired. When she retired, she decided that she did not want to stay cooped up in her house and looked for ways to occupy her time. She enjoys visiting patients in convalescent hospitals and she is a member of a senior citizens group and a woman's club. She also attends sewing classes two days a week. She and her husband often go shopping and picnic at the beach. They also have traveled to destinations both in and outside the US. (7:20-10:23)... Working in the defense industry did dramatically change her life. Raising a large family was a sacrifice and working helped ease her financial burdens. She would not change anything about her life if she had the opportunity to do so. She enjoyed her work and loved her family. The only advice she offers to the next generation is to treat people with respect and help people who are in need. (10:23-13:37)... Houston plans to continue being active in social clubs and traveling with her husband. She discusses her preference for traveling on a ship and her experiences in the Caribbean. She feels good mentally and physically and would not ask for anything else out of life. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Josephine Houston was a thirty-two year old mother of eight when she began working at North American Aviation. The first of four children, born in Broussard, Louisiana, Houston moved to California in 1928 two years after she married. Her husband had family in Los Angeles and he hoped to find better employment opportunities there. Houston remained a full-time homemaker after her marriage, for the next sixteen years, until she took the war job. She worked intermittently after the war ended, primarily as an occasional caterer's server. Although she went back to work at Lockheed in 1952, and continued until her retirement in 1972, she continued to see her life at home as her primary focus. Three interviews were conducted with her in her the living room of her Los Angeles home. She enjoyed the interview process and reflected on her past with relative ease. TOPICS - postwar layoffs; domesticity; family activities; domestic service; decision to return to defense work; application process at Lockheed; job responsibilities; wages; labor force demographics; work breaks; and companunion activities and grievance; gender discrimination; job discrimination; family responsibilities; husband's death; marriage to Hugh Houston; pregnancy; childbirth; and children;household roles; home; managing family and work responsibilities; retirement; social activities; travels; effect of defense work on her life;
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