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August, Rebecca Beck (audio interview #3 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - In this third and final interview with Rebecca August , conducted in her room at the Jewish Home for the Aged, the narrator seemed be become somewhat confused about time periods as the interview progressed. This is particularly evident when she discussed the two different times in which she was involved with the Home Colony in Washington. Throughout the interview, August recounts her activities in rather broad and somewhat grandiose terms, with details lacking. TOPICS - marriage; childbirth; child care; work; organizing efforts in Seattle; women's branch of the Workmen's Circle; and her attitudes towards feminism;activities in LA ACWA; the development of the Retiree's Club of the ACWA; activities in the 1920s; disillusionment with radicalism in the 1920s; relationship with her second husband; and her thoughts on feminism and the status of women today; 3/19/1973
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- 2020-04-02
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- File: lhgwraugust5.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:09)... Tape introduction. (2:09-9:39)... In 1911, she left Chicago for Seattle where she lived in a common-law marriage with her first husband. The two moved to Alaska a short time later and opened a restaurant there. She returned to Seattle in 1912 because of the climate. Her husband also returned to Seattle, but when he was unable to find work, he went back to Alaska and opened a restaurant in Fairbanks. She never saw him again and was faced with raising a son on her own. She went to work in small tailor shops in Seattle and sent her son to the Home Colony in Washington, where he lived for four years. Prior to giving birth to her son, she and her husband used a condom as a contraceptive method. She relates that both of her children were very carefully planned, indicating that she wanted her first son to be born in November and her second on Labor Day. Both births came within a few days of the planned dates. (9:39-12:45)... In Seattle, she worked in small tailor shops, completing various sewing tasks. She earned approximately $14-15 a week. At the time, the needle trades industry was very small and the only union was the United Garment Workers, which was a minor organization. The ACWA was formed in 1915 and took over the industry at that time. (12:45-17:35)... She was a delegate from the United Garment Workers to the Trade Union Council in Seattle. She appealed to the Council to assist her in organizing workers to extend the 48-hour week to men. The Council believed in waiting for legislative change, which prompted her to seek assistance from the IWW. They agreed to assist her, and the tailor shops went on strike for the 48-hour week. She recalls that there were other women in Seattle agitating for equal rights, shorter hours, and better wages. The Trade Union Council included women from other unions. After she became active with the IWW, she resigned her position with it, though she did volunteer to help organize the trolley car workers. (17:35-20:47)... Regardless of the industry, she recalls organizing women. For instance, she made attempts to get more women involved with the Workmen's Circle by organizing a Women's Branch. She was interested in getting women involved in the events occurring within the world and "out of the kitchen." There were fewer working women in Seattle and most of the workers were immigrants that were not as radical as those in Chicago. These women were much harder to organize because there were fewer industries for women to work in if they were fired from their current shop positions. (20:47-24:55)... While picketing for the 48-hour work week in Seattle, she was arrested after a scab she confronted hit her in the head with a purse. She received medical treatment for her injuries and was taken to the county jail; however, her case was dismissed. Prior to resigning her position with the Trade Union Council, she was active in organizing street car workers. She then switched her affiliation to the IWWs because the TUC believed that waiting for legislative change was the best course of action. She believed that the workers were capable of demanding better working conditions. While working with the IWW, she often visited the lumber camps in Seattle in an attempt to organize the men there. The men's response to her organizing efforts was positive. (24:55-30:55)... Although she was not actively involved with the Home Colony in Washington, she lived at the colony for approximately two years in Jay Fox' s home and helped proofread the colony's paper, The Agitator. Her second husband was a junk peddler and writer for the Jewish paper, The Forward. She met him while she was still married to her first husband. After she left her second husband in the 1930s, she returned to the Home Colony and rented a small cottage on the beach. She earned money by operating a small sewing shop out of her home. The residents of the colony supplied her with vegetables and fruits from their gardens and her sons fished for food. (30:55-34:09)... While living in Seattle, she was asked to mail and distribute birth control literature, but she refused. She went to lectures held by Margaret Sanger, where Sanger disseminated birth control information and offered advice to women in this area. August describes herself as a feminist and believes that women should have the same rights as men. Her second husband was condescending towards her, especially when she tried to educate herself by reading books or talking about social issues. (34:09-38:34)... She married her second husband in 1916 when she was living in Seattle. She returned to Chicago for a short time in 1916 after the ACWA was formed and recalls organizing workers for the union. In Los Angeles, she became extremely active with the ACWA and was on several committees within the organization. She backtracks to a discussion of her organizing efforts in Seattle. She recalls trying to convince one woman that women should have equal rights as human beings. Years later, August returned to Seattle when this woman was given an honorary luncheon, at which time the woman thanked August for awakening her social consciousness. (38:34-44:20)... In 1919, she returned to Seattle and was involved with the general strike there. She helped organize the food cooperatives in the city and distributed the food to the workers. After the strike, her husband went to Russia and when he returned they left Seattle. At this time, she was more of a unionist than an anarchist or a socialist. end of tape File: lhgwraugust6.mp3 (0:00-3:41)... When her husband returned from Russia, they left Seattle and moved to Los Angeles and then San Francisco. During the period between 1919-30, she was not very active in the unions or organizing workers, but was home raising her children. After she left her husband in the 1930s, she became active again. She returned to Washington and lived in the Home Colony for approximately two years. She then moved to Los Angeles in 1934 and became active with the ACWA. She was a delegate to the Joint Board and worked in a few large shops until she retired. (3:41-6:16)... Between the years of 1934-48, while living in Los Angeles, she worked for union shops. She worked in one shop for nine years until her retirement in 1948. She worked for one ladies tailor shop, but was fired when she tried to organize the workers there She recalls participating in one strike, during which she was almost hit by a large brick. (6:16-10:44)... She was a delegate to the ACWA Joint Board in Los Angeles, and recalls being the only woman on the Joint Board at that time. she was also a member of several different committees within the ACWA. When she organized the Retiree's Club, she encountered opposition by the male members because they did not want a woman acting as the chairman. In the 1930s, she attended a labor convention and there were several women there. She believes that the women were taken seriously. [She digresses and discusses a speech she gave following WWI when she was pregnant, after which a woman remarked that it was disgraceful that August spoke on stage while she was pregnant.] (10:44-14:35)... After she retired in 1948 at the age of sixty-five, it was difficult for her to completely disassociate herself from the union. She describes the union as her second home. She was active in the ACWA and occupied positions on the Joint Board, the Executive Board, and several other committees. After retirement, she did not want to be idle and decided to form the Retiree's Club in 1949. The members of the club helped with strike efforts and with the campaign efforts of liberal candidates. The members met twice a month. (14:35-21:14)... In 1919, her son was born and she was not very active during the 1920s. In Seattle, she attempted to organize a Woman's Branch of the Workmen's Circle. Her husband's business was doing well and he was earning enough money to support the family. In 1921, her husband went to USSR following the Russian Revolution. His intention was to send for her and the children if he decided to stay. He returned to the US eight months later, disgusted with the political and social atmosphere in the USSR. She also became disillusioned with "left" movements because they accomplished so little. She believed that Russia would become a humanitarian society, but became autocratic instead. (21:14-28:22)... While living in Oakland, California, her husband was earning a good living and they had a nice home. During the Depression, they were unable to pay their bills. When she discovered that her husband was buying whiskey instead of food, she left him. He did not respect her or any other woman and their marriage was not good. She expected a companion and someone who shared her same interests, not someone she could sleep with and who could support her because she could support herself. Her husband tried to reconcile with her, but she refused. He later committed suicide. It was important to her that she could support herself and do what she wanted. The recognition she received made her life more interesting. (28:22-39:26)... She discusses the changes in women's lives over time, indicating that women are more educated than in the past and have more rights in society today. Men did not think that women knew anything and a woman's opinion was inconsequential. Men pushed women aside and saw them as nothing more than bed companions. When she discussed these issues with women, many of them subscribed to these same ideals, while some recognized the problems but did not know how to change their position. Other women were simply afraid of their husbands, while some women did not care about their status in society. When she started the Women's Branch of the Workmen's Circle in Los Angeles, one of her goals was to read literature and discuss it during meetings because she believed that women should be conversant on issues related to the human race. (39:26-42:10)... When women obtained the vote in 1920, she did not vote. She was in favor of the vote and indicates that whenever a liberal movement took place, she was involved. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Rebecca August was a lifelong labor activist, beginning with her years in Chicago in 1906-1910. She worked closely with Jane Addams and helped to organize the Hebrew Trade Council. She was involved with the Workmen's Circle, and was instrumental in the formation of a Women's Branch (Ladies Branch #3). When she moved to Seattle in 1910, she became active in the IWW and continued to help organize workers in various industries. She eventually became active in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) when she moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s. Later, on her retirement, she was instrumental in founding the Retired Members Club. At the time of the interviews, August was living in the Jewish Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights and was still busy organizing, fighting for an increase in the monthly allowance of the residents there. Although she walked with a cane and was somewhat bent over, she seemed quite healthy and her spirits were very good. It was apparent that what kept her going was her own sense of the role she played in various events throughout her life and frequently referred to the honors and recognition she received. Because her room was on the second floor, almost parallel with the freeway, the sound of traffic on the freeway some four blocks away is ever present. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - In this third and final interview with Rebecca August , conducted in her room at the Jewish Home for the Aged, the narrator seemed be become somewhat confused about time periods as the interview progressed. This is particularly evident when she discussed the two different times in which she was involved with the Home Colony in Washington. Throughout the interview, August recounts her activities in rather broad and somewhat grandiose terms, with details lacking. TOPICS - marriage; childbirth; child care; work; organizing efforts in Seattle; women's branch of the Workmen's Circle; and her attitudes towards feminism;activities in LA ACWA; the development of the Retiree's Club of the ACWA; activities in the 1920s; disillusionment with radicalism in the 1920s; relationship with her second husband; and her thoughts on feminism and the status of women today;
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