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Murphy, Bette (audio interview #3 of 6)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - As in the past, the third interview with Murphy was conducted around her kitchen-dining room table, which was piled high with union documents. She still maintained a high energy level, which resulted both in her rapid-fire style of speaking and her ability to go for a full two hours without tiring. 5/20/1980
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- 2021-04-12
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- *** File: rrrbmurphy9.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-6:59)... In talking about the attitudes of men towards the women workers at Douglas, Murphy notes notes that the anti-union men are the ones who gave her a hard time because she was a UAW organizer. Once the plant was unionized, however, she gained a lot of respect because of her efforts. Women were generally more accepted in the plant during the war than afterwards when men began to think "why aren't they home taking care of the babies or keeping house...?" Men also resented women because they established job seniority. When Murphy was recalled to the plant after the war, she was one of only four women working in an department of eighty people. In the immediate postwar period, men very rarely, if ever, helped women on the job. Women also had a difficult time getting proper UAW representation, which was why Murphy ran for, and was elected, shop steward in 1947. (6:59-15:17)... Murphy was able to maintain her seniority in the postwar period. When she learned about inequities within the Seniority Committee and the various "sweetheart contracts" that were being signed, Murphy decided that she would work her way into higher union offices so that she could "rectify some of these inequities." She was elected chief shop steward around 1948 and then became a member of the Seniority Committee. She was elected chair of that committee and initiated a program where the committee met with the company every week to discuss promotions, layoffs, and demotions. That information was then provided to shop stewards and posted in the departments in order to prevent the Bargaining Committee from signing sweetheart deals. While ion this committee, she noticed that women were treated unfairly in seniority negotiations. (15:17-20:46)... Murphy did not receive any formal training to work as a union organizer for the UAW. Compared to the other unions trying to organize people, she thought the UAW was more progressive. When she joined the union, organizers in the shop told her what she needed to do in order to organize other employees. She remembers that UAW meetings were very noisy and occasionally violent. Although she did not want to be a leader, she realized that running for union offices was the only way she would be able to make any changes in the system. After she became a shop steward she began attending classes that provided her with some education and training on union procedures. (20:46-23:22)... She does not recall there being any wildcat strikes at Douglas during the no-strike period. There were a few trade unionists who worked in her department and occasionally told her stories about their experiences. However, the lack of a solid presence and history of trade unionism was probably one reason why there were no labor disputes at Douglas during the war. This changed in the years following the war when the milling machinists walked out of Douglas and the painters withdrew from the UAW in 1951. Murphy digresses regarding the trade unionists who provided her with literature and encouraged her to learn about unionism. (23:22-26:27)... Murphy found that women were much more enthusiastic about joining the union than men. Men felt protected by Douglas because they were needed to train women and to perform heavy operations. Women, on the other hand, felt that it was important to have someone representing their interests. While organizing, Murphy did not discuss women's issues to appeal to women. She was careful not to talk about these topics because she did not want to alienate men, stating, "I was one of them so that they would accept me." She did, however, talk to women about the benefits and importance of signing seniority contracts. (26:27-30:15)... Murphy briefly discusses her memories of the 1944 union election at Douglas. Some anti-union sentiment surfaced following the war when veterans started working at Douglas. Many of them felt that the government owed them a job and it was not necessary for them to have the protection of a union. Others wanted union benefits without having to pay union dues. During one organizing campaign, shop stewards received a "boodle buck" every time they signed up a new member. The boodle bucks were then traded in for miscellaneous items, including nylons and small household appliances. The interview ends just as Murphy is discussing another female organizer who was also a member of the CP. End of tape. *** File: rrrbmurphy10.mp3 (0:00-2:08)... There were three women, including Murphy, who organized employees on behalf of the UAW. None of the organizers were paid. Other women, besides her, attended union meetings. She did not encounter any resistance when she spoke out at union meetings until she began challenging or questioning union officials. She felt that it was her duty to represent the people who elected her into office, and part of that duty required that she solve problems in this manner. In most cases, she used this method as a last resort and after all other methods of doing business had failed. (2:08-4:01)... After Murphy was laid off from Douglas at the end of the war, she went to work at a market. Although still contemplating a career in nursing, she ultimately decided that working at Douglas was more profitable and she accepted a position at the Santa Monica plant. She abandoned any thoughts about nursing when she was recalled to the Long Beach plant. Even though she was placed in a lower job classification when she returned to Long Beach, she was determined to work her way back up and get the most out of her job and the UAW. (4:01-7:13)... Murphy explains how her UAW seniority contract was structured. After she was laid off from Douglas, she was placed on a recall list for A classified jobs. Opportunities at the Santa Monica plant were offered to people on the Long Beach recall list. However, because the Santa Monica plant was organized by the IAM, Murphy would not accumulate any UAW seniority. She joined the IAM and became eligible to accumulate seniority with the IAM. When she was finally recalled to Long Beach, she accepted the lower classified job because her UAW seniority contract was close to expiration and she did not want to lose her seniority with the union. (7:13-7:58)... When Murphy went to work at Santa Monica and joined the IAM, she had no interest in participating in IAM activities. She did not have a good opinion of the union for the simple fact that they hired her in the first place and then paid her ten cents more than a man who trained her and who also had been at the plant for many years. However, she thought that if she was benefiting from the IAM's bargaining contract with the plant she had better pay her dues. (7:58-11:15)... While waiting to be recalled to Douglas, she was afraid she would lose her seniority with the UAW because work was scarce at the Long Beach plant. She never thought that people with less seniority were being recalled. She was naive at the time and had a lot of faith in the UAW. It was not until she returned to the Long Beach plant in 1947 that she noticed the seniority mishaps taking place within the union. When she was finally recalled to Long Beach, she was assigned to work on a spare parts project for military aircraft. Returning to Building 12 was a little bit strange because only a small portion of the building was being used for production purposes. (11:15-20:04)... After she was laid off from Douglas at the end of the war, she spent a lot time with her daughter. Murphy and her second husband separated in 1946 and divorced in 1947. As she became more active in the union, her social life revolved around union activities. Shortly after returning to the Long Beach plant, she met Ernie West, a chief shop steward who eventually became president of the UAW. He encouraged her to be more active in the union and pressed her to run for shop steward. The two were romantically involved and dated for awhile before they married. Murphy had her marriage annulled four months later when she learned that West was still married to another woman. At the time, Murphy was pregnant and ended up miscarrying her baby. By the time their marriage was annulled, Murphy was a member of the Bargaining Committee and found it difficult to face union management. Everyone in the plant and in the UAW knew what had occurred between her and West and the entire incident was very embarrassing. (20:04-20:52)... Murphy was still classified in a B job when she became shop steward for her department. One of her responsibilities involved maintaining records on her coworkers job classifications and seniority dates. She was eventually promoted to an A classification in order of seniority. At that point she was eligible to receive a pay raise. (20:52-22:31)... When the war ended, Murphy was happy that her brothers were home safe from their military duties. Life was a lot more relaxed because there were no longer any wartime pressures, long hours, and production schedules that she had to meet. She made up for lost time with her daughter by going to the movies or to the beach. (22:31-27:55)... Although V-J Day was a joyous occasion, it was difficult for Murphy to face the task of dismantling and scrapping the excess aircraft because "they took pride in what they were building and they took pride that they put one of those [B17] out every seven hours." The postwar layoffs at the Long Beach plant were well organized. The plant laid people off according to job classification. Murphy knew that she would be one of the last to go because she was classified in an A manufacturing job and could still be paid through Douglas's cost plus contracts. Building 12 was like a "stockyard" and there were placards denoting where people should place their work materials before leaving the plant. The UAW bargaining contract did not stipulate any measures for emergency layoffs. Occasionally, clerical mishaps let to someone being laid off erroneously, but when that happened, the worker was recalled. End of tape. *** File: rrrbmurphy11.mp3 (0:00-5:52)... Murphy was unopposed when she ran for shop steward in 1947. She was friendly with her coworkers and they supported her decision to run for office. She describes the first grievance she handled as shop steward. Her accomplishments as shop steward helped her gained the respect and confidence of her coworkers. (5:52-15:25)... Murphy continues to discuss the types of grievances she handled during her term as shop steward. If grievances were not resolved by the steward, they would then be handled by the Seniority or Bargaining Committee. When she became chief shop steward, she assisted other shop stewards in resolving grievances. While she was at Douglas, shop stewards were permitted to access other departments without a security pass, but it is different now. (15:25-18:02)... Shop stewards were required to attend training courses and monthly steward council meetings; they had to attend at least two meetings in order to maintain their certification. Some people ran for stewardships to take advantage of the "super seniority" that the position offered and did very little to serve the employees in their department. In these cases, the union supported an alternative candidate during shop steward elections. Although she could not recall if there were any other women stewards elected while she was at Douglas, there were women on the Executive Board and the Seniority Committee. (18:02-20:43)... When Murphy was elected chief shop steward, she was working in an A classified job. One particular type of grievance she handled involved people who were doing A classified work but earning a wage commensurate with B classified jobs. (20:43-24:13)... When WWII ended, manufacturing was broken down into subassembly work on small parts that required "surface and structure skills." During the Korean War, the plant began refurbishing airplanes. At that time, jobs were classified by skill, and workers could apply, or bid, for a job in a higher classification. As production contracts increased, Douglas transferred people to other work. Murphy remained in assembly which required riveting and blueprint reading among other skills. (24:13-27:37)... The next promotion available to people with an A job classification was lead. These positions were granted according to a person's seniority at the company. Murphy believes that she was the first woman lead at Douglas. She did not do any production work when she was a leadman because of the heavy workload involved in this supervisory position. (27:37-29:30)... Murphy was concerned about being able to balance her responsibilities as a lead and as a member of the Bargaining Committee. The management at Douglas pushed for her to be a lead, hoping that the job would interfere with her ability to participate on the Bargaining Committee. Douglas "probably would have liked to give it [lead position] to a man, but they wanted me to shut up and go away." End of tape. *** File: rrrbmurphy12.mp3 (0:00-5:04)... Murphy supervised both men and women when she was a lead. Her crew was pro-union and supported her presence on the Bargaining Committee. When she started work at 7:00 a.m. her responsibilities included handing out job assignments and completing paperwork. Grievance hearings began at 10:00 a.m. and continued throughout the day until 6:00 p.m. The company allowed a senior person on her crew to work to fill in as a lead while she was gone. When union activities began taking up all her time, a senior person from another department was promoted to lead. Murphy's crew did not have any problems with this arrangement because it meant that she could continue to fulfill her duties on the Bargaining Committee. (5:04-12:07)... Murphy's election to the Bargaining Committee was a battle. It was difficult for her to understand labor politics and she refused to use the same campaign methods adopted by professional labor politicians. She wanted to be elected based on merit rather than her ability to wine and dine the electorate. She felt that a position on the committee would enable her to introduce programs that would benefit workers. The Bargaining Committee consisted of seven members and Murphy was the first woman elected to the committee. She won the election because she started working on a grass roots level as shop steward. Bargaining Committee responsibilities included negotiating contracts and handling grievances. During her first two terms in office, and prior to the 1951 strike, the committee mainly handled grievances. (12:07-15:08)... Murphy's local was preparing for a strike in anticipation of the 1951 walk out. When she attended a union convention a few months before the strike, she submitted a resolution at the convention asking for the UAW to financially assist Douglas employees during the strike. Tentative arrangements were made in the local to develop strike funds and different committees to manage the strike if and when it happened. (15:08-20:32)... When Douglas began stepping up production in the early 1950s, women who had worked at the plant during WWII were recalled, but they had lost their seniority . The majority of women laid off at the end of the war went back into the home, but were relieved to return to Douglas because they enjoyed the work and also wanted the extra income to help support their families. There was not the same hostility of the men towards the women recalled to Douglas during the Korean war as after WWII. Jobs were plentiful during the Korean War and Douglas had a difficult time hiring enough men to fill those positions, which was why women were recalled. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Bette Murphy was one of those women who eagerly joined the ranks of defense workers in 1942, pleased to be patriotic and to leave her lower paying service job. Born in 1918 to a military family, she spent her childhood in the Philippines, Virginia and San Francisco, before the family settled in Los Angeles in the 1930s. She married an Army dental technician when she was only eighteen, and by the time they separated two years later, her daughter had been born. Murphy went to work first as a waitress, and then as a practical nurse. When the war broke out, she and her daughter were living with a family in Washington, and she served as a "nanny." When she heard about the jobs opening up at Douglas, Long Beach, she returned to southern California to seek work there. She remained at Douglas, with only a brief period of layoff after the war, until her retirement in 1978. From her earliest days at Douglas, Murphy began to recruit her fellow workers to join the union (UAW). Over the next thirty six years she held various posts in the Local and at the time of the interview she was an officer of the Retirees chapter. Because of her extensive involvement in the union, a very long oral history was undertaken with Murphy, whose bright red hair earned the nickname, Red. (In all 14 hours were recorded in the course of six interviews.) Because of her busy schedule, it took a full nine months to complete the first four interviews, Then, an impending strike in 1980 and various health problems led to a one year hiatus in the interviews. Despite the long interruption, the rapport that had been established initially, made the resumption of interviews relatively easy. The interviewers own union activity contributed to this rapport, and to Murphy's candor about the problems she had with her union over the years. TOPICS - gender relations at Douglas; UAW; union roles; seniority issues; union activities; and organizing campaigns;UAW activities; union roles; seniority contract; work at Santa Monica plant; recall to Long Beach plant; social activities; divorce; relationship with third husband; V-J Day; and postwar lay offs;union roles; grievances; job classifications; and postwar production;union roles and responsibilities; relationship with coworkers; 1951 strike; and recall of women workers during Korean conflict;
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