United Food and Commercial Workers

Notes: This oral history collection consists of interviews done in 1994 with participants in the bitter two-year-long labor strike during 1987-1989 at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin, a small town just south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; interviewees included the company’s president and its human relations director, as well as the president of the local union involved (United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-40) and fifteen other striking workers, including several women workers.

Location: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Manuscript Collection (control number UWM Manuscript Collection 123), Division of Archives and Special Collections, Golda Meir Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Notes: An over-sized, illustrated promotional brochure giving the history of the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking company in Cudahy, Wisconsin; mention is made of the bitter strike against the company by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-40 from 1987 to 1989.

Notes: A sociological look at the process of collective action among the women clerical workers at three insurance companies in Madison, Wisconsin; all three companies had unionized workforces. The author analyzes the responses of the women workers to the different management philosophies of the three companies and the strategies employed by the women to make changes.

The first workplace was at the Wisconsin Education Association Insurance Trust, which was formed by the Wisconsin Education Association, the state teachers’ union; there the union involved was the United Staff Union (USU), the state affiliate of the National Staff Organization, an independent union to represent employees of teachers unions. The author analyzes the strategies used by the clericals in this workplace from 1975 to 1985 to gain respect and dignity on the job, including a strike in 1979.

The second workplace was at the Wisconsin Physicians Services Insurance Corporation; the union involved there was began as Retail Clerks Union Local 1401 and then became United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1444 due to a merger in 1979. The group of women at this site were followed from 1974 to 1982 and, in addition to the unionized clerical office workforce, the author looked at the strategies of the company’s non-unionized clerical homework force as well.

The third workplace was at the CUNA Mutual Insurance Society, which was formed by the Credit Union National Association; here the union was Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 39. Although the CUNA worksite was much more ‘benevolent’ than the other two worksites in this study, by the late 1970s a group of the women clerical workers had formed a Women’s Association to take collective action in the workplace beyond that of their union.

“An earlier version of chapter 2 appeared as “WEA’re Worth it!: Work Culture and Conflict at the Wisconsin Education Assocation Trust” in Feminist Studies 11, no.3 (Fall 1985): 497-518. … An earlier version of chapter 4 appeared as “Home-based Clerical Employment” in The New Era of Home-based Work, edited by Kathleen Christensen, c1988 Westview Press. …”–title page verso.

Chapter 4 has also appeared in a somewhat different form as “The Clerical Homework Program at the Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation,” in Homework: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Paid Labor at Home, edited by Eileen Boris and Cynthia R. Daniels (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1989), p. [198]-214 (Chapter 10).

Reviewed: University Press Book News, June 1, 1992.

In this article Gordon uses the experience of creating the new play, The Line, to illustrate how incorporating extensive information from oral histories into the production of plays can preserve labor history as well as allowing those interviewed (such as strike participants) to gain insights into their struggle when given the opportunity to tell their story and find affirmation in the values which led to their battle. For about seventy-five percent of the dialogue in the play, Schneider was able to quote directly from the oral history interviews. Because of the many examples Gordon supplies in this article to show how the oral history interviews provided details about what it was like to work in the plant and how that detail was incorporated into the play, we come to understand how utterly demanding meatpacking work is; indeed, Gordon says that a key finding from his discussions with the former P-40 strikers was that “many workers believed their jobs were simply too arduous and demeaning to do for just over $6 an hour.” (p. 66). In addition to interviewing company executives and touring the plant, Gordon supplemented his research with the extensive archival records of the National Labor Relations Board related to the dispute.

The Line ran in Milwaukee for twenty performances in January and February 1996 and was revived for three more performances in September 1996 (one at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and two at the University of Wisconsin-Madison). The oral history interviews conducted for the play are in the “Patrick Cudahy Strike and Plant Closing of 1987-1989 Oral History Project” collection held by the Urban Archives at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Notes: A fine collection of labor songs performed by Larry Penn, one of Wisconsin’s labor troubadours, and Darryl Holter, former president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. The substantial and well-illustrated accompanying booklet explains the historical connection of each song, many of which are about a specific Wisconsin event or a labor issue which affected workers and labor unions in Wisconsin. Copies are still available from: Cookie Man Music Co., 3955 South First Place, Milwaukee, WI 53207; telephone: 414/483-7306; URL: http:www.execpc.com/~cookeman/.

CONTENTS: Side A. “Fifty Years Ago” (Joe Glazer)–“Babies in the Mill” (Dorsey Dixon)–“Ghosts of Bay View” (Larry Penn)–“Saturday Night” (Darryl Holter)–“Frozen in Time” (Larry Penn)–“So Long Partner” (Larry Penn)–“Willie the Scab” (Larry Penn)–“Which Side Are You On?” (Florence Reece; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter). Side B. “Cowboy Days” (Larry Penn & Traditional)–“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” (Larry Penn)–“Love and the Shorter Work Week” (Darryl Holter)–“Putting the Blame” (Tom Juravich)–“So Long It’s Been Good to Know Ya” (Woody Guthrie; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Union Maid” (Woody Guthrie).

“Fifty Years Ago” is about the founding of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Babies in the Mill” was written in 1950 and is about child labor in textile mills and was included here because of the significant growth of child labor in the modern economy.

“The Ghosts of Bay View” is about the 1886 Bay View Massacre when the Wisconsin National Guard fired into a group of workers marching in a parade in support of the Eight-Hour Day in Bay View, a neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; at least seven were killed (six men and one boy)–still to this day Wisconsin’s bloodiest labor dispute.

“Saturday Night” is about a 1902 strike of workers at papermills up and down the Fox River Valley in Wisconsin to win Saturday nights off.

“Frozen in Time” is about the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy in Calumet, Michigan when 72 people–mostly children–died in a stampede when someone created a panic by yelling “fire” in a second-floor room where a Christmas party for the children of striking copper miners was being held. The Calumet strike was lost, but, when those who were involved moved on, the memory of the tragedy of Italian Hall inspired them to carry on the union struggle in their new communities.

“So Long Partner” was written in honor of Fred Wright, the great labor cartoonist who worked for the United Electrical Workers International Union (UE); Wright’s 1975 book of the same title is a classic collection of labor cartoons. This wonderful song effectively captures the bosses’ ploy to wring all possible concessions from their employees and then dump the employees when it suits the bosses’ greed.

“Willie the Scab” is about the scabs during 1987-89 strike by members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local P-40 at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin.

“Which Side Are You On?” was originally written for a strike of mine workers and became a classic song of the U.S. labor movement; additional lyrics here adapt it to the long and bitter union struggles at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin in the 1930s and 1950s.

“Cowboy Days” is about the life of a truck driver working as an over-the-road mover.

“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” is about the November 1952 shipwreck on Lake Michigan of one of the largest boats operating at that time on the Great Lakes.

“Love and the Shorter Work Week” is a wonderfully fun song effectively capturing how the workers of “new economy” of the late 1980s struggled with work schedules and jobs designed without taking human elements into consideration.

“Putting the Blame” explains how manufacturing workers were unfairly blamed during the Reagan recession of the 1980s for the ugly shutdowns of their factories; the song ends by identifying the real culprit of the plant closures.

“So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Ya (Rustbowl Version)” was adapted from Woody Guthrie’s classic song about people during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s; the re-written verses by Darryl Holter eloquently tell the story of the abandoned manufacturing communities of the “rustbowl” states like Wisconsin.

“Union Maid” is another rousing classic labor song by Woody Guthrie.

7. ––. Stickin’ With the Union: Songs From Wisconsin Labor History. Milwaukee, Wis.: Produced for the Wisconsin Labor History Society by Cookie Man Music Co.; 2005 1 sound disc (39 min., 51 sec.) : digital ; 4-3/4 in. + 1 booklet ([32] p.)(; “C-M~LHS ; Originally released on cassette as Collector Records #1948-C”–back of CD-ROM sleeve). ISBN: 0-9663267-1-7 ; 9780966326710.

Notes: A fine collection of labor songs performed by Larry Penn, one of Wisconsin’s labor troubadours, and Darryl Holter, former president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. The substantial and well-illustrated accompanying booklet explains the historical connection of each song, many of which are about a specific Wisconsin event or a labor issue which affected workers and labor unions in Wisconsin. Copies sold of this CD version of Stickin’ with the Union benefit the Special Legacy Fund of the Wisconsin Labor History Society and may be ordered via the society’s website at www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org or by e-mailing info@wisconsinlaborhistory.org.

CONTENTS: “Fifty Years Ago” (Joe Glazer)–“Babies in the Mill” (Dorsey Dixon)–“Ghosts of Bay View” (Larry Penn)–“Saturday Night” (Darryl Holter)–“Frozen in Time” (Larry Penn)–“So Long Partner” (Larry Penn)–“Willie the Scab” (Larry Penn)–“Which Side Are You On?” (Florence Reece; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Cowboy Days” (Larry Penn & Traditional)–“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” (Larry Penn)–“Love and the Shorter Work Week” (Darryl Holter)–“Putting the Blame” (Tom Juravich)–“So Long It’s Been Good to Know Ya” (Woody Guthrie; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Union Maid” (Woody Guthrie).

“Fifty Years Ago” is about the founding of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Babies in the Mill” was written in 1950 and is about child labor in textile mills and was included here because of the significant growth of child labor in the modern economy.

“The Ghosts of Bay View” is about the 1886 Bay View Massacre when the Wisconsin National Guard fired into a group of workers marching in a parade in support of the Eight-Hour Day in Bay View, a neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; at least seven were killed (six men and one boy)–still to this day Wisconsin’s bloodiest labor dispute.

“Saturday Night” is about a 1902 strike of workers at papermills up and down the Fox River Valley in Wisconsin to win Saturday nights off.

“Frozen in Time” is about the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy in Calumet, Michigan when 72 people–mostly children–died in a stampede when someone created a panic by yelling “fire” in a second-floor room where a Christmas party for the children of striking copper miners was being held. The Calumet strike was lost, but, when those who were involved moved on, the memory of the tragedy of Italian Hall inspired them to carry on the union struggle in their new communities.

“So Long Partner” was written in honor of Fred Wright, the great labor cartoonist who worked for the United Electrical Workers International Union (UE); Wright’s 1975 book of the same title is a classic collection of labor cartoons. This wonderful song effectively captures the bosses’ ploy to wring all possible concessions from their employees and then dump the employees when it suits the bosses’ greed.

“Willie the Scab” is about the scabs during 1987-89 strike by members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local P-40 at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin.

“Which Side Are You On?” was originally written for a strike of mine workers and became a classic song of the U.S. labor movement; additional lyrics here adapt it to the long and bitter union struggles at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin in the 1930s and 1950s.

“Cowboy Days” is about the life of a truck driver working as an over-the-road mover.

“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” is about the November 1952 shipwreck on Lake Michigan of one of the largest boats operating at that time on the Great Lakes.

“Love and the Shorter Work Week” is a wonderfully fun song effectively capturing how the workers of “new economy” of the late 1980s struggled with work schedules and jobs designed without taking human elements into consideration.

“Putting the Blame” explains how manufacturing workers were unfairly blamed during the Reagan recession of the 1980s for the ugly shutdowns of their factories; the song ends by identifying the real culprit of the plant closures.

“So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Ya (Rustbowl Version)” was adapted from Woody Guthrie’s classic song about people during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s; the re-written verses by Darryl Holter eloquently tell the story of the abandoned manufacturing communities of the “rustbowl” states like Wisconsin.

“Union Maid” is another rousing classic labor song by Woody Guthrie.