April 11, 1977 Session

Introduction

The Secession Movement
Scope and Content Note: The secession movement was a very real problem for TWUA because the Union had no idea how many local officers, who had backed Baldanzi at the convention, would follow him out of TWUA and into UTW. Much effort was put into saving the Fieldcrest Mills. The Union used delaying tactics with Danville, but did not spend much time or money there. The Cone Mills were lost very quickly, but won back with the aid of Walter Reuther.

Legal Methods of Preventing Secession
Scope and Content Note: The courts generally recognized the TWUA constitution as governing, but this was complicated by precedents set a few years earlier when the courts bent over backwards to help the CIO in its battle against the Electrical Workers (UE). An existing contract was a bar to an NLRB election, but a local could decertify. The courts did recognize TWUA's constitutional claim to local treasuries.

Latent Pro-Union Sentiment in the South
Scope and Content Note: Two examples: 1) Despite the unsuccessful strike in Danville in 1951, the workers still voted for UTW rather than No Union in the secession election. 2) When Sidney Cone attempted to dump TWUA after passage of Taft-Hartley, the workers, only 40 percent of whom were dues payers, led him to believe they would vote the Union out; yet the Union got 70 percent of the vote.

Factors in the Secession of Danville and the Cone Mills
Scope and Content Note: One factor was support for Baldanzi, but also there was a reaction to the defeat of the 1951 southern strike. The workers had convinced themselves that the International failed them during the 1951 strike.

Cone Mills' Return to TWUA
Scope and Content Note: The checkoff had been lost, and the UTW had no money to provide service. TWUA, on the other hand, could provide this service; and the workers, “their fling with sentiment” over, returned to TWUA.

Organizing in the Mid-1950s
Scope and Content Note: Success in TWUA organizing efforts was related to the amount of resentment built up by the workers against the company. The degree of success also depended upon which branch of the textile industry was being organized. The Union rarely, if ever, won an election if the employer was determined to keep it out.

TWUA Inability to Develop Indigenous Leadership
Scope and Content Note: Many bright young people entered the mills in the South after World War II, and the Union was hopeful of turning them into local union leaders; but the companies quickly brought them into management. This problem has affected TWUA for some time. The quality of leadership has declined; bright and talented leaders did not want their sons to go into the mill. Their sons became professional people. In higher-paying industries the sons may receive college educations and still return to their father's non-professional occupations.

Fiester's Estimation of TWUA in 1956
Scope and Content Note: Democratic. If it projected any conservatism in its image, it was because Rieve was not given to extravagant ideas which were unlikely to be fulfilled. “There was a general conviction that what we were doing was right,” and that TWUA was more right more often than other unions.

TWUA Decision to Support Reuther for CIO President
Scope and Content Note: Anecdote illustrates Rieve's statesmanship. Though Rieve had his differences with Reuther and was very fond of Alan Haywood, he was able to see past his personal feelings to what he thought would be the right decision. TWUA's votes were decisive.

Anecdote Concerning Supposed Premature Announcement That Haywood Had Been Elected
Scope and Content Note: Rieve was to chair the CIO convention when the winner of the presidential election was announced. For radio and television taping, Rieve did mock announcements for both candidates during a recess. The public address system had been mistakenly left on, and Rieve's mock announcement of Haywood as the new CIO president was piped into the press room. The microphones were then shut off and Rieve's mock announcement of Reuther as new president was not fed into the press room. Fiester was on the spot.

Introduction

By the Mid-1950s TWUA Had Become an “Administrative” Union
Scope and Content Note: There were two reasons for this. First, while TWUA did remain more oriented toward organizing than other CIO unions, the climate was not good for organizing; and it would have been foolish to squander too much money on it. Second, organizers did not wish to remain organizers; they would rather become administrators because it was an easier job.

TWUA Saw the Merger of the AFL with the CIO as Inevitable
Scope and Content Note: The CIO was disintegrating for a variety of reasons - the expulsion of Communist unions, the fact that Dave McDonald and the Steel Workers flagrantly exhibited their distaste for Reuther, and the disaffection of the intellectual and academic communities.

Fiester Analyzed the Situation of American Labor in the 30th Anniversary Issue of The American Scholar
Scope and Content Note: His remarks, including some about George Meany, were not all complimentary to labor.

Opposition of McDonald and the Steel Workers to Reuther
Scope and Content Note: There was animosity between Reuther and the Steel Workers since their man, Haywood, had been beaten by Reuther.

There Were Many Reasons Why Rieve Retired in 1956
Scope and Content Note: One reason was his weak heart. He also was well aware of the decline of TWUA and how difficult it would be to reverse this.

Not Only Did Rieve See Bishop as His Successor, But Rieve Also Thought Bishop, as President, Would Willingly Listen to His Advice and Suggestions

Pollock Was Not the Immediate Choice to Succeed Bishop as Executive Vice President
Scope and Content Note: At a meeting of the Executive Council in Fall River after Bishop's funeral, Chupka declined the nomination as Executive Vice President. Daoust nominated Pollock and he accepted; but no decision was reached about whether or not a new Executive Vice President should be chosen. The next day the Council met again in Boston and decided to fill the position. Pollock was still the only candidate, but a majority of the Executive Council still did not want him.

Rieve Did Not Assume a Leadership Role at This Executive Council Meeting
Scope and Content Note: His excuse was that he wanted the Council to begin getting used to his not being there; but they could not make a decision about Pollock until Rieve took charge.

Those on the Executive Council Who Did Not Favor Pollock Were the Same Ones Who Would Oppose Him in the Subsequent Fight
Scope and Content Note: They were also the same ones who had the most working experience with him.

More on the Reasons for Rieve's Retirement
Scope and Content Note: He wished to divorce his wife and remarry but felt he could not do this while he was still president of the Union.

Fiester Feels That the Situation of Pollock Being the Only Candidate for Executive Vice President and the Executive Council Still Hesitating to Elect Him Was a Terrible Position for Him to Be In

At Least Until the Time That Fiester Left TWUA, in 1957, There Were No Factions Within the Executive Council Under Pollock

Introduction

Fiester Did Not Perceive Any Differences Between Rieve and Pollock in the Way TWUA Was Run
Scope and Content Note: Pollock followed the routine that Rieve had developed. Although Rieve's “creative input” was now missing, the structure of the Union had been established so that Rieve's exit did not make too much difference. Pollock was approachable and very good at relating to the rank and file.

Fiester Found There Were Differences in His Own Dealings with Pollock
Scope and Content Note: Fiester would have to fight for what he had previously gotten automatically; for example, wage increases for his staff.

Anecdote Concerning Fiester's Early Arguments with Pollock Over Per-Diem Allocation
Scope and Content Note: When Fiester first began working with TWUA, the overnight out-of-town per diem was $7, but it was only $3 for an out-of-town day trip. Fiester would often attend meetings in Boston for a full day; and he tried to get reimbursed for $7, but Pollock's office would not hear of it.

Pollock Was Approachable to Rank and File, But Not to Staff People If He Was Suspicious of Their Loyalty to Him

Rieve's Competence in Dealing with Government
Scope and Content Note: He usually got his way through simple doggedness, if nothing else. Cogent, lucid, determined.

Anecdote Concerning Truman's Dislike for Rieve
Scope and Content Note: Truman privately expressed to Fiester this dislike during the first White House labor press conference. Truman's attitude stemmed from Rieve's early support for Eisenhower for the 1948 Democratic presidential nomination. They made up later.

Anecdote Concerning Rieve's Dislike for Senator Robert Taft
Scope and Content Note: “What good is it, the best mind in the Senate? He's got it made up against us.”

Rieve/Pollock Relationship, 1953-1956
Scope and Content Note: After Pollock was elected Executive Vice President, Rieve began spending time in Florida; he wanted Pollock to get used to running the Union. Various staff members would call Rieve in Florida and complain about Pollock. Both Rieve and Pollock complained that neither called the other. Fiester feels that Rieve overestimated the influence he would have over Pollock, both before and after Pollock became President.

Rieve Attended and Participated in All Council Meetings in His Capacity as Chairman of the Executive Council, But Did Not Try to Dominate Them

Why Department Heads, Including Fiester, Began Leaving TWUA Within Two Years after Pollock Became President
Scope and Content Note: A combination of factors: the poor, almost hopeless, condition of the industry (and therefore also the Union), and the fact that the Union no longer had a President people thought could come up with a miraculous cure, but rather had a President who was difficult to work with and to reason with. Also, there was nowhere to go, in terms of prestige, with TWUA.

Anecdote Concerning Pollock's Negotiations with the Clerical Workers, Which Illustrated His Obstinacy

Though It Is Not Evident in Textile Labor, the Union Was Dispirited

Introduction

After Fiester and Larry Rogin Left TWUA, They Seemed to Follow Each Other Around
Scope and Content Note: They first went to Michigan and then to Washington, D.C.

Dispirited Feelings Were Not Outwardly Exhibited by Staff Members; They Were Felt Internally
Scope and Content Note: Even though the Union was disheartened, it ran on momentum for a number of years, getting involved with things one would not normally expect a dispirited union to get involved with.

When Fiester Visited TWUA a Few Years after Leaving, the First Thing He Noticed Was the Physical Deterioration of the Building
Scope and Content Note: The implication was that if the physical aspect was being allowed to deteriorate, people no longer cared.

More on Textile Labor

The Burlington Drive
Scope and Content Note: It was not undertaken just for the purposes of education and agitation; it was an organizing drive as well, even though the textile industry was in a recession. The purpose was to make inroads into a few key plants so that the company would have to listen to the Union and not just shut down plants as they had done previously. The decision to launch this drive was a collective one, and Pollock released the money for it without much hesitation. It was based on the same premise as the current J.P. Stevens campaign - get an important foothold in order to make the Union believable again. It probably also had elements of “Pickett's Charge” in it.

The Timing of the Burlington Campaign
Scope and Content Note: The Union had not attempted such a concentrated effort since the late 1940s. The reasons for this were the 1951 strike and the internal politics of the early 1950s. In addition, with Danville and a few others, the Union did have an existing Southern foothold prior to secession. Also, it was clear by 1956 that the decline of the industry in the North would not be reversed. The Union had had some success in some Burlington plants, and it was felt that there were a few key Burlington plants which could not be closed down and could be organized.

Burlington, Darlington, and Harriet-Henderson Were Not Thought of as Defeats; Instead They Were Viewed as Setbacks

Harriet-Henderson Strike and the Southern Conspiracy
Scope and Content Note: Everyone realized that the significance of Harriet-Henderson went far beyond that particular situation. The foundation of what TWUA had to offer workers - a grievance and arbitration procedure - was being threatened.

Boyd Payton and the Henderson Bombing Conspiracy
Scope and Content Note: A Charlotte reporter dug into the situation and reported to Fiester that he became convinced that Payton was aware of the plot. Payton, however, had to maintain his innocence for the good of the Union, if for no other reason.

Introduction

Other Unions Also Have Had a Difficult Time Organizing in the South
Scope and Content Note: The difficulties of the International Union of Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (IUE) with General Electric, and the United Auto Workers (UAW) with General Motors in recent years are illustrative. Contributing to this difficulty has been the growth of labor relations experts working on the side of management.

Southern Agitational Wage Drives
Scope and Content Note: They were timed as though the plant was organized and it was time for a wage increase.

Executive Committee of the Executive Council - 1956
Scope and Content Note: Earlier proposals for an Executive Committee of the Council had been made because some Council members resented the fact that Rieve depended on his “kitchen cabinet,” consisting of Department heads and maybe one or two Council members, for advice. In 1956, the idea was proposed as a means of helping Pollock, but also with the underlying purpose of controlling this new President. Pollock would have no part of it; so the Council did not present the idea to the 1956 convention.

Anecdote Concerning Walter Reuther's Surprise at How Easy TWUA Was Able to Get a Dues Increase Approved at Convention

Creation of TWUA Strike Defense Fund
Scope and Content Note: Although Rieve had been opposed to delegated or segregated funds, the Defense Fund idea was universally accepted within the Union. Everyone could see the need for it.

Resolution of the 1956 Convention Condemning White Citizens Councils
Scope and Content Note: Pollock did not want to bring it up in the convention but finally did so the afternoon of the last day. After the resolution was passed, some members walked out of the hall, but Fiester feels they were leaving only because the convention's business was finished. E. T. Kirkland, from a South Carolina local, spoke against the resolution and was seen leaving the hall after the resolution was passed. A reporter told Fiester it looked like a secession movement, so Fiester collared Kirkland, who was only leaving because the convention was almost over, and got him to return, take the floor, and clear up the misunderstanding. Fiester felt about half of those who opposed the resolution did so because they thought it would hurt the Union, and half because they were racists.

Anecdote Concerning Pollock Memorizing His Acceptance Speech

When Fiester First Wrote Speeches for Rieve, He Practiced Them Using Rieve's Accent

The 1952 Internal Dispute and the 1951 Southern Strike Both Contributed to the Decline of TWUA
Scope and Content Note: If Rieve had handled the dispute differently, it would not have had such serious consequences. The Union could have held on to good people - including Baldanzi - and the 1951 southern strike would not have occurred. The Union would have been in much better shape in the South for future actions. Although significant membership losses would not have been avoided, a “better Union would have survived”; and it would still be “a Union by itself instead of going back into the womb.”

Fiester Does Not Believe There Is a Southern Conspiracy of the Depth Some Claim

Introduction

TWUA-UTW Merger
Scope and Content Note: If Baldanzi had not been designated President of UTW by Peter McGavin, administrative assistant to Meany, merger would have been much more likely.

TWUA, UTW, and the No-Raid Agreements

TWUA Was Aware That There Were Certain Things in the UTW Which Were Not Above Board, But They Did Not Know of the Underworld Influence Within That Union
Scope and Content Note: Textile Labor ran an article comparing the cost of the UTW officers' homes in Silver Spring, Maryland, the number of cars they owned, etc., to their Union incomes. Tom Cosgrove did the investigative research. Meany was aware of the existence of two sets of UTW books, and Textile Labor printed that. The questionable character of UTW's two top officers did hold the TWUA back from seeking merger while they remained the General Officers.

Pollock Was Not Opposed to Merger with the UTW and Taking Baldanzi Back Into TWUA
Scope and Content Note: Baldanzi rejected Pollock's offer of proportional UTW representation on the Executive Council and the resurrection of a general office similar to that of Executive Vice President. Fiester feels that Baldanzi no longer cared to fight or to be a strong leader. He was content to preside over the UTW, in the shadow of TWUA, letting TWUA have the strikes and set the contract conditions. Different TWUA leadership would not have made Baldanzi any more willing to merge.

Pollock Was the Basic Cause of the 1964 Fight
Scope and Content Note: He was budget conscious and was petty on small matters. The industrial Divisions and the headquarters Departments of the Union were not allowed to operate as freely as previously. If staff attempted to reason with him after he had vetoed something, he took it as a challenge of his authority as President; and he was sensitive about that authority.

People Who Were Fond of Pollock, Like Harold Daoust, Would Become Just as Furious with Him
Scope and Content Note: Daoust claimed that Pollock “laid down” harder on his friends.

More on Daoust as Canadian Director

Fiester Wrote the Executive Council Report and Pollock's Keynote Speech in 1964

Rieve's Speech at the 1964 Convention
Scope and Content Note: Rieve told Fiester his reason for giving that speech was to tell the Union members the truth about the situation. Fiester suspects he waited until after most people had already voted because he did not want to be repudiated. Fiester went to see Pollock after the session ended and asked that Rieve's funds not be cut off. Pollock, to his credit, agreed.

Introduction

Sol Stetin
Scope and Content Note: Good, honest, and very dedicated. Fiester wrote Stetin's keynote speech for the 1976 “dissolution” convention. Fiester felt the speech was “an honest last statement of the Union,” but Stetin edited out portions that he felt were controversial; for example, the 1951 southern strike, and the disagreements within the Executive Council. This was very disappointing to Fiester. Fiester feels Stetin inherited an organization “on the fringe of disaster” and was concerned with maintaining a facade to the end.

Merger with ACW
Scope and Content Note: It was the best thing TWUA could do, given the circumstances. The ACW, with its new leadership, is no longer moribund. It will be good if the present ACTWU leadership devotes time and money to the textile portion of the Union, and if the more conservative ACW does not smother what is left of the old TWUA spirit.

Why Fiester Left TWUA in 1957
Scope and Content Note: Without Rieve, and with Pollock's resistance, working in TWUA was not the same, and Fiester was more than ready for a change.

Fiester Became Editor of the UAW'S New, Weekly, Regional Newspaper - UAW Solidarity
Scope and Content Note: The concept, for a newspaperman like Fiester, was exciting. Fiester did not seek the job; rather, Reuther's “P.R. man” came to him.

Format, Procedures
Scope and Content Note: Seven different editions each week, one for each UAW Region. There were three teams of two people each; each team was responsible for two editions. Fiester did the national edition himself. Copy would begin to come in on Friday; writing would be done on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mats were made up by the printer to meet airplane schedules so that they could be delivered to local printers in time to be run off and delivered. Fiester stayed at the printers all night on Wednesdays.

UAW Ran Out of Money for the Newspaper after 21 Weeks
Scope and Content Note: Cut down to twice a month, then once a month.

Introduction

In January, 1959, the UAW Decided, Due to the Financial Condition of the Union, to Re-Merge the Publications and Public Relations Departments
Scope and Content Note: Fiester, as head of the Publications Department, was out of a job. Reuther, after telling him this, made a speech about unemployment, called the “hound dog-kennel dog” speech, in which he talked about how one should aggressively seek re-employment. The terms under which Fiester left were very good, including severance and vacation pay, a month's salary, moving expenses, and the use of the Union's air travel card for one month. Fiester was concerned about the fate of his staff, half of whom were to be fired, and Reuther agreed with Fiester's request that those who were fired get the same provisions as he himself received. However, Reuther did not live up to the agreement.

A Weekly, Regional Newspaper Was Not an Overly Ambitious Project
Scope and Content Note: The UAW did not budget its money; and Reuther favored special funds for special projects, so there was not enough general funds available when things got tight in the industry, as happened in 1958.

Successful “Stunt” During Special UAW Convention, 1958
Scope and Content Note: By holding one of the Michigan editions of Solidarity back a couple hours, Fiester's staff was able to put out an afternoon paper which quoted speeches delivered during the morning session. The delegates were very impressed.

Fiester Was Then Hired to Do All the Publicity for the AFL-CIO Joint Minimum Wage Committee
Scope and Content Note: This committee had been formed before the merger of the AFL and the CIO by unions with the most interest in minimum wage and with the necessary funds to contribute to the committee. These unions included TWUA, ACW, the International Ladies Garment Workers (ILGW), and the Hatters. The committee was re-formed after merger, with Arthur Goldberg the co-chairman for the CIO and Andy Biemiller the co-chairman for the AFL.

As the Work of the Joint Minimum Wage Committee Decreased, Fiester Began Assisting the Public Relations Department of the AFL-CIO and Ultimately Went on That Payroll in November 1959
Scope and Content Note: He was to handle public-service movies (“Americans at Work”) produced by the AFL-CIO, which were shown once a week. This did not take up all of his time so he continued assisting with publicity.

Fiester Began Writing Meany's Civil Rights Speeches
Scope and Content Note: These speeches were sent to Meany through his administrative assistant, Lane Kirkland, rather than through his secretary, which meant that Meany was now making forthright statements on civil rights. Previously the “palace guard” had prevented this.

Fiester Twice Wrote the AFL-CIO Presentation to the Platform Committees of the Democratic and Republican Parties, in 1960 and in 1964

AFL-CIO Got Equal Employment Opportunities into the Civil Rights Bill, Although President John Kennedy Thought It Would Be a Mistake

George Meany Speeches
Scope and Content Note: Has prepared speeches when speaking to an outside organization but speaks only from notes when appearing before an affiliate.

Fiester Also Got Very Involved with Biemiller's Congressional Testimony

Fiester Was Loaned Out to Affiliated Unions Who Were Being Raided by the Teamsters
Scope and Content Note: His function was as a disinterested third party, doing the publicity. The best way to fight the Teamsters was to laugh at their pretensions. Fiester was assigned to work on the Hubert Humphrey campaign, but ended up spending his time staving off a big Teamster raid on the Machinists in St. Louis.

Fiester's Wage Status Was the Same as Biemiller's Lobbyists, Who Were at the Top of the AFL-CIO Staff Wage Scale

Introduction

International Labor Press Association (ILPA)
Scope and Content Note: An organization of AFL-CIO union periodicals. Fiester headed the CIO delegation when this organization was formed by merging the AFL and the CIO press associations. Fiester became the organization's first vice president, but resigned when he took the UAW job. The first secretary-treasurer did not stand for re-election after his third two-year term, so Fiester was elected to that position and served for eight years. Although Fiester eventually resigned as secretary-treasurer and was elected to the less-demanding office of president, he still did most of the secretary-treasurer's work.

In November 1968, Fiester Went to Work for the Industrial Union Department (IUD)
Scope and Content Note: He agreed to go to work for the IUD only if it was to become an active organization. He put out a newsletter and helped with the first big conference organized labor held on occupational safety and health. The IUD, however, did not follow up on the conference; all it did was pass a resolution petitioning the AFL-CIO to do so. This was typical of IUD ineffectiveness. Finally, Fiester wrote I. W. Abel claiming the organization would never amount to anything until it had competent executive leadership. Because this involved a slam at one of Abel's buddies, Fiester was fired. The firing was delayed until the end of February, 1969, because Fiester was involved in the strike of the coordinated bargaining committee of the General Electric and Westinghouse unions at the time.

Coordinated Bargaining with GE and Westinghouse Unions
Scope and Content Note: Fiester served as the Meany representative in the public relations section of the coordinated bargaining committee. He set up a national teletype system for the unions to match that of GE.

Fiester Has Been Free Lancing Since Leaving IUD
Scope and Content Note: He was too old and too expensive to get hired full time by most unions. He was already editing the Shoe Worker and other things have kept coming up. Writes articles and speeches for unions when they find themselves short handed. Wrote many speeches for Bill Usery when he was with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and also during his brief stint as Secretary of Labor.

Fiester Has Been Editing The United Shoe Worker since 1962

Fiester Has Been Editing The Insurance Worker since about 1972