Add to collection
You do not have access to any existing collections. You may create a new collection.
Other
Chavez, Flora (audio interview #2 of 5)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of five long interviews with Flora Chavez, conducted at the CSO (Community Services Organization) Center, next door to her house, in Venice. The Center was a hub of activity, and although the interviews were conducted in the quietest space that could be found, there was constant background noise and interruptions. Despite her busy schedule and all her activities as Director of the Venice CSO, Chavez was a willing participant. However, she was sometimes fuzzy on details and on precise chronology, probably because she is focused more in her activities in the here and now than on the past. 11/28/1980
- Date
- 2021-05-04
- Resource Type
- Creator
- Campus
- Keywords
- Handle
["Made available in DSpace on 2021-05-05T00:06:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 5 0677394311581825-rrrfchavez4.mp3: 27281030 bytes, checksum: e11bd2d1a7c8d389e8184e7da4b63bbc (MD5) 4479076962964317-rrrfchavez5.mp3: 27025239 bytes, checksum: e2e543bcd58461160092be7033e00f60 (MD5) 2952156149771144-rrrfchavez6.mp3: 27137252 bytes, checksum: 99a5c44ba593cec0dba44e9ea17d8cf7 (MD5) 1640891829367648-rrrfchavez7.mp3: 21249043 bytes, checksum: 25eb874a170ca78d3cd3ca100c642dbe (MD5) 5396097858486538-rrrfchavez1.jpg: 12912 bytes, checksum: f256361c8a8cff530958b2dfd8b9f8bb (MD5)", "Submitted by Chloe Pascual (chloe.pascual@csulb.edu) on 2021-05-05T00:06:06Z No. of bitstreams: 5 0677394311581825-rrrfchavez4.mp3: 27281030 bytes, checksum: e11bd2d1a7c8d389e8184e7da4b63bbc (MD5) 4479076962964317-rrrfchavez5.mp3: 27025239 bytes, checksum: e2e543bcd58461160092be7033e00f60 (MD5) 2952156149771144-rrrfchavez6.mp3: 27137252 bytes, checksum: 99a5c44ba593cec0dba44e9ea17d8cf7 (MD5) 1640891829367648-rrrfchavez7.mp3: 21249043 bytes, checksum: 25eb874a170ca78d3cd3ca100c642dbe (MD5) 5396097858486538-rrrfchavez1.jpg: 12912 bytes, checksum: f256361c8a8cff530958b2dfd8b9f8bb (MD5)"]- Language
- Notes
- *** File: rrrfchavez4.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:07-2:30)... Chavez's mother worked at the V.A. hospital in Los Angeles for over fifteen years. She was unaware whether or not her mother possessed a nursing license or just worked as a nurse's aid. The first few years at the hospital, she worked in the psychiatric ward and frequently came home with stories about the patients. Occasionally, she provided in-home care for ill people residing in the Los Angeles area. (2:30-5:01)... Chavez could not recall the exact year she went to work in defense. She had just left a job in a shampoo factory when she applied for work at Lockheed. She remembers feeling uncomfortable about having to take off her clothes and submit to a physical examination during the hiring process at Lockheed. At some point during the war, she went to work at Douglas Aircraft and believes she was there when the war ended. After the war, she got a job at Hughes Aircraft and worked there for several years. (5:01-6:57)... She received on-the-job training at Lockheed. She did take a metal course during which she learned how to make a tin cup; however, she could not recall if this was a work-related training course. Chavez and the majority of the women hired at Lockheed had never done aircraft production work and it was a totally new environment. (6:57-11:05)... Chavez was motivated to go to work at Lockheed by both money and patriotism. She believes that some people left higher-paying jobs to go to work in war production plants because they felt it was their duty to contribute to the war effort. She was not sure what her starting wage was at Lockheed, but recalls once setting a goal for herself to make $100 a week. Better wages and benefits came after the union was organized at the plant. She recalls the activities of a young man at Lockheed who worked as a union organizer. (11:05-15:47)... Most women hired at Lockheed never did heavy work. Chavez, however, was accustomed to working with her hands and doing heavy, manual labor while living on the farm. She was not intimidated by the work or the machinery at Lockheed. Some people were so passionate about the war effort they came to blows over patriotism. She digresses regarding trips she made to Oakland to visit a girlfriend who joined the WAVES. Adequate housing was a problem during the war and people resorted to sleeping in the train station and in hotel lobbies. Like many people, Chavez and her sister shared an apartment in Los Angeles with several friends and co-workers. (15:47-17:58)... Chavez worked the night shift at Lockheed and was never home to witness the fights that erupted between the zoot suit gangs just outside her Los Angeles apartment. However, she recalls coming home in the morning and seeing blood on the streets. (17:58-25:03)... She describes her apartment in downtown Los Angeles and how she and her sister managed to share their living quarters with several friends and co-workers during the war. Their landlady wondered if the girls were doing something immoral because soldiers were always coming and going from the apartment. Eventually, she got to know Chavez and her brothers and understood that they needed a place to stay while on leave. They spent many of their weekends taking the red car to Venice Beach. When her sister had a child, they purchased a home in Venice; however, they spent less time at the beach once they moved there. Chavez recalls beach living as fun and peaceful. On hot, summer nights, people slept on the beach without worry. The beach also provided a place for people to stay given the wartime housing shortages. (25:03-27:10)... Their mother did not live with Chavez and her sister in their downtown Los Angeles apartment. At this time, she and Chavez's older sister were recruited to prepare food for soldiers passing through the bus depot in Sante Fe, New Mexico. (27:10-28:24)... While living in the Los Angeles apartment, Chavez's sister married a sailor and moved to Texas. When their marriage failed, she returned to Los Angeles with her child and filed for divorce. At that time, they purchased a home in Venice and their mother moved in with them. End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez5.mp3 (0:00-2:09)... Chavez's husband lived and worked in New Mexico during the war. Their daughter stayed with him the majority of the time, but occasionally visited Chavez. It was difficult for Chavez to be separated from her daughter. Her daughter, however, seemed to adjust to the separation quite well because she was among family in New Mexico. Her daughter did not like California as well as New Mexico and it took her awhile to adjust when she came for visits. (2:09-5:59)... She discusses the living arrangements in her Los Angeles apartment and how she and her roommates managed with food rations. She also talks about transportation in Los Angeles and gas rations. (5:59-8:14)... She worked six days a week during the war and occasionally on Sundays, which left little time for a social life. Whenever her brothers came into town, they went to dances and big band performances at the Palladium or attended stage performances at the theaters located along Broadway Street. She also enjoyed going to the movies and walking to the zoo in her free time. (8:14-13:36)... In speaking about the camaraderie between her co-workers, She discusses segregation in the plant. For the most part, Blacks and Whites did not eat lunch together. This bothered Chavez and she made an effort to socialize with Black women during lunch and while on the job. She remembers when a leadman threatened to fire one of her girlfriends for conversing with a Black co-worker. Chavez believes that the war ushered in the Civil Rights Movement because Blacks "began to wake up" and notice that even though they were working in war production plants and risking their lives fighting for their country, they were discriminated against at home. She discusses her friendship with Nat King Cole's sister, who also was employed at Lockheed. (13:36-21:14)... She continues to discuss the Civil Rights Movement and her participation in marches with Martin Luther King and Fannie Lou Hamer. She provides photographs of her activities during this period in her life. (21:14-27:51)... Chavez first noticed racial discrimination during the war years. She talks about the influence of Martin Luther King on the Civil Rights Movement. She digresses regarding her attitudes toward migrant farm workers and their efforts to combat discrimination. She thinks that many of her efforts have been done in vain because racial, social, and economic inequality continues to exist in society. End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez6.mp3 (0:00-2:48)... Chavez continues to discuss racial discrimination during the war years. The people she lived and worked with agreed with her views on discrimination and social equality. Her roommates also joined the union when it was organized in their industry. She explains that she wants to have more confidence in her government based on the ideas set forth by the founding fathers, "although sometimes I doubt it." (2:48-6:19)... Note: the audio quality in this segment is only fair. She describes her job responsibilities at Lockheed, which involved using a drill press and a rivet gun. She checked out most of her tools from a tool crib located in her department. When she went to work at Douglas later in the war, she worked as a spot welder. It is unclear if the the work Chavez describes was completed at Lockheed or Douglas. (6:19-10:14)... Note: the audio quality in this segment is fair. Although the type of work she did in aircraft production and at the shampoo factory was completely different, she feels that the plant environments were similar. A noticeable difference between the two industries was the amount of security at both Lockheed and Douglas. Employees were required to provide an identification badge before they entered the plant and in order to move from one department to another. She recounts the time she was called into the office while at Douglas and questioned as to her father's Communist activities, of which she knew nothing about. Chavez was unaware if employees were monitored; however, she recalls that "supervision was very loose." (10:14-15:05)... Note: the audio quality of this segment is poor and it is sometimes difficult to make out what the narrator is saying. Male employees resented women who entered defense plants and felt threatened. However, Chavez does not recall very many women, if any, receiving job upgrades or moving into supervisory positions while she was at Lockheed or Douglas. She recalls a woman at Douglas who knew more about the job than the leadman and the supervisor, but she was never promoted. After the war, Chavez recalls that women who stayed in aircraft production went into menial positions. She cannot recall there being any \women welders after the war. Chavez worked the swing shift at Douglas and went home during her lunch hour to breast feed her second child. (15:05-19:29)... Note: the audio quality of this segment is poor and it is difficult to make out what the narrator is discussing. Chavez discusses the safety features at Lockheed when she first started working in the plant. (19:29-22:52)... Note: the audio quality in this segment is poor and it is difficult to make out what the narrator is saying. She talks about the flirting and teasing that occurred inside the plant. It was not uncommon for a man to intimidate a woman to the point that she burst into tears. (22:52-25:46)... Note: the audio quality in this segment is so poor that it is difficult to understand the narrator, who is discussing grievances over working conditions and job security. (25:46-27:00)... Note: poor audio quality renders this segment incomprehensible. (27:00-28:15)... Note: poor audio quality renders this segment incomprehensible. End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez7.mp3 (0:00-3:27)... Chavez continues to discuss her union activities and her role as shop steward. She could not recall any specific grievances filed while she was a shop steward. At that time, women did not complain about gender discrimination in the work place. It was not until she went to work at Douglas that she realized that women were being passed over for job upgrades. When she inquired about women moving into a lead position, she was told that "women can't work in supervision." Chavez accepted this explanation and even though she thought women were being treated unfairly, she did not challenge the status quo. Like most women, she accepted the idea that women were second class citizens and comfortable in that role. "I guess I got inspired by Martin Luther King to be a part of trying to change some of these things," she says. (3:27-11:38)... When women came out in support of ERA, people thought they were a joke and labeled them lesbians. The women's rights movement made a lot of headway and Chavez believes that "some men are secretly relieved because they don't want to have all that responsibly and are happy that women are willing to take over." She credits Eleanor Roosevelt for getting the women's rights and civil rights movements started in the 1940s. These social movements opened people's eyes to many issues previously ignored, such as the rights of the disabled population. Chavez discusses a speech course she took at Venice Adult School. She was very proud of that fact that her teacher was a former student of the speech professor who also taught Mrs. Roosevelt. (11:38-22:06)... Chavez registered to vote when she was twenty-one and has voted in every presidential election since. Although she was not active in politics during the war, her participation in the Democratic conventions held in Los Angeles began in the late 1950s. She was invited to breakfast by the Kennedy women when Jack Kennedy kicked off his presidential campaign in Los Angeles. She regretted she did not accept the invitation. She was very involved in Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign and she speaks at length about her activities at his headquarters in Los Angeles. The Kennedys and Martin Luther King were killed because they had the people's support and "were sincere about changing the US." End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Flora Siler Chavez was working in various factory and service jobs for one year prior to going to work at Douglas in 1942. The third of seven children, Chavez grew up in a poor family on a small farm in New Mexico, where she lived with her mother and six siblings. At an early age she began to assume a heavy workload, and continued to work hard all her life. The family moved back and forth between Albuquerque and the Los Angeles area and after she married long time neighbor and playmate, Filiberto Chavez in Albuquerque, she moved to Los Angeles. Her husband didn't like it in Los Angeles, and returned to Albuquerque. This was the first of many separations in their married life. At the end of the war, Chavez returned to Albuquerque again for a year, and worked in a factory there. In 1946, she and her husband returned to Los Angeles, and she worked on and off for the next twenty six years in the aircraft industry (at Douglas, Lockheed and Hughes). Her activism in the union during the war was the beginning of her long career in the civil rights movement and her later engagement with Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers. After her retirement from the aircraft industry in 1972, she became the Project Director of CSO (Community Service Organization) in Venice, and continued to work and live and organize in the Chicano community in Venice. Despite her very busy schedule, Chavez was always willing to make time for the interviews, which were all conducted at the CSO Center next door to the house that she lived with her husband. The Center was always a hub of activity, and although the interviews were conducted in the quietest place of the Center, there was always background activity and noise, and frequent interruptions by phone calls or other Center-related business. All this makes it difficult to hear the narrator at times. Chavez spoke freely about her life, although she had some difficulties remembering specific details. As a result, the chronological sequence of events is sometimes difficult to follow. When Chavex died in September, 2003, the Los Angeles Times published a lengthy, laudatory obituary, testifying to the acknowledged value of her work and her importance as a grass roots community activists (September 14, 2003, B18). TOPICS - mother's nursing career; patriotism; hiring process at Lockheed; union activity at Lockheed; expectations of war work; Mexican gangs in Los Angeles; housing; living arrangements; housing shortages; move to Venice;daughter; living arrangements; food and gas rationing; transportation in Los Angeles during the war; social activities during the war; friends; segregation and racial discrimination at Lockheed; and activism in Civpolitical activism; union activity; job responsibilities; plant security; plant safety features; men's attitudes towards women; gender relations; gender discrimination; working conditions; and grievances; Note: theunion and shop steward activities; gender discrimination; ERA and women's rights movement; role models; Eleanor Roosevelt; political activism; Jack Kennedy; Martin Luther King; and participation in Robert Kennedy's
- Rights Note
- This repository item may be used for classroom presentations, unpublished papers, and other educational, research, or scholarly use. Other uses, especially publication in any form, such as in dissertations, theses, articles, or web pages are not permitted without the express written permission of the individual collection's copyright holder(s). Please contact the CSULB Library Administration should you require permission to publish or distribute any content from this collection or if you need additional information or assistance in using these materials: https://www.csulb.edu/university-library/form/questionssuggestions-the-digital-repository-group
Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
---|---|---|---|---|
0677394311581825-rrrfchavez4.mp3 | 2023-10-18 | Public | Download | |
4479076962964317-rrrfchavez5.mp3 | 2023-10-18 | Public | Download | |
2952156149771144-rrrfchavez6.mp3 | 2023-10-18 | Public | Download | |
1640891829367648-rrrfchavez7.mp3 | 2023-10-18 | Public | Download | |
5396097858486538-rrrfchavez1.jpg | 2023-10-18 | Public | Download |