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Rozner, Sarah (audio interview #20 of 20)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the ninth interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home. She seemed to be having some difficulty breathing and was coughing persistently. She was somewhat agitated over the article on Bessie Abramovitz Hillman that appeared in MsMagazine and was reprinted in the Advance. She discussed this article during the interview. TOPICS - activities and experiences on the Curriculum Committee for Bryn Mawr College; her association with Paul Douglas; ACWA's transition from socialism to New Dealism; the Depression; and personal reflections;conflicts with the ACWA; move to California; Curriculum Committee at Bryn Mawr College; and a discussion of several photographs introduced during the interview; 7/2/1973
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- SUBJECT BIO - Sarah Rozner joined the ranks of the labor movement the minute she set foot on US soil and began working in men's clothing in Chicago just prior to the 1910 strike. She organized practically every shop in which she worked - unless she was fired first - and was particularly interested in mobilizing women and helping them to assert their rights. Her woman/feminist consciousness led her to work on the establishment of a Woman's Local of the ACWA in Chicago (Local 275). She worked with other women in the ACWA to establish a Woman's Bureau, but did not succeed. She became one of the first women Business Agents in tailoring in Chicago in 1921, and held various positions in the shops and in the union. When she moved to Los Angeles in 1938, she continued to organize at the shop level, establishing education programs for workers at Louart. She continued to advocate for women, and when she retired in 1959, she established a scholarship for women. Even after her retirement, Rozner remained involved with the union, became a member of CLUW (Coalition of Labor Women) after its formation, and remained outspoken on women's issues, particularly in the labor movement. The interviews with Rozner totaled almost hours, divided fairly evenly between her activities in Chicago and in Los Angeles. She was interviewed as part of the Feminist History Research Project labor series, referred by the ACWA. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the ninth interview with Sarah Rozner conducted in her home. She seemed to be having some difficulty breathing and was coughing persistently. She was somewhat agitated over the article on Bessie Abramovitz Hillman that appeared in MsMagazine and was reprinted in the Advance. She discussed this article during the interview. TOPICS - activities and experiences on the Curriculum Committee for Bryn Mawr College; her association with Paul Douglas; ACWA's transition from socialism to New Dealism; the Depression; and personal reflections;conflicts with the ACWA; move to California; Curriculum Committee at Bryn Mawr College; and a discussion of several photographs introduced during the interview;
- File: lhgwsrozner17.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:02)... Tape introduction (2:02-9:15)... Although she has very little recollection of the events that transpired during her visit to the Continental Congress, she does recall having difficulty finding hotel accommodations because African Americans traveled with the group to Washington, DC. She shifts to a discussion of Bessie Hillman. [Note: although she does not identify the person as Hillman, these comments came off a discussion prior to the interview regarding Rozner's disappointment with an article written on Hillman.] Rozner also comments that even though she criticized Dorothy Bellanca, it took a lot of strength to be active in the ACWA in any capacity. Rozner contends that her activism came both naturally and effortlessly, even though these activities resulted in attack and opposition. (9:15-18:48)... When Rozner returned from Brookwood Labor College, she was invited to speak on worker's education. She became involved with the YWCA, and was elected as an officer to the Industrial Committee in 1927-28. She recalls attending a YWCA meeting and listening to other speakers, whom she described as very boring lecturers. The YWCA sent the members of the Industrial Committee to Bryn Mawr College, where she assisted with developing the curriculum for students. The curriculum included economics, history, and English. The other participants were professors and she was the only working class participant on the committee. (18:48-22:14)... Many of the teachers at Brookwood Labor College also worked as professors at Bryn Mawr College. Bryn Mawr educated women typically from industry, and most of these women went on to continued at Brookwood Labor College. Rozner's purpose of attending Brookwood was to make herself more useful to the union and the workers. As in turned, out, however, union officials criticized her for attending the school (22:14-28:56)... She met Paul Douglas (who later became a Senator) when he taught some classes held in her Local. She went to a Farm Labor Convention with Douglas in 1934, at which time he asked her what she thought about the labor movement. She was intimidated by him because he was very educated and wrote books on economic history and the labor movement; however, he was genuinely interested in the worker's opinion. Douglas did not encourage her to campaign for Alderman. She did not need any encouragement from him, but ran for this office based on her socialist associations. The union was supportive of her efforts, but she knew that her chances of being elected were very slim. Many people who were socialists later became involved with the Roosevelt Administration and their political beliefs shifted into New Dealism. Many of the union leaders and the rank and file also followed New Dealism, but she remained a true socialist. (28:56-37:01)... During the Depression, she managed to survive by finding whatever work was available. When she was working, she saved money so that she could take care of herself if economic problems occurred. She did not want charity, nor did she want to depend on her friends and neighbors for assistance. Her father was living with her during the Depression and she supported the two of them. She recalls feeling a strong loyalty to her mother and father throughout her life. Her other siblings did not feel the same way and did not care for her parents like she did. (37:01-42:22)... A photograph is introduced and discussed in this segment. Rozner also discusses her struggle with trying to quit smoking. She recently stopped, and although it was very difficult, she is a determined person. (42:22-44:36)... In 1934, she began experiencing more problems with the union because of her efforts to keep women in high-paying factory positions. She reported her confrontations with the manufacturer to Sam Levine, indicating that she "refused to starve amidst the plenty," referring to the fact that people in the union were working overtime while she was being denied from making a living. end of tape File: lhgwsrozner18.mp3 (0:00-6:41)... Tape begins abruptly with discussion of her problems with the union in the 1930s. She recalls speaking to Sam Levine about her problems in the shop. She became very angry and slammed his office door, shattering the glass. She feared that the union would bring charges against her, at which time she vowed to expose these problems. However, charges were not pressed. The union and the manufacturer feared her because she had a lot of power and control over the rank and file in the shops. She had no intention of using this power for her own advantage, but simply wanted to improve the wages and working conditions for the workers. Every time she was transferred to a new factory within Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, she encountered problems with the shop chairman. (6:41-13:16)... She discusses her transfers and suspensions at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, indicating that the shop chairmen in each factory did not want her working for them because she was difficult. She eventually went to Factory B, which was run by Benny Brenzel. She had several problems in this shop and was suspended and transferred to Factory L under Louis Ellet. When she moved to Los Angeles, she requested that Ellet be sent to California to act as Manager of the ACWA. At the time, no one would go near the union office because of the Red Squad. (13:16-25:59)... When Levine suffered a heart attack, she felt very guilty because it occurred the same week she confronted him in his office and broke the glass of his office door. No one was allowed to see him in the hospital, but she managed to visit him. She does not believe that he resented her for supporting Frank Rosenblum when Levine was opposing him for a union office. She describes Levine as a very forgiving man who was a father figure. She wrote a letter to Sidney Hillman about the problems she was experiencing in the shop and the fact that there was a clique in Factory L that was hoarding all of the work. However, she never did meet with Hillman about these problems. Even though she experienced problems with the union, she defended the union when it was criticized by others. Her conditions in the shop eventually improved and she made arrangements to return to Los Angeles. After her first visit to Los Angeles in 1930, she wanted to stay but returned to Chicago because of the Women's Local. She discusses her father's health and how she cared for him when his health deteriorated. Her father was very interested in her life and they often discussed political matters, even though they disagreed on many things. When she left for California the second time, he was in the care of a medical student. She intended to send for her father in Los Angeles when she settled, but he died a short time after she left. (25:59-28:01)... When she started having problems in the shop, she enrolled in the Lewis Institute, where she took a few courses. She thought this would help her figure things out in her life and deal with the problems she was facing in the union. (28:01-33:51)... She discusses her relationship with Lillian Hershstein (sp?), who was the head of the curriculum development program at Bryn Mawr College and sympathetic to the labor movement. Hershstein often gave lectures at the Women's Local. Rozner recalls taking a public speaking class at Hull House and giving a speech about socialism, at which time Hershstein reprimanded Rozner and told her that her efforts at convincing people in the class were fruitless because they were already all socialists. Rozner and Hershstein often disagreed on things while working together on the Curriculum Committee at Bryn Mawr College. (33:51-37:36)... When she wrote to Hillman about the problems she was having in the shop, she believes he may have put pressure on people to stop mistreating her. She believes that in general, the union often adopted her requests and recommendations but did not inform her they were doing this. For instance, she suggested that a new system of collecting dues be employed, but when this occurred, they did not give her credit for the idea. (37:36-44:43)... The entire segment consists of the narrator showing the interviewer photographs. There is little of substance in this segment, except for her reference to Nettie Richardson, who she describes as a social worker and an organizer who assisted in organizing the Women's Local.End of tape.
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