Gayle Gooslin discusses her career as the UAW Local 602 secretary and bookkeeper Marilyn Coulter: Lansing Fisher Body Historical Team interview. Today is March 9, 2006. The time is approximately 1:30 p.m. We're in UAW Local 602's Frank Dryer's Greenhouse. First we'll introduce the team. Gary Judy: Gary Judy. Earl Nicholson: Earl Nicholson. Marilyn Coulter: And I'm Marilyn Coulter. Today we're here with Gayle Gooslin. [00:22] Gayle, will you please state and spell your name for us? Gayle Gooslin: Gayle Gooslin. G-A-Y-L-E G-O-O-S-L-I-N. Marilyn Coulter: [00:31] Um, and your address please? Gayle Gooslin: 215 North Canal Road, Lansing, Michigan. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Okay. First, we're gonna [do 0:39] a few things about Gayle. [00:40] Now Gayle, are you married? Gayle Gooslin: I'm a widow, have been for several years. Marilyn Coulter: [00:44] Uh, do you have children? Gayle Gooslin: I have 4 children, 1 is deceased. Marilyn Coulter: [00:49] And, um, were you born and raised in Lansing? Gayle Gooslin: I was born and raised in Lansing. Lived about 4 years in the 70s in California, in San Diego, California. Marilyn Coulter: Okay. [1:00] And what side of town did you grow up on? Gayle Gooslin: East side. Marilyn Coulter: [01:02] On the east side? Gayle Gooslin: Uh-huh. Marilyn Coulter: [01:04] And, um, uh, what's your education level? Gayle Gooslin: Some college. Took some computer classes and such. Marilyn Coulter: [01:12] Um, were you ever in the military? Gayle Gooslin: No. Marilyn Coulter: [01:15] Um, what did your parents do for a living? Gayle Gooslin: Uh, my mother was a homemaker and my father was a printer. He worked at the state journal and, uh, some various other places before then. He worked at Fisher Body while he was getting his education, in the payroll department as an accountant and, uh, that was back in the 40s. And then he ended up having his own newspaper, uh, the inter – Typographical Union newspaper it was called. Marilyn Coulter: Now, um, [01:44] what was your connection with Fisher Body? Gayle Gooslin: My connection with Fisher Body was, uh, primarily just knowing it from being a small child picking up my father after work at night and then, uh, going to work for UAW Local 602 in 1985. Marilyn Coulter: Okay. So you worked at the union but prior to growing up into, um,– in Lansing... Gayle Gooslin: Mm-hm. Marilyn Coulter: ...where Fisher Body was and your father worked there, [02:13] what did you remember about Fisher Body? Gayle Gooslin: What did I remember about Fisher Body was the gardens. The beautiful gardens and the big coach in the, in the lobby. Uh, I was I think 5 or 6 years old when he was going to college and, and, um, somehow I was taken into the plant so I, I got to see the, [engine noise in background] the big coach in there. And, uh, but, um, my mother and I used to pick him up after work every night. And, uh, I always admired the beautiful gardens, which were primarily the whole front yard of the ­­­[Verlinden 02:50] Plant. And they were beautifully landscaped, and it was the coach and then there were all different kinds of flowers and shrubs forming this, this coach and, and, uh – you know, the symbol of Fisher Body? Marilyn Coulter: Hm. Gayle Gooslin: The coach with the circle around, that was all done in flowers and it was just magnificent. Marilyn Coulter: [03:11] Um, did your father ever – do you ever remember hearing your father talk about Fisher Body or… Gayle Gooslin: Not really. Marilyn Coulter: …anything? Gayle Gooslin: Huh-uh, no. Marilyn Coulter: Okay. [03:22] So then as you were growing up as a teenager, did you have any dealings with Fisher Body? Did you know anything about the plant? Gayle Gooslin: No, I just knew it was there because a Sexton being right across the street from it and, uh, y-, there – I really didn't have any association with it at all at that time. Marilyn Coulter: [03:35] So, now did you go to Sexton High School? Gayle Gooslin: No, I went to Eastern but we had joint football games at Sexton often. They were our archrivals. [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: Oh. Gayle Gooslin: So I was there. [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: So you were there [inaudible 3:45]… Gayle Gooslin: I knew a lot of kids at Sexton. Marilyn Coulter: So you saw the plant from there. Gayle Gooslin: Saw the plant from there, yeah. It's just always been there my whole entire life. Marilyn Coulter: [03:55] So, now in 1985 you say? Gayle Gooslin: Mm-hm. Marilyn Coulter: You started working at Fish-, UAW Local 602. Gayle Gooslin: Right. Marilyn Coulter: And that was the union for Fisher Body. Gayle Gooslin: Exactly. Marilyn Coulter: [04:03] So what were, what were your duties? Gayle Gooslin: Hm, my duties? I was secretary to the bookkeeper and my, my duties, um, basically were, uh, keeping membership records, doing the bookkeeping [throat clearing]. Back when I started, we typed all the checks by hand and all the membership cards were all done by hand. We didn't have computers at that time and, uh, everything was done by hand. So I did that, and all the membership records were kept by hand. All the address changes were on cards and we hand wrote everything on these little index cards. And, um, being in the front office, of course, I handled phones and, and, acted as a receptionist as well. Uh, guiding people to whomever they needed to see and answered questions to the best of my ability. [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: So as, uh, the financial secretary's, um, assistant, um, [05:03] what impact did you have or what do you remember about those times? Can you just tell us about the time when you worked there and your impact with the people in the plant? Gayle Gooslin: I think the biggest change was, um, getting the computers and as far as my impact with the people in the plant, uh, is concerned we worked closely with, uh, the, uh, committee people and, uh, the benefit reps and, um, shop committee. Shop committeeman was, um, primarily his office was in UAW Local 602 building at that time, where now he's there very rarely. And, uh, then, uh, we did, um, communications and such for the committee people and for the shop chairman and for the president. That was done primarily upstairs but, uh, in – by Marilyn Poland, and – but it, it trickled down. If she was on overload, then I'd get some of them downstairs. Marilyn Coulter: And so you helped with that. Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Marilyn Coulter: So oftentimes the membership in the plant didn't even know all that you did. Now I know that you also had something to do in terms of the in-plant elections that we had. The plant elections that we had for our, um, union representatives, [06:26] correct? Gayle Gooslin: Right, yeah. We did the flyers and, and, uh, I had the, uh– they filled out the, the, uh, nomination forms in my office; that went through my office. And, uh, we kept all those records and worked closely with the elections committee on the results and everything that was going on during the elections before, during and after. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. So after you became a [talking over intercom] [clicking] Gayle, as a secretary for 602 [07:02] did you ever have the opportunity to, as an adult, go into the Fisher Body facility? Gayle Gooslin: Yes, I finally did. It was [laughter] many, many years. It was just like, I think 2 years before I retired that, uh, Garry got us over there and, and we had a tour and I had asked over and over again every president, please take me in the plant. Because there was–after I saw it, it was much easier to relate to, uh, what people were talking about in the different areas and, and such and yes, I found it very interesting. Marilyn Coulter: [07:34] So did you get to tour the entire plant? Gayle Gooslin: Um, I believe so. Yeah, I think it was pretty much the entire plant. Marilyn Coutler: [07:42] So what were some of the things about the inside of the building that you, maybe, thought would be different or what were some of the things that shocked you [inaudible 07:52] ] about it? Gayle Gooslin: The biggest thing that shocked me when I went in there was the cleanliness of the plant. It really shocked me. Uh, the floors were shiny and everything was very well organized. I don't know what I expected but that did surprise me. And, um, the workers were all–you know everything was in progress when I was going through and, uh, it just, uh, it, it was just a much–for as old as the building was, uh, it was very much of a surprise at how good it looked when I got in there. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. [08:25] What about the processes? The [inaudible] Gayle Gooslin: The processes, yes that still amazes me. 'Course, I saw the robots but, more importantly, I saw the people that I see every day working at their real jobs. You know? And, uh, with their safety glasses and, and their equipment doing what they do every day. And, uh, not just working on the committees here and there. And, and I, I enjoyed seeing them very much. Yeah. Marilyn Coulter: Hm. [08:55] So, um, do you think that there were some perceptions and/or stereotypes that maybe even you, as an office worker, might have had… Gayle Gooslin: I think so. Yeah, uh. Marilyn Coulter: …outside of, outside of being dirty, that were different? Gayle Gooslin: Yeah, it wasn't, uh – I just, I was very much surprised at how light it was in there and, and just the cleanliness and the orderliness of everything. I, I, I just had a, a picture in my mind that was much different than that. I don't know exactly what it was – what I expected to see but was very pleasantly surprised what I did see. Gary Judy: Gayle, I – Gary Judy. Uh, uh, you stated that you worked at Michigan State. Gayle Gooslin: Yes. Gary Judy: [09:35] Was it before you came to the, uh, Local and worked for the, uh, union? Gayle Gooslin: Uh-huh. Yeah. Gary Judy: After meeting the people working in the plant, and – [09:46] did your perception of the auto worker change at all, from, from the time before you hired in at the Local and after you got to know the people? Gayle Gooslin: Absolutely. Absolutely. I worked in the computer science department at Michigan State – that's a wonderful question – and I worked with 14 professors, at that time. And when I came to, uh, Local 602 and as I got to know people and I got to see the workings of the people at Fisher Body, I was shocked. I mean they are the most giving people that I have ever met, collectively, the most caring people. They care for each other. The charitable organizations that they, that they help out and the things that they do for our community was just overwhelming. And yes it definitely did change my perception of – to me the, the, the factory worker, so to speak, is the heart of our community and that is how I felt after I worked there for just a few weeks. And I saw how everything, [engine noise in background] how everything worked and, uh, as far as personalities and people and, and uh – yeah, I was very pleasantly surprised. It was quite an education for me. Gary Judy: That's great, yeah. Marilyn Coulter: That's good. Um, can you tell us, um, who went through different financial secretaries and things like that. And did – [11:25] Can you tell me that – how – with the, um, in-plant population changes, how that effected your job? Gayle Gooslin: Oh, wow. When I came there, uh, when I started in '85, I think there was about 3,000 and there were some people that were laid off at that time [throat clearing] and then – they were in the jobs bay and then they brought the jobs bankers back. So we had over 6,000 people working at one time. And yes, it impacted us tremendously and, uh, it was kind of a slow pace when I first started there and, uh, and it just increasingly got busier and busier and busier over the years. Until now, we have 7 phone lines, phone lines, where we had 2 back then. And, and of course, the front office you have a zillion people stopping by and a zillion people calling and, and, uh, asking questions. But, the union has a lot to do with this because our union, I think, as opposed to many unions, want to be there and service their membership, more so than a lot of other locals that I know of. And, uh, so, therefore, you know, the more members we had the busier we, we have gotten. And now, even though the membership is lower, we're still super busy over there. It's just astronomically busy. Marilyn Coulter: [12:54] Uh, Gayle when you say, "service the membership," what do you mean by that? Gayle Gooslin: People come in and ask a question and if, if you don't know the answer, you find out the answer. You don’t just say, "Well I'm sorry, I can't help you." You know? You dig until you find out. You keep asking. You, you call people. You, you try to get the answer to their questions. If they come in and they want to see somebody, you call that person. We, as the secretaries, would call this person and hook'm up and say, "Okay this is so and so. He has a question and he needs to talk to you." We'd either put him on the phone, sometimes we'd [engine noise in background] call the committee people; have'm come over and meet with these people if they couldn't go in the plant. And, uh, you'd be surprised the, the variety of questions that come through. Benefits questions by the zillions come through, and at that time, we didn't have a benefit rep in the plant, er, in the, the hall full time. And, uh, so we would have to answer questions and, and, um, get, get them in contact with the appropriate people. And, uh, oh gosh, it just goes on and on and on. All the different ways, um, all the activities that go on there, the hall rentals, the union activities that go on there, that all went through the front office. And, uh, selling of the tickets. And, uh, giving out information on, on, uh, when, where and how much and those kind of things. Marilyn Coulter: Um, Gayle you talk about hall rentals. Gayle Gooslin: Mm-hm. Marilyn Coulter: And 652 – 602, um, is it – [14:36] was it a hall that was rented only to the members? Gayle Gooslin: We only re, rent to the membership, yes, yeah. Marilyn Coulter: [14:42] And what type of – was it rented of, often? Can you tell us a little bit about that? Gayle Gooslin: It's rented out all the time. Yeah. There's very rarely a weekend it isn't either union business or a hall rental. It's booked usually, um, most of the time, a year in advance. And it's to the Local 602 membership only; primarily for weddings, graduation parties, family reunions, things like this. Primarily for weddings. Marilyn Coulter: Now di – was, [15:14] was that something that the, the members – was, was it a cheap expense for them as the service? Gayle Gooslin: Much cheaper, from what I understand, uh, much cheaper than what they could get any place else. Actually, we're non-profit. UAW Local 602 can't make money and, so we figured out how much it costs for, uh, the custodial services for the light, heat, everything, all the equipment that they use. And, uh, and they, they, uh, boiled it down to a set price and that's what the, the member paid and they paid, uh – it used to be, I don't know how it works now but, um, David would come in on Sunday... Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: ...clean the hall and we had to pay him, um, for that. So that was included in the hall rental fee... Marilyn Coulter: Hm. Gayle Gooslin: ...as well as the utilities... [sniffing] Gayle Gooslin: ...and, and, uh, what have you. But, uh, yeah it was – is very reasonable compared going any... Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: ...place else. Marilyn Coulter: So [service the 16:09] Fisher Body employees and the UAW membership... Gayle Gooslin: Yes. Marilyn Coulter: ...that way even for members who may not have came to union meetings. Gayle Gooslin: Right, oh yeah, it was open to anyone. You didn't have to be an officer. You didn't have to come to a union meeting. All you had to do was call and make a reservation. Marilyn Coulter: Now, [16:27] did you have many, um – how did, how did, how did that work for you as a person working in that office, when they had media events, when they had the big programs, how did that effect your job? Gayle Gooslin: Well, take the classes in there for instance, now twice a week. You have constant people coming in wanting more copies. They get phone calls and you have to take messages for them 'cause you don't interrupt the meetings. Uh, they want this done for them, they want that done, like pencil sharpener – I'm going – just what happened today, stapling, copying, pencil sharpening, answering questions [laugher] you know. And that's just routine with any meeting it would be going on there. There's always things that they, that they need to have you do in the front office. Marilyn Coulter: Okay. Um, [17:15] is there anything about the Fisher Body employees and/or the workings of 602 that you'd like to share with us that we may not know? Gayle Gooslin: That you may not know? Gosh. Marilyn Coulter: [17:31] Or about the history that helped what types of things have changed during your time working there? Gayle Gooslin: Well, the main thing was computers and the, and the, uh, the next thing is just the volume of work now that is involved there and the additional things that, that the secretaries have to do. Uh, because of the changing of the guard here, so to speak, the, the plant, the new plant and, uh, everything that's going on, um, it has – oh the workload has just increased tre, tremendously. Um, thinks you may not know, um, gosh I don't know. Like I said earlier, the biggest impact was, was, um, the kind of people and the wonderful people that I have met through the years going through there and, uh… And 99.9 percent, I worked in the front office, a lot of people would come in angry because they had a problem in the plant or some, something that really upset them. And they would just suck it up until [laughter] I got them the appropriate person. And they would move away from my window. As you know, back then they had the double window. So you, you were wide open into that front hallway. And they would go around the corner, even though you could hear every blue word that they said. [laughter] Gary Judy: [laughter]. Marilyn Coulter: [laughter]. Gayle Gooslin: As long as you couldn't see'm. [laughter] But they would, they were just – until [inaudible 18:56] face, until I could get'm some place and they showed a great deal of respect for whomever was in the front office. And a lot of'm, you know, not a lot, a lot but, uh, the ones that did come in that were really mad, they really controlled it until they could get… Gary Judy: You were kinda on the front lines. Yeah. Gayle Gooslin: I was on the front lines and they would come in and they'd be pretty mad sometimes and, and there again you, you have to listen to them because they're upset and they need to talk. They need to get it out. And you sit there, and you listen to'm and you keep you mouth shut. You don't voice an opinion. You just listen and you let'm get it out and then you know who to direct'm to. And then, when that person becomes available to them, then all, you know, all hell breaks loose. [laughter] That was very interesting for me and, and, and, um, this happened many, many times over the years. Marilyn Coulter: [19:51] Over the years, how many different local union presidents did you work under? Gayle Gooslin: Okay, let’s see. Terry Ward hired me. Uh, Al Pressley and then he went to international and then Ted Hartman because president. And then, was it [Matt Strickley 20:14], was he next? Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: And – no, Garry Bernath was next. Marilyn Coulter: Yes. Gayle Gooslin: Garry Bernath was next and then [Matt 20:24] and then Mark. Marilyn Coulter: So after working under all those presidents, [20:31] is there any particular president that had a big impact on you and/or 602? Gayle Gooslin: Oh, I think Garry Bernath, without a doubt, had the largest impact as far as I'm concerned. Um, he was a great administrator, number 1. He was a, a great union man as far as, um, working with Local 652, there's always been kind of a rivalry there. And during Garry's regime, I think there was less, because he was willing to, to go that extra mile. And, uh, he was, as I used to say, uh, Garry put us on the map. He made Local 602 shine. Marilyn Coutler: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: In more ways than 1. Um, he was very political, but he never let his politics get in the way of what was the best for the union and for the union members. He would stick his neck out in, in staff meetings. He would say, "No this isn't the best thing to do politically but it's the best thing for the membership." And, uh, he got people to volunteer their time and efforts during the time where he was saving money to do all the renovations in the union hall, which was huge, and it was long overdue. And, uh, that made a huge impact on all of us working there because it was, it was just really in dire need of, of redoing. And, uh, and he did all that. [engine noise in background] But I think the biggest thing though he, he just – 602 became noticed because of all the good things that were going on there and his willingness to work with other unions and other people. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Um, during, um, your time under Garry Bernath, um, and you got a, a, uh – the building upkeep and things like that, that was a good time. [22:42] Did you ever work there during any strikes or things like that? Gayle Gooslin: I, I think we had 1 short, very short strike. Marilyn Coulter: [22:53] How would a strike impact you? Gayle Gooslin: Oh, I think there was just a lot of people, I remember, just a lot of people in the hall. Marilyn Coutler: So didn't do any change to your job. Gayle Gooslin: It didn't – well, when you've got people, it, it impacts what you do because you've got all these things going on there. And there, again, more questions, more, um, phone calls and all this type of thing. When it was going on, we had a lot of phone calls, uh, wondering, you know, what, what's going on? And, uh, what do I have to do? And, uh, um, how am I going to get paid? [laughter] And, you know, basically all these things. Marilyn Coulter: Okay, um, Earl. Earl Nicholson: Earl Nicholson. I know, uh, uh, that, uh – I spent a lot of time, uh, with the secretaries over there and you guys are all like real serious, uh, most of the time. [23:45] Uh, are there, are there, are there any secretary pranks that, that went on with [laughter] [inaudible 23:50] to the other secretaries at 602? Gayle Gooslin: Got Garry a good one. Yeah, oh yeah. We're – women are always serious. [laughter] Yeah, um, Garry was gone. Uh, Mike Bennett I think was acting president. I think this was the biggest one. And, uh, Connie Swander was acting financial secretary. So all the guys were gone, somewhere. And, uh, and there again Garry watched his pennies and he was, he was always kidding us about whenever he left, we seemed to order a bunch of stuff. And, um, "don't do a lot of shopping while I'm gone," he says. So Connie and I got our heads together, along with Mike Bennett and we made out vouchers for some things and, uh, [laughter] and, uh, and Mike signed'm but he didn't – he signed the vouchers but he signed it differently. So it was not a legal document. Well, Garry came down and, and, uh, we had ordered – it was funny because we ordered like a shredder. This was before we had a shredder; some really expensive stuff going on. And, uh, but it was the file cabinet that got'm. And he came down and he had this voucher in his hand and he came into my office and he's just furious. And he's slammin' this piece of paper and he said, "When I want a goddamn file cabinet for my office," he says, "I'll order one. It's not up to you girls when I'm away to do all this stuff." And I'm sittin' there just lookin at'm… Gary Judy: [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: [laughter] Earl Nicholson: [laughter] Gayle Gooslin: … not sayin' a word. Just letting him go on and he starts to leave and walk out the door and I said, "Gotcha." [laughter] Gary Judy: [laughter] Gayle Gooslin: And he turned around [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: [inaudible] Gayle Gooslin: "Can't leave you alone for 2 minutes." He says. [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: Mr. Fiscal Responsibility was Garry Bernath. He… Gayle Gooslin: Yes. Marilyn Coulter: … every penny had to be accounted for. Gayle Gooslin: Oh, every penny had to be accounted for yes, yes. Marilyn Coulter: Um, working at the pl-, at 602 and having your relationship with them, [25:55] did you develop or have any friendships with employees inside the plant? Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Marilyn Coulter: And they went on, and… Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Are you talking about my dating life? [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: Oh, no, no. I forgot about that. [laughter] Yeah, I completely forgot. [laughter] I was thinking of you and Connie. If you guys still continued [inaudible]… Gayle Gooslin: Oh yeah, we're still friends. Marilyn Coulter: But I forgot about you dating… Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Marilyn Coulter: Yeah. I forgot, um, … Gayle Gooslin: Yeah, I still have a lot of friends that, that we're still friends to this day. Terry and Mary Ellen for one. Marilyn Coulter: Uh-huh. Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. And we've remained friends all through the years. And [Ron and Carol Ullman 26:30]. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: And Judy and, and Curly. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. So you've had friendships that developed with them and [impacted 26:37]. Gayle Gooslin: Oh yeah, yeah. Marilyn Coulter: I forgot about that. Gayle Gooslin: [laughter]. Marilyn Coulter: I truly forgot about him. Um, and so, and so you did – they did affect your life that way. [laughter] Gayle Gooslin: Oh absolutely. Marilyn Coulter: You got me on that one. I forgot about that. Gary Judy: I have a question. You mentioned pay and you was worried about getting paid, uh, during the strike or the hard times. The job you had a Michigan State, [26:59] was that a union job? Gayle Gooslin: Yes. Yes, I was a, a, a cl-, it was the CT union, the clerical union. Gary Judy: Okay. Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Gary Judy: I was just wonderin' if, if there was a difference coming to work for a union. Gayle Gooslin: For a union? As opposed to being a [inaudible] member? Yeah. Gary Judy: … and if they stood up to the – if their slogan of "A Fair Day's Work for a Fair Day's Pay," uh, uh, applied. Gayle Gooslin: Well out there, and that was primarily one of the reasons that I changed jobs is because, uh, when I went to work for Michigan State I – it was every mother's dream job. I worked part time. I had a 28-hour week, worked 8-3:30, had Wednesdays off and had summers off. And, uh, I went to work when my youngest child was a junior in high school, so I had been out of the work force a long time. And, uh, during that time, they were trying to get very low wages, very low wages. And they were trying – the union was trying to get the wages up in par with, in parity with, uh, the state of Michigan. And of course, it was a slow process but we, we, uh, had a strike vote and we were gonna go out. And, uh, then they, they did come to an agreement but it was a long, tough battle during that time. But yeah, when this job offer came to my attention, um, as it turned out it really was a godsend for me. Because, uh, I was gonna have to start working full time there anyway because the department had grown… Gary Judy: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: … and, uh, the wages were just a little more than half of what I was making here [laughter] would be making here. And, um, my sister brought the job to my attention 'cause everything was kinda internal back then. [Ralph Morrison 28:46] was the vice president. His wife worked with my sister at, uh, the pediatric clinic and, uh, I had had bookkeeping experience because I had worked for my father at his newspaper and, uh, he had kept his books and I also, working in the computer science department, had a little computer experience as well. And, uh, so my sister called and asked me if I would be interested in this job. And, uh, she said something like 12, I don't know what it was; I don't remember what is was. And I said – I thought it was – she was talking about yearly and I said, "No." I said, "I'm making more than that now." She said, "Gayle, that's per hour." [laughter] [laughter] Gary Judy: So the union practices what they preach. Gayle Gooslin: You betcha. Gary Judy: And that's, that's nice to know that. Yeah. Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Marilyn Coutler: [29:41] Uh, Gayle, working for 602, you yourself are a member of the union too, aren't you? Gayle Gooslin: Yes. We're AFL-CIO because it's a conflict of interest. Marilyn Coutler: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: We can't be a UAW, uh, member... Marilyn Coutler: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: ...and so we are AFL-CIO. Uh, and they have different units for the clerical and technical workers and that's O- OPEIU... Marilyn Coutler: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: ...Local 42 here in Lansing. Marilyn Coutler: Mm-hm. And that's it's. So they hire union, union, union – hiring union workers also. Gayle Gooslin: Right, yeah. Marilyn Coulter: Um, the question was oft times, as you said, that you worked with a lot of different committees and they had a – and 602 had a long history of holding different, um, functions for the community in that. Did, um, [30:23] how did that effect your job and did you participate in any of those programs? Gayle Gooslin: Did I participate in the programs? Um, probably not that much. Because at that time, we had a place up north and we were gone all the – on the weekends and no I didn't participate in the programs. I went to a couple of the functions but, uh, overall, no because I wasn't home. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: And, um, then, uh, – as far as how did it impact my job, a lot more work. I mean i-, for instance, the recreation committee started out – when I started there, they had like 2 or 3 functions a year. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: And now there's 1 a month, at least, sometimes more. Your Black History Program was nonexistent when I started. Marilyn Coulter: That's true. Gayle Gooslin: The Hispanic Program was nonexistent. And these are big programs that require a lot of work, more upstairs secretarial work than mine. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: Um, but, uh, an, and Sam did a marvelous job in, in getting all these, uh, activities coordinated and organized and, and, uh, and they'll continue on for years I'm sure. Marilyn Coulter: Oh sure. Gayle Gooslin: And, uh, yeah and that brings a lot through there because of the money. The ticket sales and, and, uh, um, taking the information that you need to have, people's names and phone numbers and making the reservations and stuff for different trips and, uh… Marilyn Coulter: Now, uh, and it came to me, now [31:56] did you buy GM products? When you… Gayle Gooslin: Always. Marilyn Coulter: Always. Gayle Gooslin: See I was brought up in a union family. My father was staunchy. I mean he was the financial secretary for the international – the typographical, uh, international union. Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Gayle Gooslin: And, uh – for years. Yeah and so I was brought up union. And, uh, absolutely. Yeah, we always had American cars, and – still to this day. [throat clearing] Marilyn Coulter: [32:24] Um, Gayle being a f-, are you still a resident of Lansing? Gayle Gooslin: Yeah. Marilyn Coutler: Okay. Gayle Gooslin: Mm-hm. Marilyn Coutler: Being a resident of Lansing, um, growing up here, and Lansing was known as the Capital of Quality… Gayle Gooslin: Mm-hm. Marilyn Coulter: Um, [32:36] what do you think about Fisher Body in connection with that, um, that title for Lansing? Gayle Gooslin: The, the Capital of Quality? Um, I think it was. I think there was a period of time where we got a little sloppy and that's when the, the foreign car markets became – got it's foot in the door and I think it hurt us there for a, awhile and now I don't think you can, you can beat the Lansing built cars. I think they're just fantastic. Marilyn Coulter: And then, once again, being a resident of Lansing, growing up with Lansing, your father having worked at Fisher Body, um, Lansing is going through a big transition right now with plant closings. As we're speaking here right now, the Fisher Body Lansing that was across the street from Local 602, across the parking lot actually of 602, is being torn down. Gayle Gooslin: Oh, that's so sad. Marilyn Coulter: Being a Lansing resident, [33:39] how does that make you feel? Gayle Gooslin: Oh, there's a hole in my heart. You know, it, its – I know you have to, um, go with the times and, and that was a very, very old plant and the new plant is just beautiful and all that, but it’s a part of Lansing history. I wish they could have, instead of tearing it down, could, could have put another factory or something in there, um, because of our unemployment factor, number 1. And, uh, uh, it, it's just very, very sad. I can't tell you it, it – I was working and [Bruce McCown 34:15] came in and, and when they start – the first day that they started tearing it down and that, that was, I think last Wednesday, Tuesday or Wednesday. And we went out and took pictures and then I came in today and then I saw, oh my gosh, what they've done. And, uh, oh it, it's just, it's just very, very sad and I think people will miss it. It, it's just been a part of my life for my whole entire life. Marilyn Coulter: So for the people who are going to hear your story, [34:50] what message would you like to leave them with or what memory would you like to leave them with about Fisher Body Lansing? Gayle Gooslin: Oh, gosh I have so many fond memories. Um, mostly of the people, the quality of people that I have worked with over the 20 years now, that, that I worked there. And, uh, I can't express that enough because it's – we are the heart of Lansing and, and when I see the numbers dwindling and our, our middle class shrinking, it makes me very, very sad but the gifts that I have taken away from seeing, uh, the generosity of our Fisher Body workers, uh, is just overwhelming and they are the heart of Lansing, [engine noise in background] absolutely, without a doubt. Marilyn Coulter: Gayle, thank you for your time. Gayle Gooslin: Your welcome. Marilyn Coulter: And thank you for sharing your memories. Earl Nicholson: Thank you Gayle. Gary Judy: Thank you Gayle. Gayle Gooslin: Thank you. /fp