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Title: Michigan State University Professor Emeritus of Economics C. Patrick "Lash" Larrowe, talks about his life, academic career, and interest in labor issues
Creator: Larrowe, Charles P.
Date: 1989-06-12
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Michigan State University Professor Emeritus of Economics C. Patrick "Lash" Larrowe, talks about his family and childhood in Portland, OR, how his interest in working class issues and unionism grew and why he chose economics as a way of teaching about labor issues. Larrowe describes his early union experiences while in college, joining the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, his service in World War Two, getting his first professorship at the University of Utah, and finally coming to...
Show moreMichigan State University Professor Emeritus of Economics C. Patrick "Lash" Larrowe, talks about his family and childhood in Portland, OR, how his interest in working class issues and unionism grew and why he chose economics as a way of teaching about labor issues. Larrowe describes his early union experiences while in college, joining the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, his service in World War Two, getting his first professorship at the University of Utah, and finally coming to work at the Labor and Industrial Relations Center at MSU. Larrowe discusses settling in at MSU and the people he worked with including, Jack Stieber, Charles Killingsworth, and MSU President John Hannah. He also explains the tensions between the Labor School and state conservatives and why the MSU faculty grievance system was created in the face of professors being terminated. Larrowe says he left the Labor School and moved to the Economics Department when his research and published material was threatened with censorship. Larrowe is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations.
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Title: Interview of labor activist Max Gazen
Creator: Gazen, Max
Date: 1980-09-20
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Labor activist Max Gazen talks about being born in the Netherlands in 1897, coming to the U.S. at age nine, working in Grand Rapids, MI, and joining the merchant marine. He also talks about working for the Hotel and Restaurant Workers union, being a delegate to the Detroit Federation of Labor, his participation in the wave of sit-down strikes, helping to cook for the Flint sit-down strikers, union leaders, strikes and picket-lines, and racial discrimination.

Title: Speech at the American Federation of Labor convention, 1953
Creator: Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959
Date: 1953
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection

Title: Forging global solidarity : dockworkers and Black internationalism
Creator: Cole, Peter, 1969-
Date: 2019-02-11
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Peter Cole, professor of history at Western Illinois University, delivers a talk entitled, "Forging global solidarity: dockworkers and Black internationalism." Drawing on themes from his book, "Dockworker power: race and activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area," Cole compares black dockworkers in Durban, South Africa to black dockworkers in the San Francisco Bay area and their struggles to achieve racial equality throughout the 20th century. He answers questions from the audience....
Show morePeter Cole, professor of history at Western Illinois University, delivers a talk entitled, "Forging global solidarity: dockworkers and Black internationalism." Drawing on themes from his book, "Dockworker power: race and activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area," Cole compares black dockworkers in Durban, South Africa to black dockworkers in the San Francisco Bay area and their struggles to achieve racial equality throughout the 20th century. He answers questions from the audience. The event is convened by John P. Beck professor of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University.
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Title: Interview of former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member Don Stevens. Part 1
Creator: Stevens, Don
Date: 1983-02-08
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, reminisces about his childhood, family, farming, his early education, and his experiences with labor unions and union organizing. Stevens talks about his early work life, hearing about unions during the auto sit-down strikes in 1936 and 1937, listening to radio preachers condemn unions, and failed attempts to unionize a laundry where he worked and later success in organizing dairy and retail workers in the Grand...
Show moreDon Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, reminisces about his childhood, family, farming, his early education, and his experiences with labor unions and union organizing. Stevens talks about his early work life, hearing about unions during the auto sit-down strikes in 1936 and 1937, listening to radio preachers condemn unions, and failed attempts to unionize a laundry where he worked and later success in organizing dairy and retail workers in the Grand Rapids area in the 1940s. Stevens also discusses CIO leadership during the war, union political efforts regarding health and safety, unemployment insurance, higher wages, and seniority rights and his own involvement in the growing union movement and labor organizing. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part one of four.
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Title: Interview of Olga "Jo" Beltrame and Ed Beltrame, union officers and organizers with the United Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee and UPWOC Local 69. Part 1
Creator: Beltrame, Olga
Date: 1982-06-24
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Olga "Jo" Beltrame, with her husband Ed Beltrame, discusses her career as a union officer and organizer with the United Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee and UPWOC Local 69. Beltrame talks about her childhood in Montreal, her father's union activity, coming to Detroit to find work at the age of 14, her experiences working at the Swift meat packing plant and what she later did to help organize meat packing plants, especially Swift's Detroit Hammond-Standish plant. The Beltrames both...
Show moreOlga "Jo" Beltrame, with her husband Ed Beltrame, discusses her career as a union officer and organizer with the United Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee and UPWOC Local 69. Beltrame talks about her childhood in Montreal, her father's union activity, coming to Detroit to find work at the age of 14, her experiences working at the Swift meat packing plant and what she later did to help organize meat packing plants, especially Swift's Detroit Hammond-Standish plant. The Beltrames both discuss unions and their shared union activities through the years, including their work in organizing meat packing plants across several states, the wage improvements and benefits which were won for workers, and their elected positions in the union. Ends abruptly. The Beltrames are interviewed by John Revitte, Michigan State University professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, and Joan Kelly, editor of the Michigan AFL-CIO newspaper. The first of two interviews.
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Title: Making it in Detroit : songs of working class life
Creator: Duprie, Don
Date: 2015-09-24
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Musician Don "Doop" Duprie presents, "Making it in Detroit : songs of working class life." Duprie's music runs the gamut from rock to country as he seeks to bring out the sense of loss, confusion, and rage that accompany the struggle to make it in the Motor City. In between songs, Duprie talks about his life in River Rouge, MI, the inspiration for his songs, labor unions, his time as a firefighter, and his views on the gentrification of Detroit. Duprie is introduced by Michigan State...
Show moreMusician Don "Doop" Duprie presents, "Making it in Detroit : songs of working class life." Duprie's music runs the gamut from rock to country as he seeks to bring out the sense of loss, confusion, and rage that accompany the struggle to make it in the Motor City. In between songs, Duprie talks about his life in River Rouge, MI, the inspiration for his songs, labor unions, his time as a firefighter, and his views on the gentrification of Detroit. Duprie is introduced by Michigan State University Professor John P. Beck. Part of the "Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives" Brown Bag series sponsored by the MSU School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, the MSU Museum, and the MSU Libraries. Held in the MSU Main Library.
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Title: Interview of Charles Killingsworth, former director of Michigan State University School of Labor and Industrial Relations
Creator: Killingsworth, Charles, 1917-
Date: 1991-10-24
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Charles Killingsworth discusses the establishment of the Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Center in 1956, which later became the School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SLIR). Killingsworth, who came to MSU in 1947 to teach economics, says that he was asked by MSU President John Hannah to start and head the SLIR. He gives details on the school's beginnings, and explains why it was considered important by the university to provide an extension service to labor and...
Show moreCharles Killingsworth discusses the establishment of the Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Center in 1956, which later became the School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SLIR). Killingsworth, who came to MSU in 1947 to teach economics, says that he was asked by MSU President John Hannah to start and head the SLIR. He gives details on the school's beginnings, and explains why it was considered important by the university to provide an extension service to labor and business with accompanying research and scholarship. He also discusses faculty he hired through the years, the school's relationship with labor organizations, how the school expanded to offer graduate degrees and why he left the directorship to focus on teaching and arbitration, Ends abruptly. Killingsworth is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations.
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Title: Interview of Robert Repas, professor emeritus of the Michigan State University School of Labor and Industrial Relations
Creator: Repas, Bob, 1921-
Date: 1986-12-18
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: In an oral history interview, Robert Repas, professor emeritus of the Michigan State University School of Labor and Industrial Relations, talks about being admitted to Ruskin College in England on a trade unionist scholarship and his tour of the continent during the post war period. He decries the failure of American labor to take a truly international approach in Europe after the war because of the fear of Communist influence on unions and how little the CIO, in particular, did to assist in...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Robert Repas, professor emeritus of the Michigan State University School of Labor and Industrial Relations, talks about being admitted to Ruskin College in England on a trade unionist scholarship and his tour of the continent during the post war period. He decries the failure of American labor to take a truly international approach in Europe after the war because of the fear of Communist influence on unions and how little the CIO, in particular, did to assist in the rebuilding the German unions until Walter Reuther assumed CIO leadership. He also talks about his staff position at the School for Workers in Wisconsin, teaching labor history, running afoul of company owners and conservative faculty and describes his "most productive years" spent working with the American Friends Service Committee and Hugh Rickert in Philadelphia and later teaching in union schools. Repas is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations.
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Title: Interview of former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member Don Stevens. Part 3
Creator: Stevens, Don
Date: 1983-03-08
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about his experiences in the Michigan labor movement. Among other topics, he discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the anti-union efforts of Father Coughlin, the pro-union efforts of other priests, the internal struggles of a number of Michigan unions during WWII as different factions jockeyed for control and influence and the creation of the United Way as a method for coordinating...
Show moreDon Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about his experiences in the Michigan labor movement. Among other topics, he discusses the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, the anti-union efforts of Father Coughlin, the pro-union efforts of other priests, the internal struggles of a number of Michigan unions during WWII as different factions jockeyed for control and influence and the creation of the United Way as a method for coordinating charitable fund raising . Stevens also talks about the 1961-62 Michigan constitutional convention, Coleman Young, Gus Scholle, the growth of union influence in the state and the 1948 campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor and Gerald R. Ford for the U.S. Congress. Stevens says that Ford courted union support in the 1948 Republican primary and later betrayed the unions by voting to override President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part three of four. Gift of John Revitte.
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Title: Interview of former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member Don Stevens. Part 4
Creator: Stevens, Don
Date: 1983-03-22
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: In an oral history interview, Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about conflicts within the leadership of the state AFL-CIO, how he came to head the state CIO Education Department, and visiting Europe in order to help unions in postwar Europe reestablish themselves. Stevens describes efforts to influence elections, endorsing John Swainson for Governor, and tax issues involving Detroit which cost Swainson reelection. He also talks about the...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Don Stevens, former Michigan State University trustee and AFL-CIO board member, talks about conflicts within the leadership of the state AFL-CIO, how he came to head the state CIO Education Department, and visiting Europe in order to help unions in postwar Europe reestablish themselves. Stevens describes efforts to influence elections, endorsing John Swainson for Governor, and tax issues involving Detroit which cost Swainson reelection. He also talks about the creation of the labor center at MSU, the start of Oakland University as a separate institution during his time as an MSU trustee, and John Hannah's presidency of MSU. He closes by considering what that the labor movement in Michigan has accomplished, what it has meant to him, and the threats it is under. Stevens is interviewed by John Revitte, MSU professor of Labor and Industrial Relations. Part four of four.
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Title: Interview of former steelworker and labor leader Tom Turner
Creator: Turner, Tom (Labor leader)
Date: 1982-03-11
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Former steelworker and labor leader Tom Turner talks about his childhood and education in River Rouge and Ecorse, Mi and his involvement in organized labor and the civil rights movement. Turner also talks about discrimination and segregation in Detroit and in the workplace, his time as president of the Detroit NAACP and president of the Wayne County AFL-CIO, and the many labor leaders who inspired him. Turner says that black trade union leaders constantly and successfully pressured...
Show moreFormer steelworker and labor leader Tom Turner talks about his childhood and education in River Rouge and Ecorse, Mi and his involvement in organized labor and the civil rights movement. Turner also talks about discrimination and segregation in Detroit and in the workplace, his time as president of the Detroit NAACP and president of the Wayne County AFL-CIO, and the many labor leaders who inspired him. Turner says that black trade union leaders constantly and successfully pressured employers and organized labor to widen access for minorities to skilled trades and better paying jobs.
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Title: Interview with UAW Local 724 president Dean Poggiali
Creator: Poggiali, Dean
Date: 2015-02-20
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Dean Poggiali, president of UAW Local 724 in Lansing, Michigan, talks about his career, his immigrant parents, and taking courses at Michigan State University as he rose in the union ranks. Poggiali also talks about how his union works with multiple employers and multiple bargaining units, the history of manufacturing suppliers in the Lansing area, how union membership fluctuates with market swings, his involvement with the United Way in mid-Michigan, and various union leaders he has worked...
Show moreDean Poggiali, president of UAW Local 724 in Lansing, Michigan, talks about his career, his immigrant parents, and taking courses at Michigan State University as he rose in the union ranks. Poggiali also talks about how his union works with multiple employers and multiple bargaining units, the history of manufacturing suppliers in the Lansing area, how union membership fluctuates with market swings, his involvement with the United Way in mid-Michigan, and various union leaders he has worked with. The interview is conducted by MSU Professor John Revitte.
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Title: Scott Bryson and Elizabeth Bunn from AFL-CIO, and Rachel Babale from the National Labor Relations Board talk about organized labor
Creator: Bryson, Scott (Of AFL-CIO)
Date: 2012-07-14
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: At a Michigan State University "study away" class held in Washington, D.C., Scott Bryson from the AFL-CIO talks about political activism and young people's involvement in electoral politics and explains why organized labor advocates for all workers. Elizabeth Bunn, director of the AFL-CIO organizing Department, talks about the level of unionization in the U.S. and how it relates directly to income inequality and organized labor as a broad social movement. Rachel Babale from the National Labor...
Show moreAt a Michigan State University "study away" class held in Washington, D.C., Scott Bryson from the AFL-CIO talks about political activism and young people's involvement in electoral politics and explains why organized labor advocates for all workers. Elizabeth Bunn, director of the AFL-CIO organizing Department, talks about the level of unionization in the U.S. and how it relates directly to income inequality and organized labor as a broad social movement. Rachel Babale from the National Labor Relations Board describes the experiences that motivated her to become involved in worker justice issues. They all answer questions from the class. Poor quality recording. Held at the AFL-CIO Building in Washington D.C.
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Title: Labor leader Ken Germanson talks with Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte via telephone. 2018-04-04
Creator: Germanson, Kenneth
Date: 2018-04-04
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Ken Germanson, Allied Industrial Workers international union staff member, AIW newspaper editor, and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society (WLHS), talks with Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte via telephone. They discuss pending labor conferences at which they they hope to present, the founding of WLHS, AIW members and leaders they know and the varied attitudes among workers about unions. They also talk about the division among...
Show moreKen Germanson, Allied Industrial Workers international union staff member, AIW newspaper editor, and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society (WLHS), talks with Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte via telephone. They discuss pending labor conferences at which they they hope to present, the founding of WLHS, AIW members and leaders they know and the varied attitudes among workers about unions. They also talk about the division among labor activists and anti-war activists in the late 1960s and early 70s and how that played to management's advantage, early socialists and how some of them were racist while others were pro-civil rights and other possible topics they might discuss in the future, including health and safety, collective bargaining, pensions and plant closings.
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Title: Interview with labor leader Ken Germanson
Creator: Germanson, Kenneth
Date: 2012-03-28
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Ken Germanson, Allied Industrial Workers international union staff member, AIW newspaper editor, and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society (WLHS), talks with Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte during a Wisconsin Labor Conference luncheon. Germanson talks about the history of the AIW, its turbulent relations with the UAW, and several AIW leaders. Germanson also talks about the AIW and its relationships with Harley-Davidson,...
Show moreKen Germanson, Allied Industrial Workers international union staff member, AIW newspaper editor, and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society (WLHS), talks with Michigan State University Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte during a Wisconsin Labor Conference luncheon. Germanson talks about the history of the AIW, its turbulent relations with the UAW, and several AIW leaders. Germanson also talks about the AIW and its relationships with Harley-Davidson, Whirlpool, Checker Cab, Clark Equipment, and other companies.
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Title: Union leader Hodges Mason talks about his early work experiences
Creator: Mason, Hodges
Date: 1980-11-25
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Hodges Mason, a local union leader at Bohn Aluminium Brass Corp., talks about his early work experiences for nonunion employers and his jobs at several auto companies. He says that he wasn't a supporter of unions but still led strikes and labor actions for better wages. Mason also talks about his participation in strikes, discrimination in plants and what finally brought him around to join and support unions. Mason is interviewed as source material for the book "Working Detroit : the making...
Show moreHodges Mason, a local union leader at Bohn Aluminium Brass Corp., talks about his early work experiences for nonunion employers and his jobs at several auto companies. He says that he wasn't a supporter of unions but still led strikes and labor actions for better wages. Mason also talks about his participation in strikes, discrimination in plants and what finally brought him around to join and support unions. Mason is interviewed as source material for the book "Working Detroit : the making of a union town" by Steve Babson.
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Title: Interview of former cigar workers Helen Piwkowski and Jeannette S. Oksa
Creator: Piwkowski, Helen
Date: 1981-02-09
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Helen Piwkowski and Jeannette Oksa talk about their lives, families, and their work in a cigar factory in Detroit, Michigan. They also discuss being born in Poland and emigrating to the U.S., their education, their union activity, race relations in Detroit neighborhoods and in the workplace, and the Polish community in Detroit.

Title: Building the other UAW : the Allied Industrial Workers in Michigan and the Midwest
Creator: Revitte, John
Date: 2016-01-25
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte presents a discussion entitled, "Building the other UAW : the Allied Industrial Workers in Michigan and the Midwest". Revitte is joined via Skype by Kenneth Germanson, AIW labor activist and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. Germanson describes his career then he and Revitte describe the rise of the AIW and its place in an organized labor environment which included the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of...
Show moreLabor and Industrial Relations Professor Emeritus John Revitte presents a discussion entitled, "Building the other UAW : the Allied Industrial Workers in Michigan and the Midwest". Revitte is joined via Skype by Kenneth Germanson, AIW labor activist and president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. Germanson describes his career then he and Revitte describe the rise of the AIW and its place in an organized labor environment which included the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and member unions like the United Auto Workers who attempted to organize general industrial labor. Germanson explains how the AIW was created and credits Lansing AIW member Lester Washburn for keeping the AIW strong in West Michigan. Revitte explains the conflicts within and between the unions, especially the UAW-CIO and the UAW-AFL contingents. Germanson talks about the Lansing Labor Holiday, a general strike in Lansing, MI in 1937 which was a reaction to the arrest of several picketers. They answer questions from the audience. The session is convened by Kurt Dewhurst, Michigan State University Museum Director Emeritus and Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Part of the "Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives" Brown Bag series sponsored by the MSU School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, the the Motorcities Automobile National Heritage Area, and the MSU Museum. Held in the MSU Museum auditorium.
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Title: George Bush answers questions about possible a summit with Mikhail Gorbachev
Creator: Bush, George, 1924-2018
Date: 1989-07-06
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: George Bush answers questions about possible a summit with Gorbachev, international meetings on cleaning up the environment, Gorbachev's popularity in Europe, the role of Solidarity, interference in the internal affairs of other nations, access to Japanese markets, and the Oliver North sentence.

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