<Begin Segment 17>

JY: But I encountered many hardship after I returned. Like I told you about the union. I'll go back to the union story again. A little bit wiser, a little older -- when I was out of high school, I wasn't that smart. So I walked into the union office and Jorgenson and Swain is a business agent, carpenters, and they were there before I went to camp, after camp they're still there. And so I talked to Jorgenson -- we used to call him Jergy -- and Swain. And Swain is kinda' a mild person, not too rough, but Jorgenson is rough. He just cuss you up and down, and he says, "You son of a bitch. We don't allow Japs in here, you know that." He says, "Get the hell out of here." So what else can I do, just walk out. So I went back, and back, and back.

Finally, about five or six visit back there -- meantime I was working with non-union construction company, get paid peanuts compared to the union work. So I guess they got tired of looking at me, or whatever it was. And so I went in there one time and Jorgenson said, "Okay, Jim." We got to know each other pretty well, but then still the language was rough as heck. He says, "You get a job with a union shop, we give you a card, it's a deal." I said, "Deal." So okay.

So I got in my car and went down to (Santa Clara) Street and looked around. And there was a job there (at the) drive-in restaurant there, there was a job they were doing for a hospital there, not too far from the union hall. So I was deciding what I should do. Well, maybe I'll go to this drive-in restaurant. So I got off the car -- made a U-turn, got off the car, went in there and asked foreman there, says, "I'm looking for a job." He says, "Sure." He says, "I'll give you a job." He says, "Get your tools. You go to work right now." This was about ten o'clock in the morning. And I got my tools out, and Jorgenson and Swain followed me around. Then they were parked across the street, they come across and says, "You son-of-a-gun. You got a job. Come down to the hall, we give you a card."

And then after that they changed the bylaw, erased that Asians are not allowed in the union. They just erased that part of it. So it's open to anybody.

AI: So you opened it up. You were the first Asian in the union.

JY: Even they open it up for the black people too, black carpenters. So after that -- there's a lot of Japanese peoples working for non-union shop -- they all got their union card, went on. So quite a few of 'em are my age, and got into the union after that. So it's a one man battle, but, you know, just be persistent. Like my teacher Morgan says, "Just don't give up. Just keep at it, keep at it, and eventually you'll succeed." So little, one step forward.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.