<Begin Segment 13>

LG: Backing up just a little bit...

MR: Yes.

LG: At this drill press...

MR: The drill press job.

LG: Who were your coworkers? Were there a lot of women in these positions?

MR: I think there were four women in the factory.

LR: But none of them [inaudible].

MR: No. The did much more complicated things. They ran a lathe, one of them ran a lathe, and they did some complicated things. Now, drill press is not that complicated. What's complicated is figuring out what size of the drill and things like that, but that was not quite... there were only about four women, I think.

LG: So what was that like, being one of the only women and Japanese American and unionizing?

MR: I guess I didn't notice that anyone was... probably it was like Lucas saying I just ignored it, or I expect people to say things, but usually things were okay. But it really came out when that guy came back, what they really felt came out when that guy came back from his retirement.

LG: One of the times that you were most aware of it was when you were in the position where you might be, where people felt as if you were taking something that belonged to them, then so many things changed, and you talk about being harassed.

MR: When was that? Was that the incident where you... there were other incidents like there could be --

LG: I just remember you would come home and you would be very upset about thigs that were said to you?

MR: Oh yeah? I don't remember.

LG: It sounded like people who'd been very friendly to you had decent relationships, but because you were sort of like in this position and maybe getting a super seniority and not getting laid off when their friends were getting laid off, but then suddenly...

MR: I think so. That could be, because --

LG: And I don't know how much of it was racial and how much it was gender-based.

MR: Both [Laughs]

LG: I do remember that was a very tense, I remember that being a tense time.

MR: Probably, probably. Yeah, they probably, people that were neutral or relatively friendly weren't friendly anymore, all those guys. I was kind of, it was kind of strange for me. But the other women were bigger, taller, and more skilled than I. I think the other four operators, there were three or four, and I think they're still there. They were still there when I left. I don't believe Philadelphia Gear Corp exists anymore. There may be a factory there, but I don't think it's Philadelphia Gear. There's a factory there, whatever...

LR: [Inaudible] His father worked there for years.

MR: Uh-huh.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.