Item AAAB5673 - Claire Richard Billingsley interview

CALL NUMBER: T4101:0011 PERIOD COVERED: 1935-1967 RECORDED: Trail (B.C.), 1983-08-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Biographical. Discrimination in hiring. Lead dust. Working conditions. Meet Arthur Evans. Favouritism in promotion. Workmen's Committee grievance. Theory of cooperation. Blaylock story. signing up in the Mine/Mill union. 1917 strike. Becoming a shop steward. Organizing on the job. Hired as international representative. Voluntary check off help in organising. Trouble in organising. Sheep Creek gold mines. organizing tactics at small mine. Company opposition to union. Voluntary check off and door to door organizing. First bargaining with Blaylock. First contract not very good. Harvey Murphy talks about contract. Foremen react to contract. Gets fired as organizer. Communism in Mine/Mill. Billingsley runs for president of Local 480. TRACK 2: John Goyden hired to replace Claire Goyden. Collecting Communist party dues while organising. Local secretary of small union couldn't read or write. Trouble in organising small unions. Communists on Local 480 executive. Communists were shop stewards. Changes grievance procedure. Bosses learn to live with contract. One hundred and twenty-five communists in Local. Murphy ties labour to Communism. Communists are good workers. Reasons for split. Never had any money in Local. Poor research department in Mine/Mill. Murphy on pork chops. Union meeting in Spokane. Communists were refused entry into the United States. Future of Reid Robinson decided. Reasons for union split. Kimberly executive is split. Murphy and poker. Murphy and organising. CALL NUMBER: T4101:0012 PERIOD COVERED: 1945-1983 RECORDED: Trail (B.C.), 1983-08-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Merger terms. Anecdote about merger. Kimberly joins Local 480 to stall 1950 Steel vote. Anecdote about Murphy. Quits at Cominco. Automation at Cominco. Gets hired at Provident Investment. Union split and resentment. Business support for Communists. Cominco's attitude during split. Maurice Travis comes to Trail. Travis sent back to States. Wife goes to Vancouver during split. Ladies Auxiliary. Communist cells in Trail. "White" cells set up by Billingsley. Tactics used by Communists and Billingsley. Meeting of C.P. members in Trail. Billingsley being recruited to C.P. Local 480 strike fund. Anecdote about Fred Henne using strike fund. Communists are good workers. Can take control of unions. Communists want to control economy. Anecdote about Murphy and strikes. Car sabotaged by Communists. TRACK 2: Local 480 agrees to repair his car. Literature for split printed ahead of time. Billingsley runs for president of BC District Union. Vote thrown out and new election called. Communists finance new campaign. Communists use of Mine/Mill paper. USWA organisers and tactics. Murphy gets Billingsley's help after split. Difference between organising today and during the 1940s.