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Moe FonerMoe Foner
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Session:         Page of 592

The same thing began to develop in Philadelphia, where Nicholas had some contacts. So the union began to grow there, in hospital by hospital. In Baltimore, the Hopkins thing set up a wave in about seven hospitals right away that followed right after it. In Jersey it had the similar kind of effect. Particularly along the eastern seaboard it speeded up the whole campaign.

Q:

But hadn't you hoped for more rapid advances in the south, and other places in the south?

Foner:

No. No, we did not. We left staff there, and they were going to try to do something in Columbia -- there were some inquiries there. There were inquiries in a couple of other hospitals. But remember, after a strike that long hospital workers were not so excited about going back to the union that might mean such a strike. Because there was no legislation there, the fight would have to start all over again. We didn't really wipe them out in South Carolina -- not by a long shot. Since we had never intended to go in to the south that early anyway, we wanted to return to the normal base, because we were just beginning a national campaign at that time.

Q:

Whatever became of the unit at Charleston?

Foner:

The unit in Charleston went through many difficult periods, and then we lost everything there. It was a combination of our inability to establish a kind of structure that would work after the strike. It was also related to the fact that we would have to finance the thing completely. The whole question of collecting dues without an effective staff was very very hard to do. We made attempts, we sent different people down for different periods of time. There were complaints in Charleston from the people there -- Mary Moultrie particularly, I think at the urging of other people, but that's neither here nor there -- that we should be financing them more to permit them to continue to do so. But after awhile we concluded that we had gone as far as we could go with it, and we weren't going to continue with it. The workers wouldn't do it.

Q:

Did it leave a lot of bitterness?

Foner:

A lot? Not true. Some? Yes. Some, yes. A few years ago, right before I left, someone was writing an article for a magazine in the south that was put out by -- not the Southern Conference. I forget. I have the magazine. It was put out by Southern Changes, it was called at the time. His name -- Steve Hofius.





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