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Session #20
Interviewee: Moe Foner
Interviewer: Robert Master
Place: New York, New York
Date: September 29, 1986

Q:

This is interview number twenty with Moe Foner on September 29, 1986, and we're picking up with the story of the rank and file campaign in Local 1199.

Moe Foner:

The problems in trying to win an election against an incumbent are -- there are all kinds of pitfalls. They deal largely with the power that the incumbent has. In a case such as the one in 1199, Turner had a full-time staff of about 100 people. She had control of the publication. She had access to unlimited funds, and she had direct access to the members, and a considerable amount of management support. This reflected itself in the following ways.

Number one, starting with last things first. The management kept Save Our Union supporters outside, from outside that particular institution, out of the hospital, on the ground that no electioneering, no canvassing or campaigning, should take place. While Turner's staff lived inside the hospital, and had her delegates operating inside the hospitals.

At the same time, the publication became nothing more than a puff sheet for Turner. Each issue of the publication prior to the election contained anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five pictures of Turner, with articles written specifically with the purpose of influencing the election











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