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Moe FonerMoe Foner
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Session:         Page of 592

publication as a personal opportunity to win support, and I think that some of that comes through.

Q:

I'm asking because your role in 1199 for decades was also supervising the publication. In the absence of grand exposure of officers, who or what took their place?

Foner:

Well, they're replaced in large by features on workers, and I think that 1199 News has in recent years brought that up to a very high standard of interviews with workers on the job and also photography, of getting a photographer who's good, whose photographs can be used effectively. We've sort of been blessed with a person like Jim Tynan.

Q:

And you played a role in recruiting him.

Foner:

Hiring. Jim Tynan came to me to tell me that he had an exhibition at the O.K. Harris Gallery, of photographs he had done on El Salvador and other countries -- I forget what -- and he asked me if I would come down to see it, and I did, and I was thrown by it. I said to Jim, “Jim, how would you like to take photos for 1199 News?” He said, “I'd love it,” and Jim came.

Q:

Now, is that common among labor publications, to have a staff photographer?

Foner:

There are just a few publications with staff photographers these days. There are many publications which just get photographers, as we know. There are few labor publications with a photographer like Jim Tynan.

The others who I admire are people like Earl Dotter, who doesn't do it for a publication, but I -- it's not fair to say I found Earl Dotter, I met Earl Dotter by chance. He happened to call me, said he heard we have a gallery, could we have an exhibition. I said, “Could you show me what you do?” He sent me, and I said, “Earl, you can have an exhibition any time you want. Tell me what the subject is.” And he did several exhibitions. One exhibition he did on the textile, Southern textile workers, on brown lung disease, that I'll tell you about, and then we'll finish.

The exhibition got tremendous response from everybody who saw it. We coupled it with a section of 60 Minutes on brown lung. We had classes coming in to discuss brown lung. Jane Fonda came to the gallery and toured it. We had workers sent up from J.P. Stevens, who spent a week or two in the gallery when visitors came, discussing what





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