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I want to ask you to begin by describing the organizing consequences of the events in Charleston. In other words, did it really spawn the kind of organization outside of the traditional basis or strength of the union that you all had hoped when you got in to it?

It speeded up the process considerably, in that the Charleston strike had a great impact on hospital workers around the country, had an impact on most progressive, pro-labor people around the country. Of course it was another indication -- just as the 1959 strike was -- that this was a union that was recapturing the great moments in labor history, so to speak. In the sense that this was a union that was re- establishing the alliances between blacks and labor, between liberals and labor, between good and evil in labor, that was current in the CIO period. To see workers, particularly black women workers, involved in such a struggle got a lot of unions involved in wanting to do something to help us, and helped the union later because of the relations. But specifically, it also had an impact on workers because it was very widely covered on television. At several stages, it was on television like three or four nights running a week, and then it would come up again -- it was again on television three nights running. I mean national television.

The blue and white hat became a symbol to hospital workers and 1199 -- “I want that 1199 union.” I don't think I told you this story that took place in Charleston, of the NAACP in one of the towns not far from Charleston -- we won an election there not too long ago -- were scheduled to have a march in support of the strikers. They sent a representative to us and said they wanted to schedule when they would come. We said, “The sooner the better. If you can do it this weekend it would be great.” They said, “Will we have 1199 hats to wear?” I said, “No we've just run out of them, but we'll have them later on. We'll send them to you after the march.” “No, no, no -- we'll wait, because we want to have the hats.” So that hat became a symbol around the country, and became a symbol for hospital workers.

We were stirring around in Baltimore, and in Philadelphia, at that time. When the strike ended, Andy -- I think I mentioned it last time -- we went together to the press. We said, “We're going to go together.” So when we came to Baltimore that was the first very clear example, and the hospitals didn't have to agree to an election -- and this was Johns Hopkins, so it was a big place. Hopkins and the head of the hospital association said, “If you want an election, you can have elections. We don't want a Charleston in Baltimore.” So we had elections there, and won.