University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University ArchivesUMass Oral History Collection, 1974-2014
Jonathan Tuttle oral history with Robert S. Cox
Item Information
- Title:
- Jonathan Tuttle oral history with Robert S. Cox
- Description:
-
Conversation with Jonathan Tuttle; former steward and President (in the 1980s) of AFSCME at UMass and worker in the AFSCME office in Boston. Tuttle was the son of a UMass faculty member, and was instrumental in getting strong affirmative action language into the AFSCME 1776 contract in the late 1970s. Grew up on UMass campus; went to school here and was politically active in Young Independents, opposing military and in civil rights movement (00:03:20); after graduating from divinity school in Chicago at McCormick Theological Seminary (1966) was active in the civil rights and antiwar movements (00:05:39); and worked in a social justice ministry in Chicago before getting burned out in the riots after the death of Martin Luther King and at the Chicago Convention and there during the trials (00:08:00). Chicago riots (00:11:30). Burnt out, returned home to live in North Leverett, working in a bar before taking a job at the campus bookstore as a storekeeper. Worked at a head shop in town and joined IWW chapter after labor issues there. Began working as a member of AFSCME, quickly became a steward and was aggressive as a steward regarding unsafe work conditions; became chief steward for supply (00:20:40). After Gerry Maitland left, Tuttle was elected president of the union (00:22:00); getting active in dealing with discrimination against women in hiring and advancement, learning that women hired at grade 3 while men came at grade 7 while performing same work (00:23:25); HR department were the enemy in all this (00:28:30); History of Local 1776, AFSCME was the first organized union on campus in 1963 (with help of Harvey Friedman) as part of deal to bring the labor center here (00:31:40). Shorty Messier as president of AFSCME (00:40:25); retirement, state pension, and AFSCME (00:45:20). Called to Boston, partly because the office thought they could control him better there than at UMass. Worked with municipalities all over state -- everything west of 495 and going down to Hartford and up as far as Burlington at time. Major achievements during his time in the union include organizing the union in the first place (00:48:14).
- Interviewee:
- Tuttle, Jonathan
- Interviewer:
- Cox, Robert S., 1958-
- Date:
-
July 17, 2015
- Format:
-
Film/Video
- Genre:
-
Motion pictures (visual work)
Oral histories
- Location:
-
Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries
Box 001 (shelf locator) - Collection (local):
-
UMass Amherst Oral History Collection
UMass Amherst Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection
- Series:
- Staff and professional
- Subjects:
-
Labor leaders--Massachusetts--Amherst--Interviews
Civil rights movement
Civil rights workers--Interviews
Riots--Illinois--Chicago
Labor unions--Organizing--Massachusetts
Collective bargaining--Massachusetts
Sex discrimination in employment--Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Amherst--Employees--Interviews
AFCME. Local 1776
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Industrial Workers of the World
- Places:
-
Massachusetts > Hampshire (county) > Amherst
Illinois > Cook (county) > Chicago
- Extent:
- 1 videocassette ; 00:55:27
- Link to Item:
- http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/murg1_207_2013-i149
- Terms of Use:
-
Requests to publish, redistribute, or replicate this material should be addressed to Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Contact host institution for more information.
- Place of origin:
-
Shutesbury (Mass.)
- Language:
-
English
- Identifier:
-
murg1_207_2013-i149