Chapter 5: The Workers

The Interview Process

As part of my research, I interviewed twelve people who had once lived and worked in the textile and garment industry of Schuylkill County. The interviewees make up a convenience sample. There were limitations and biases to the findings as the majority of the interviewees are from Tamaqua or have worked in J. E. Morgan Knitting Mills, which was originally based in Tamaqua. The study findings are also limited because the sample is small, and the positions that they held are diverse. The study would be more representative of Schuylkill County’s textile and apparel manufacturing labor force if there was a larger sample size, more randomness in selecting the interviewees, a wider range of factories included and stratification of the different factory positions. Despite the sample’s limitations, I believe I fulfilled my purpose of conducting the interviews, which was to gain an understanding of the rise and fall of the textile and garment industry from personal, insiders’ perspectives.

I found some that were willing to participate in my study through personal connections (mainly my grandmother who once lived in Tamaqua). I also found interviewees on Facebook simply by using the search engine and looking for Groups that related to Schuylkill County’s towns and history. I connected to interviewees through the following Facebook Groups: “Tamaqua Then and Now,” “J.E. Morgan’s Knitting Mill,” “Old Downtown Pottsville: Schuylkill County: Frankie’s Smoke Shop,” “Schuylkill Haven History,” “Frackville PA” and “Orwigsburg Borough.” I find it important to note that on each Facebook Group Page, members were quick and eager to respond to my posts. Many members had either worked in the industry or had a close relative that did so, and they were happy to volunteer their experiences, memories and photos.

After making a connection, I further communicated with the volunteers via email. I sent each potential interviewee a sample of the questions I planned on asking them and a consent form, which was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Delaware. (See Appendices A, B and C.) All of the volunteers agreed to continue to the next step, which was to set a date for the interview. The interviews occurred over the phone, which I recorded and transcribed. The rest of this chapter consists solely of the data collected from the interviews.

As shown in Table 5.1, the twelve interviewees were predominantly female, ranging from 1 to 49 years of experience in the industry. Roughly speaking, those that worked in the industry earlier on seem to have stayed in the industry longer. Reasons for this could be that the industry was more reliable earlier on and that now more young people hope to college rather than work in the manufacturing sector. Half of the interviewees worked in the sewing department of the factory at one point during their careers, and the majority of the interviewees each worked in several different departments within the factory throughout their careers.

Choosing to Work in the Industry

“The pay wasn’t much, but being close to home, you weren’t spending money on gas and wear and tear on your car. In five or ten minutes you were home from work; it was great.” –Interviewee who worked at J. E. Morgan Knitting Mill for 31 years

The main reason that the interviewees chose to work in the textile and garment industry was for the money. No one mentioned interests in the production and manufacturing process; they just needed the job and financial support.

Many of the interviewees also cited close proximity as the reason they decided to work in the textile and garment industry. Many did not own a vehicle, and the factory they worked at was within walking distance. The close proximity was also beneficial for workers with dependents, which included children or older parents. While one interviewee without a vehicle was too far to walk to the factory, she was able to carpool with her neighbor into town.

The garment and textile industry was also one of the only industries around for work. For those that were in or recently graduated from high school, it was one of the most common places to work and paid fairly well. One interviewee worked at J.E. Morgan’s during her time in high school even though she was on the track team. She worked the night shift, and they would allow her to come in late after track meets. Another interviewee worked at Auburn in the summers between her years in high school and before college. It was convenient for high school students to work in the garment industry because they did not have to travel out of town to make extra money. Others did not plan on going to college, so this was one of their only options near home.

Many interviewees had grown up while the industry was booming and, therefore, saw it as a steady place for work. Some interviewees turned to this industry after being laid off in other ones. When taking the job, some interviewees had expected to retire in these positions in the factories; some still did but would have been willing to work longer.

It is also important to note that those who began working in the textile and garment industry earlier on, from the 1950s to the 1970s, were able to get the job quickly and easily; rejection was not common. In the 1980s and on, however, jobs in this industry were more difficult to acquire; the interviewees who started working at this time believed they only got the job through their connections to relatives and friends that already worked in the factories. This correlation between time period and job acquisition difficulty helps to illustrate the broader picture of the rise and the fall of the textile and garment industry.

A Day in the Life

“I just got a greater appreciation of the hard work that the textile industry had to go through in terms of making money.” –Interviewee who worked in industry during summers of high school

Workers that worked on the factory floor had the choice of working at minimum wage or at piece-rate. Piece-rate workers got paid by their daily output, which seemed to be the more common choice; they received higher wages but their jobs, which were time-driven, were also more stressful both physically and mentally. Sewing machine operators and more intricate operations tended to be done by female workers. More dangerous jobs, such as bleaching and dyeing, heavy-lifting jobs, and upper management tended to be males. Genders in the warehousing, distribution center, and product planning varied.

The factories of Schuylkill County operated on a bell schedule. Workers would come in about half an hour before the workday to set up their station. The typical workday was from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm with a half-hour lunch break. On hot summer days, the workday would start as early as 5:30 in the morning so that workers did not have to work as long in un-air-conditioned rooms.

The interviewees tended to think of their work as mostly individualized; however, they also noted that it was necessary for all of the workers to come together as a unit in order for them to be successful. Near the end of the factories’ times, interviewees noticed that more and more work was getting sent out to contractors. In addition, contractors would come in temporarily to set up a machine and then leave.

When asked what the best parts of working in the textile business were, almost always, the interviewee’s first few words were, “the people.” Because most of the workers were from nearby towns, they shared a common culture. Both young and old, they all seemed to be in the same situation, making money in one of the few industries left to support themselves and their families. Older women taught the younger ones how to sew, and throughout the workday, they would chat and socialize.

Conditions and Union Influences

“Everything ran like a tight ship, honestly, so that’s good. And they made good work because of that, too. If you’re in a chaotic situation, it could cause a lot of stress and problems.” –Interviewee who worked in industry throughout high school

While many interviewees explained that working conditions certainly could have been worse, one of the main complaints was that there was no air-conditioning in the summer or heat in the winter. One interviewee explained, “It was a very physically demanding job, which wasn’t an issue, but in those extreme temperatures, it was very, very difficult and demanding. That was the worst part.” Other interviewees noted that new windows were also necessary and a part of the rooms’ temperature problems; however, it was never in the company’s budget to fix these issues. Physical comfort seems to have been of low importance to some of the factories in Schuylkill County.

Many mentioned that upper management was not quite receptive to the workers on the factory floor. If there was an issue or a suggestion, the floor workers did not feel welcome to share it with their managers. While some interviewees took this as something that could have been improved, another interviewee showed more faith in the upper management explaining that if the factory hadn’t run like this, like a “tight ship,” it would have been chaotic and problematic to the company’s success.

Many of those interviewed worked in non-union establishments, and most did not find the union to be necessary because they were generally pleased with working conditions. In fact, some thought becoming unionized would just cause problems. In recognizing a decline in the region’s garment and textile industry, some even worried that unionization would cause the industry to leave more quickly. While unions were not prevalent in some of Schuylkill County’s factories, one interviewee cited them as still being important in improving conditions. She said, “When I worked for American Argo—they were non-union—one of the old-timers said to me, ‘You should respect the union because we have what we have because of unions.’” In other words, unions most likely raised the bar in terms of working condition standards for all of the factories in Schuylkill County—unionized or not.

Signs of the Industry’s Decline

“You got used to seeing signs. You were over here and they hadn’t paid their electric bill, or they hadn’t paid their oil bill. And it was kind of like, uh oh. Here we go.” –Interviewee who worked as sewing machine operator for 21 years

Overall, many of the interviewees noticed signs of the industry declining while they worked in the factories. Some of the signs were gradual. For instance, as mentioned above, the company would stop paying the bills. Or departments would shut down one after another. An interviewee who worked in the industry for 40 years illustrates:

The way they closed, they phased out department by department. They stopped weaving the material; those people were gone. Then whatever was left in there was cut. When everything was cut, those people left. Then when everything was sewn, those people left. It was just slow. It was a horrible thing to watch because I was in IT at the end. And it was like watching somebody with cancer die. It was a very slow death, and we were one of the last departments to go. It was difficult, very difficult.

These gradual signals were emotionally devastating for workers who scrambled to look elsewhere to support themselves and their families. Sudden closings were just as bad though. One interviewee noted that she showed up to work one day to find the factory padlocked. There were many signs throughout the county that the industry was declining, but it was still shocking because business seemed so stable just years before.

Life after the Industry

“None of the places that were there when I was working are there now. Well, the buildings are there, but nothing’s in them. They all folded up.” –Interviewee who worked in the industry throughout high school and still lives in the county

The younger of the interviewees were not severely affected by the closings of the textile and garment factories as they were there temporarily and planned on getting college degrees after a few years of work. Some of the older workers, however, had been in the industry for their entire time in the work force; they had enjoyed their jobs, and would have continued to work in the industry given the opportunity. Those who had invested their time developing sewing techniques struggled to find employment where they could translate their skills.

In addition, some were mothers and could not find jobs in the area that were mother-friendly. Some factories allowed them to bring their children to the factory if they could not find someone to watch them. The daytime shift at the factories also generally coincided with the school day, so mothers were able to be home when their children got back from school. After these factories were gone, the mothers were forced to find the time or pay for daycare services to watch their children. These consequences of factory closings led some workers to drop out of the labor force entirely and even retire earlier than planned (Interviewees who worked in the industry for 28, 34, 40 and 49 years).

Workers that did not drop out of the labor force went on to work at manufacturing plants of different industries or stores; one interviewee started her own business and another became a teacher. A few interviewees cited the North American Free Trade Agreement as a major reason for the fall of the industry. One proactive interviewee even went back to college to become a Paralegal Major, as a result of the free trade agreement (Interviewee who worked in product development and costing).

While some interviewees are understanding of the changes in their local economy due to outside forces, all were negatively impacted and still incur transition costs. The workers are nostalgic of the time when industry was booming and when the country depended on them to supply the nation with a great deal of its apparel. Some, more protectionist than others, are even angered by the labels they read on clothing that say they are made in other countries. The fall of the textile and garment industry has created both emotional and economic woes.

“There are not many opportunities in this area for locals for someone in the apparel industry. The industry’s just not there anymore. So I’m trying to branch out.” –Interviewee who worked in industry for 35 years