National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. Series 3. Beth-Israel Hospital interviews

Interviews of ten individuals associated with Beth-Israel Hospital include 1199 delegates Marjorie Phillips (dietary clerk), Hilda Joquin (dietary clerk), Edith Garcia (housekeeping worker), Mary Riley (nurse's aide), and Arguilla Ortiz (kitchen worker); hospital workers Jimmy Cormack (orderly), Mrs. Jimmy Cormack (dietary aide), and Cornelius Bill Volk (fireman), Lucille Works (dietary supervisor), and Cecil Sheps (director).

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"Interviews of ten individuals associated with Beth-Israel Hospital include 1199 delegates Marjorie Phillips (dietary clerk), Hilda Joquin (dietary clerk), Edith Garcia (housekeeping worker), Mary Riley (nurse's aide), and Arguilla Ortiz (kitchen worker); hospital workers Jimmy Cormack (orderly), Mrs. Jimmy Cormack (dietary aide), and Cornelius Bill Volk (fireman), Lucille Works (dietary supervisor), and Cecil Sheps (director)."@en
"Other issues discussed include hospital administration, boards of trustees and supervisors; the influence of the Board of Trustees on the hospital administration; public relations; discrimination against workers for union activity; attitudes and behavior of supervisors during the strike; attempts to pacify workers; strikebreaking and attempts to persuade strikers to return to work; Personnel Department policies on recruitment, training and upgrading, performance standards, and pensions; the ethnic composition of the Board of Trustees; the influence of the Henry Street Settlement on hospital administration; the social, cultural, and economic composition of the hospital's neighborhood; the influence of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies and of the National Conference of Catholic Charities on the hospital board, and their role in the community; and the hospital administration's contacts with black and Puerto Rican community leaders."@en
"Data on personal background include previous employment experience, early union contacts, and ethnic background. The discussion of pre-union working conditions includes the topics of salary levels in the 1950's; the quality of food and management of cafeterias; the labor turnover rate; communication links and chains of command; work scheduling; grievance resolution; the structure and organization of hospital departments; personal relations between supervisors, workers and patients; the exploitation of workers; the system of determining raises; seniority; choosing supervisors; and job security."@en
"Characteristics and attitudes of workers discussed include identification with work assignments; job satisfaction; self-confidence; identification with the labor movement; low wages and working conditions; the support of strikers by workers at other hospitals; participation in lobbying activities in Albany; the union's effect on worker morale and productivity; resistance to unionization and strike support as a function of worker's job category and department; racial composition and level of support for the union as related to hospital department; worker solidarity; a comparison of older and newer workers; the reliance upon loans, welfare, and family support to compensate for low wages; and the fear of job loss."@en
"The conduct of the organizing campaign and strike at Beth-Israel are discussed at length. Included are the establishment of organizing committees in various hospital departments; arrests of strikers; fights between strikers and scabs; picketing; the use of volunteers and the maintenance of patient care during the strike; the conduct of elections, organizing meetings, and demonstrations; the adjustment of the families of strikers to the hardships caused by the strike and family participation in strike activities; the development of leadership among hospital workers; scab activities in the hospital and strikers' response; strike provisions; strike and picketing strategies; community and clergy support for the strike; and the organizing activities of Beth-Israel workers."@en
"1199 staff and officers as leaders and organizers are also discussed."@en
"Post-union working conditions are also reviewed. Included are the influence of the Permanent Administrative Committee (PAC) on the administration of labor-management relations; dues collection; grievance procedure; restrictions on union activity during hours of work and on hospital premises; the reinstatement of strikers; the loss of family atmosphere; the impact of technological changes; union delegate training; delegate election; union benefits; social activities; training and upgrading; and the effects of unionization on wages, working conditions, and patient care."@en