Elinor Otto, 93, in the living room of her home in Long Beach CA
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Editor:
There are things that I believe in, passionately. Our suppressed labour history is one. Let’s remember the people who REALLY built this country… not the lazy investors, not the loudmouth pundits, not the greasy preachers, not the gladhanding salesmen, not the smarmy pols. A hat-tip to our moms and pops, to our babas and dedes… who walked the picket lines and stood up to the bosses so that we could have a good life.
My thanks to the Cabinet member who sent this on… a big hug, dear… it took me a while to post it, but I DON’T forget! Be good…
BMD
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Elinor Otto picked up a riveting gun in World War II, joining the wave of women taking previously male-only jobs. These days she’s building the C-17. She braces her slight frame and grips the riveting gun with both hands, her bright red hair and flowered sweater a blossom of colour in Long Beach’s clanking Boeing C-17 plant. Boom, boom, boom. She leans back as the gun’s hammer quickly smacks the fasteners into place. Then, she puts the tool in a holster and zips around a wing spar to grab a handful of colourful screw-on backs, picking up another gun along the way to finish them off. Her movements are deft and precise. A co-worker says with a smile, “Don’t get in her way, she’ll run you over”. Otto finishes a section of fasteners, looks up, and shrugs, “That’s it”. It’s just another day at the office for a 93-year-old “Rosie the Riveter” who stepped into a San Diego County factory in 1942… and still works on the assembly line today.
Otto is something of a legend among her co-workers on the state’s last large military aircraft production line. Her legend is growing… recently, Long Beach honoured her when it opened Rosie the Riveter Park next to the site of the former Douglas Aircraft plant, where women worked during World War II. Otto said, “She says, ‘We can do it!’ and I’m doing it!” flexing her thin arm and laughing, mimicking the iconic poster. She joked, if she were younger, she’d look at herself now and wonder, “What’s that old bag still doing here?” Yet, Otto seems to have more energy than those half-a-century younger. Fellow structural mechanic Kim Kearns… who’s 56… said, “I wish I was in as good a shape as she’s in at my age”. Otto’s out of bed at 04.00, for she drives to work early to grab a coffee and a newspaper before the 06.00 meeting. In the Boeing lot, she parks as far from the plant as possible so that she can get some exercise. Every Thursday, she brings in cookies, and she goes to the beauty parlour to have her hair and nails touched up after her shift ends. Craig Ryba, another structural mechanic, said, “She’s an inspiration. She just enjoys working and enjoys life”.
Otto was beautiful, with bright blue eyes and dark hair piled high, when she joined a small group of women at Rohr Aircraft in Chula Vista CA during World War II. The bosses threatened to give demerits to the men who stood around trying to talk to her… so, Otto’s suitors left notes for her in the phone booth, where she called her mother every day. Back then, Otto said that everyone worked for the war effort, so, they didn’t think much of their jobs… it was tough to find good ones. World War II was all-consuming, with product rationing and scrap-metal collections, and men leaving for the war. Otto joined the war effort with her two sisters, one who worked alongside her at Rohr, the other a welder in a Bay Area shipyard. She was newly single with a young son.
Otto, who had to board her son out during the week, said, “During those days, we could hardly find an apartment that would let you rent with kids. My goodness, they’re going to go to war someday and they can’t even live in an apartment. It cost 20 dollars a week, and it was hard because I made 65 cents an hour”. At the plant, she’d make the others laugh at how fast she could rivet, she said, quickly moving her hands and stomping her feet to demonstrate. The men resented the women at first… the bosses banned smoking and they had to keep their shirts on… they doubted that the girls could get the job done, saying, “It turned out we worked better than them, faster, because they were so sure of themselves”. On the days that they didn’t feel like going in, she and the girls would put Rosie the Riveter by the Four Vagabonds on their 78 phonograph. They’d sing and bop along to the music to get themselves motivated and out the door.
All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She’s a part of the assembly line.
She’s making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie… BRRRR… the Rivet-er.
Days after the war ended, Otto and other women were let go as the men returned home. She said, “They needed us at one time, and when the war was over, they let us go. That’s how it was”.
Thousands of women flocked to California to work at aircraft factories during the war. The first wave was mostly single women, but wives, mothers, groups of friends and sisters followed. It was tough work, with the challenge of finding child care and the pressures of a society shaken by war and changing norms, according to Long Beach Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who wrote Rosie the Riveter in Long Beach. Schipske said that after a hard day’s work, men and even other women would sometimes harass Rosies if they went home in their dirty pants or overalls instead of changing into a skirt and sweater. Schipske pointed up, “It’s an interesting struggle that women went through just simply because they were trying to do something to help end the war. It was an incredible amount of work they had to do”. Interest in Rosies peaked in the 1970s and ’80s, as people rediscovered the “We Can Do It” poster; it became a symbol of the women’s movement. Now, families are becoming more aware of relatives’ contributions during the war.
Grandson John Perry, 43, said that a year ago, Otto would’ve said that working during the war was no big deal. However, as more people talk to her about her history, he said, the more that she realises she that really did something important. He said that he told his grandmother, “You’ve saved American lives and you’ve been saving American lives your whole life. It’s a powerful story, a positive story, and one hell of a tribute to the female work force”. Growing up, Perry said that his grandmother taught him etiquette and culture when he was shuttling back and forth between parents. When he wrote letters to her, she corrected his spelling in neat red pen and sent them back. He noted, “As long as her eyes are open, she’s going”.
After the war ended, Otto tried other jobs, but sitting in an office drove her nuts… she hates being still. Car-hopping worked out until roller skates became part of the uniform. She said, “I’d a broke my neck, skating and holding food! No, no, no”. So, she worked for Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego CA for 14 years, until they laid her off. At a party nearly a year later, a girlfriend told her to get to Los Angeles as fast as she could. Douglas Aircraft was hiring women for the first time since the war. A car-full of women left for Long Beach that night, she said, and they hired them right away.
In its heyday, Otto says, the C-17 plant was fully staffed, with a parking lot so big that workers put flags on their cars to find them in the sea of vehicles. Long Beach was a hub of production during the war and after, but in the decades since, the aerospace industry in the city shrank as demand for military aircraft fell. In mergers over those years, Douglas became McDonnell Douglas, which later joined with Boeing. However, as the production at the C-17 plant dwindled and operations became more mechanised, “It was kinda like trimming back the bushes, you can see your neighbour again”, Kearns said of meeting Otto a decade ago… after having worked at the same plant for more than 20 years. Ryba said, “She tells us not to treat her any different. She works that job just like any of us and sometimes maybe better”.
Over the years, her crew was supportive of Otto, who remarried and eventually divorced. Last year, when her son died, they surprised her by attending the graveside service. So many people showed up for her that she thought there was another funeral coming, she says with a tear in her eye and a squeeze of Kearns’ hand. On 12 September, the Air Force ended its 32-year relationship with the Long Beach plant as it received its 223rd and final cargo jet. Foreign sales are few and small, but they’ll keep the plant running until late 2014. Boeing will soon decide about the future of the production. The great-grandmother says she would like to retire soon as well, but she refuses to become a couch potato (“Gotta keep moving!”). She worked so long for economic reasons… she cared for her mother and son for years… but also because of her endless energy. She said with a laugh, “When I go to heaven, I hope God keeps me busy!”
23 September 2013
Samantha Schaefer
Los Angeles (CA) Times
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-rosie-riveter-20130918-dto-htmlstory.html
Voices from Russia 
2 May 2012. A Multimedia Presentation. The KPU Marched in Kiev for May Day… Those Aren’t Old Age Pensioners, Pardner…
Tags: Chicago, communism, Communist Party of the Ukraine, Eastern Catholic Churches, Galician Uniate, international labour solidarity, International Workers' Day, KPU, Labour, Left, Left-wing, Left-wing politics, May Day, McMansion, organised labour, Political, political commentary, politics, Pyotr Simonenko, Social justice, socialism, Soviet, Soviet Union, trades unions, Ukraine, unions, United States, USSR, Working class, working women
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“Our choice is socialism“
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In Soviet times, May Day was a holiday, indeed. This day has a rich historical background … it was a memorial of an event in a Chicago strike, when police shot workers fighting for their rights. In fact, that began a struggle for the fair treatment of working people, for an 8-hour workday, and for satisfactory labour standards to ameliorate the terrible lot of female workers.
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If we talk about our reality, the USSR’s political system really proved that struggle brings concrete results. For example, in the 1930s, there were worldwide problems with unemployment. However, we avoided mass unemployment in that period. Moreover, people had the right to choose what kind of school to go to, whether to attend a vocational school or college, learn a profession, to do the things that they wanted to do. People exercised their rights; they grew up… that gave May Day a completely different meaning… it was a celebration of our achievements! We built kindergartens, hospitals, schools, and apartment complexes, we formed labour teams determined to go forward. People were proud of their accomplishments and happy to go to the May Day parade. Now, with our contemporary problems… the attitude to this holiday has changed.
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Today, in fact, May Day’s taken on another meaning… it’s a day of solidarity of the workers of all countries in the struggle for their rights. That is, we support the workers in Europe, in the USA, and in other countries, for we all face the same problems… low wages, high prices, and so on. To date, it’s clear that another priority is safe working conditions, and we must stand up for all of our rights, the unions must stand up against not only economic but also political problems. The KPU believes that we can solve our complex political and economic problems. If the government supports the workers’ demands, the owners must comply with them! Today, we must unite and consolidate our efforts, clearly define our goals, and strengthen the role of unions. If they’re silent, it’s difficult to execute organised protests and to defend our key positions.
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We have weak unions as we remain in a Soviet mentality. People received benefits, the government was good to them… they got vouchers, tours, kindergartens, apartments, pioneer camps, and palaces of sport and culture … who needed a real union if the enterprise fired no one? What about now? We say that we love freedom and that we’re hard-working, but does this freedom give us anything? People are afraid to take time off from work; the boss will stop their pay. Therefore, they’re silent. We must give a political impetus to affairs, to form in people an attitude that things are worth fighting for. Today, the labour movement’s under the owner’s thumb. It isn’t coincidental that, in fact, the new Labour Code gives rights only to the employer, not the working man. However, the unions are silent because they’re afraid of a backlash from the owners. It’s a vicious circle. Today, can an independent union lead even a dozen people into the streets? Essentially, the unions agreed to the new Labour Code because the employers actually have direct control of many of them. In minor details, the code mollifies workers, but in fact, it only benefits the employer. Therefore, I’m against the new Labour Code! From the standpoint of protecting the rights of labouring people, the Soviet code was the best one.
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Of course, my favourite holidays are May Day and the November holiday. In the Soviet times, a large number of people then took part in them. My mom always got me new clothes for these events. However, it wasn’t because of directives from the top… it was just nice for people to experience an atmosphere of unity, good humour, and optimism. We did everything from the heart… we were always proud of 23 February (Red Army Day). We knew what this day meant since the war touched almost everyone. Nevertheless, despite the difficult post-war times, we had the best military technology, our pilots went into space, and we invented the first nuclear-powered icebreaker. Then, many boys wanted to be soldiers and astronauts. Yet, the “holiday” that really had inner meaning for me was my mother’s birthday. I really loved her; I always waited for that day, looking to do something nice for her. For May Day, I wish all of you, firstly, happiness! I hope that your family life’s sunny and comfortable, with good health for you and for your parents, and may your kids always bring you joy! Well, if I can say anything in relation to May Day, I want to emphasise that you just can’t sit around and wait for better times, because there isn’t a victory without a struggle!
1 May 2012
Pyotr Simonenko
KPU.ua
Official Website of the KPU
http://www.kpu.ua/petr-simonenko-bez-borby-net-pobedy/
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Editor’s Note:
The Ukraine’s collapsed economically due to American interference in the country… the so-called Galician Uniate diaspora has been the worst actor in this. The Galician Uniates are similar to the Batista Cubans… many of them are extremist rightwingers (mostly supporters of Neocon Republicans), who peddled the cheap spiritual vodka of “nationalism” to disguise the fact that they were in the pay of American multinationals (they were benefitting, so, they followed orders to rape the country for the benefit of the McMansion dwellers in the USA). The Ukraine hit its nadir point during the time of Yushchenko… it’s starting to climb back out of the hole, to the level of Russia, Byelorussia, and Kazakhstan. Before it can get back on its feet, the Ukraine has to kick out all the Galician Uniate loudmouths from abroad and strictly limit the Uniates and their activities (they’re mostly Langley assets… they can’t be trusted at all as they’re anti-patriots).
Orthodox Christians in the diaspora should take some of Mr Simonenko’s words to heart:
Indeed, if we’re going to have a united Russian Orthodox Church in the diaspora, it’s not going to be pleasant or nice in the immediate near term. There are those who benefit from the current arrangements, and there are those (such as Peterson and Paffhausen) who’d have no place in a legitimate Church. They won’t “go quietly into that dark night”. The worst is yet to come, I fear…
BMD
A Word to the wise on Wikipedia:
Wikipedia’s basically pro-Western in its coverage of the post-Soviet space and China… that’s “objective” in their eyes. In particular, I’m told that one of the Wikipedia editors is a fanatic Galician Uniate, so, be suspect of ANYTHING on the post-Soviet space, as it passes through their hands. EVERY source has its slant… I’m pro-Russian, pro-Orthodox, and pro-Leftist. There! I’m honest about it… unlike Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, SVS, Orthowiki, and Wikipedia. Trust me, even slanted sources have their uses, once you know their biases.
What can you do about the bias? Pass the jug and reflect on the fact that the world hasn’t stopped being crank in the last 24. It’s certainly more healthy than pointless controversy and argument, isn’t it? Just remember… biases in the open are biases defanged. Again… I don’t claim to be “objective”… NO ONE IS. However, I DO have a passion for the truth that’s missing in many… you can take that to the bank. Be careful… there be dragons out there…
BMD