Post V

A study of the Archive interview with Rosemary Pepe by Clifton Hood

In this interview Clifton was trying to figure out what Rosemary's grandfather did during his time in New York in the early 1900's. He returned to Italy in between his several jobs, which included working on the train station which was being built and opened in 1904. The interviewer is successful in the questions he asks leading to discussion of several aspects of her grandfathers life. The mention of the accident is quite informative of the work environment especially this aspect of being neglected proper care by the employers, touching on the subject of unions. The union (Local 14) is only briefly mentioned and lacking in information because the interviewee does not know much about it, though she does mention that her grandfather was not willing to disappear into history due to losing an eye (he learned how to operate different machines), displaying the bravery in his personality and the necessity to keep working. The interviewee does a good job of explaining her grandfathers life and his character, not to mention physical features. The environment she describes is descriptive of the traditions of living as the lower class and generally the way italian families lived during this era. She describes his way of supporting his family by working and then sending money to them. The experience is explained with a focus on the family and his affect on them. The daughters were not necessarily educated but became seamstresses, his wife is described as being a "respectable" superstitious italian woman who was very business minded ultimately creating her own shop which her husband (the grandfather) helped put together financially.

The experience of this italian family relate to our class through the harsh work environments the grandfather endured during his work with the subway. It seems he had an experience of neglect from his employers and a union would maybe have done something about this, this is of course also evident in the Wal-Mart course text "Up Against Wal-Mart" where unions are practically non-existent in the work environment letting employers/bosses become in an advantage to abuse your health. It also relates in terms of class and generally the disadvantages the lower classes have, when she explains about his trip to Argentina in hopes for some work from other members of the family and it becomes an issue because they can't support him therefore destroying his opportunity to have been able to work.