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Oral history interview with Julius Fry, August 19, 1974 interview E-0004, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007). Cover Image E-book

Oral history interview with Julius Fry, August 19, 1974 interview E-0004, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)

Interview with Julius Fry, August 19, 1974 (portion title)
Interview E-0004, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) (other title)
Fry, Julius 1912-1990 (interviewee). Finger, William R. (interviewer). Southern Oral History Program. (Added Author). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project) (Added Author). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. (Added Author).

Summary: Julius Fry was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, in 1912. In 1927, Fry left school to work as a weaver in the Mansfield Mill, Inc. He describes working there during the early years of the Great Depression and his growing awareness of the labor movement. Fry explains that his first knowledge of the labor movement came with his observation of the textile strike in Gastonia in 1929. His interest in labor activism intensified during the early years of the Great Depression when he faced shortened hours and wage cuts as a textile worker. Fry describes the reaction of workers to the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the rise of the New Deal. In particular, Fry emphasizes the role of the National Recovery Administration and the Wagner Act as especially pivotal moments that shaped his thoughts on labor activism. Likening these measures to "emancipation of the slaves," he increasingly advocated for workers rights. In 1937, he participated in the organization of a union in Lumberton, North Carolina. Fry describes in detail how the union was founded, the role of labor organizer Miles Horton in garnering support for the union, the support of North Carolina Senator Robert R. Reynolds, and the reaction of Mansfield Mill, Inc. In 1943, Fry left his job in the textile mill to work full-time for the Textile Workers Union of America. He explains his job as a contract negotiator between unions and employers and his interaction with the War Labor Board.

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Record details

  • Physical Description: electronic resource
    remote
    1 online resource
  • Edition: Electronic edition
  • Publisher: [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2006.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Duration: 01:31:31.
Interview participants: Julius Fry, interviewee; Bill Finger, interviewer.
Text encoded by Mike Millner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.
This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
Title from menu page (viewed on May 21, 2008).
Type of Computer File or Data Note:
Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 171 kilobytes, 167 megabytes.
Original Version Note:
Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series E, Labor, interview E-0004, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Joe Jaros. Original transcript: 46 p.
Funding Information Note:
Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
System Details Note:
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
Fry, Julius 1912-1990 Interviews
Mansfield Mills.
Textile Workers Organizing Committee.
Textile Workers Union of America.
Employees Government policy United States
Labor unions North Carolina Officials and employees Interviews
Strikes and lockouts North Carolina
Textile workers Labor unions Organizing North Carolina Lumberton
Textile workers Labor unions Southern States
Textile workers North Carolina Lumberton Interviews
Textile workers North Carolina Lumberton Social conditions
Wages Textile workers North Carolina Lumberton
World War, 1939-1945 Social aspects Southern States
Genre:
Oral histories.
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