Abstract Please note this interview was recorded over a telephone call. Carolyn Stieff reflects on her time as an active member of the WMATA union Amalgamated Transit Union 689. Thrust into the labor movement in 1974 while still in her first months on the job, she participated in the 1974 wildcat strike. After that experience Carolyn soon got involved in the union. She speaks about what it was like to be one of the first female bus drivers in DC, a role that brought her both harassment and praise...

Abstract Please note this interview was recorded over a telephone call. Craig Simpson reflects on his life as a labor organizer, with special attention to the 1978 Metro Strike and the nearly three decades working with the labor movement as an employee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Craig remembers the events between 1974 and 1978 that led to the 1978 Metro wildcat strike in precise detail. While the previous generation of bus drivers was entirely white men, the...

Content Description 4 oral history interviews (approx 60 minutes each) and the full 23-minute short film “Feed/Back”, a short experimental documentary released in 2022 in partnership with the Center for Story-based Strategy and Village X Studio. The film wove together a futurist narrative of escape with present-day stories of food service workers, many formerly employed at Busboys and Poets, a cultural centerpiece in the DMV community. It was awarded Best Director (DMV Short Film Festival) and honorable mention...

Abstract Please note this interview was recorded over a telephone call. In this oral history, James Daniels reflects on his time working at WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) and his work with the labor movement while at WMATA and beyond. He also speaks about his time growing up in South Carolina, where he lived until he was 12. The part of South Carolina he is from was still dependent on the cotton economy, and as a young child he picked cotton on a plantation. He remembers the...

Abstract

Gratz narrates his experiences working with the Marriott family, the company culture, and the events leading up to his termination. He also recounts moments of intimidation, harassment, and assault that he or his coworkers experienced both from management and from fellow staff at Marriott.

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Hinojosa explores the narrative surrounding Busboys and Poets in contrast with her experiences as a long-time worker there. She narrates moments of resistance, intimidation, wage theft and harassment that she was impacted by as a server, and that her coworkers were impacted by. She recounts witnessing Malcolm Wilson's resignation and how that impacted her, as well as the events leading up to her own resignation.

Abstract

Hinojosa explores the narrative surrounding Busboys and Poets in contrast with her experiences as a long-time worker there. She narrates moments of resistance, intimidation, wage theft and harassment that she was impacted by as a server, and that her coworkers were impacted by. She recounts witnessing Malcolm Wilson's resignation and how that impacted her, as well as the events leading up to her own resignation.

Abstract

Wilson describes his experiences with Busboys and Poets growing up and then as an employee. He describes the events leading up to his resignation as well as incidents of retaliation, wage theft and harassment he experienced and witnessed while working there.

Abstract

Wilson describes his experiences with Busboys and Poets growing up and then as an employee. He describes the events leading up to his resignation as well as incidents of retaliation, wage theft and harassment he experienced and witnessed while working there.

Abstract In this oral history Michael Golash talks about how his early life influenced his decision to take a leadership role in the 1978 Metro wildcat strike and the ways that the strike played a central role in many of his future decisions. First, Golash speaks about growing up in Albany, New York where observing the city's party-machine helped to formulate his early ideas about politics. The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was another key point in his political development. Golash's...