preview

My Father Has The Most Interesting Story

Better Essays
Open Document

My family tree is replete with a variety of employments and occupations. They range from military employment in WWII, to union negotiations in the 50s, to self-employed and back to military today. My father is a carpenter who has been self-employed since the mid 80’s. My older sister went to college and became a veterinary technician. I have a younger brother who went to seminary and became an ordained minister. My first job was delivering papers in my local neighborhood as a teenager, followed by a short stint at a fast food restaurant before joining the military. In regards to this class in general, and organized labor in particular, my grandfather has the most interesting story. My grandfather became a union member for the first time in 1951 when he began working for Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), a petrochemical company. He began as a member of a labor crew and gradually moved up to operating the refining systems that converted oils into paint base. In his third year at ADM, one of the union members was fired for drinking on the job. The union immediately began discussing options to get their member reinstated. The primary option that union leaders came up with was conducting a general strike. During the strike meeting, my grandfather attempted to stand up and give his opinion – namely, that the employee drinking on the job had caused an unsafe situation, and that the employee deserved to be fired. However, he recalled that there was a very large individual who appeared

Get Access