Oral history interview with Eula McGill, December 12, 1974

Eula McGill talks about being raised in a family of Alabama textile workers and gaining an early appreciation for unions despite the physical threats to workers and organizers from bosses and non-union workers. She shares well-formulated thoughts about union members' motivations being not just about garnering a living wage, but establishing personal and economic independence in a world ruled by company stores and company-owned housing. Despite some failings, she says, unions do more than any other institutions to improve the conditions of working people.