Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1989.023.001 |
Object Name |
Records |
Scope & Content |
This oral history, conducted in Cantonese Chinese with Alice Yip, is part of a greater effort by MOCA to research and record the history of Chinese Americans in the garment industry and was possibly conducted as part of MOCA’s research for its 1989 exhibition, "Both Sides of the Cloth." Alice Yip, who grew up in Hong Kong, immigrated to the Netherlands in 1970 and then to the United States in 1976. She went to work in the garment industry in New York Chinatown immediately the day after arriving at the same factory as her mother-in-law, whom she part-nered with to complete the hanging, sorting, packaging and tagging required of the last or fin-ishing step in the garment production process. She worked at three different factories for a to-tal of six years—three as a finisher and three as a sewing machine operator. Being sociable and bold, she was elected by fellow workers as union shop steward at all three factories. Later, she was hired as a union business agent of Local 23-25 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). In this oral history, Alice recounts her years of experience as a worker in the garment industry, covering such topics as her first day and week on the job, the work required in the finishing step of the process, why she switched to sewing, the differences between both kinds of work, her pay and hours, how she got her jobs, how she balanced garment work and childrearing, and her relationship with her children. She also speaks about her experience as a shop steward and a union business agent, why she joined the union, union health benefits, the changes she has seen in the garment industry since she first started in the 1970s, the goals she wants to accomplish through her union work, and what of this history she would like to convey to the next generations. |
Creator |
Yip, Alice |
Title |
Oral History Interview with Alice Yip |
Collection |
Oral History - Waves of Identity |
Accession number |
1989.023 |
Date |
February 17, 1989 |