Interview no. 1618

Josephine Maceyra in 1958 left a job as a supervisor of surgery in a hospital to take an industrial nurse position at the Farah Company at the insistence of Willie and James Farah; Mrs. Maceyra initially worked at 3rd street location; she eventually was placed in charge of all clinics in each factory and the hospital for the company; she explains that medical care was provided free of charge for all employees; she recalls the personalities of Willie and James Farah; Mrs. Maceyra mentions James having a very friendly personality, recounts the time he had a heart attack at work and her unsuccessful attempt to revive him; she describes Willie as a great boss, but very tough and business like. Ms. Maceyra mentions she left Farah in 1977; she recalls Willie Farah’s wife Betty, and her presence at the work locations; remembers the work conditions downtown as tightly knit with great worker loyalty; she describes the moves to the Paisano and later on the Gateway location as increasingly larger facilities and less cohesive; she mentions that worker composition shifted from almost all Mexican to more Asian and Americanized workers over time. She states that during the 1975 boycott of Farah products, older workers were more loyal while newer workers were asking for more benefits and chose to strike; she mentions that due to effects of striking and the boycott, many workers lost their homes and were ruined financially when Farah lost business. Ms. Maceyra ends by stating that though not financially wealthy, she feels rich for having worked with such great people