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Oral History Interview with Alice Yip, February 17, 1989

 File
Identifier: 1989.023.001

Abstract

This oral history, conducted in Cantonese with Alice Yip, was 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 immediately in the garment industry in New York Chinatown the day after arriving. She worked at the same factory as her mother-in-law, whom she partnered with to complete the hanging, sorting, packaging and tagging required of the last or finishing step in the garment production process. She worked at three different factories for a total 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 she would like to convey of this history to the next generations.

Dates

  • Creation: February 17, 1989

Conditions Governing Use

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, belong to the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). Interview can only be reproduced with permission from the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA).

Extent

0.183 Gigabytes

Language of Materials

English