Interview with Causby Reynolds, June 30, 1987

Partial Transcript: Causby, say your name.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds talks about her daily routine as a nurse's aide at Pikeville Methodist Hospital. She took general care of the patients, like making their beds, giving them their food, or taking out their catheters. She would get the updates from the night staff from the night before, and then receive the checklist for the day from the charge nurse. She first worked with cardiac patients and then slowly made her way into pediatrics, where she spent most of her time. She worked from 7am to 3:30pm. She worked at Pikeville Methodist, considered the "old hospital," before she moved to a "new" hospital after the strike. She made $1.70/hour after working at this hospital for six years. She worked on different floors, so she worked in different departments as well. Before the strike, she worked on floor 2C at the old hospital, but after the strike, she worked on 4th floor with cardiac patients. However, she still "floated" between floors and departments at the new hospital as well, by going up to 6th floor. She worked some in pediatrics at the new hospital but she preferred working with the newborns in the nursery. She worked the worst shift at the new hospital, 11pm - 7:30 am.

Keywords: Cardiac; Departments; Floors; Hearts; Hospitals; Newborns; Nurse's aides; Nursery; Nurses; Nurses aides; Patient care; Patients; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Shifts

Subjects: Community development; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Medicine--Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So, back to your job.

Segment Synopsis: Once Reynolds moved to the new hospital, she immediately had to go to work with no time to adjust. The workload also increased by a lot. There were about forty people on a floor. She still did what she was doing at her job at the old hospital, meaning she was still feeding patients, picking them up and moving them around if necessary, and all the other bedside necessities the patients needed. She also worked with a limited number of OB-GYN patients.

Keywords: Adjustments; Obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN); Patients; Pediatrics; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Time; Workload

Subjects: Community development; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Well, uh, how come you decided to go to work at the hospital in the first place?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds talks about her social life at the hospital. She and her friends were very close, especially because she did private duty at the hospital, so she knew everyone by the time she started working at the hospital. She also mentions her close attachment to her patients. She wanted to be a nurse, but her youngest son had to have his appendix taken out so she decided to stay with him more, which a nurse's demanding schedule would not have allowed.

Keywords: Appendix; Attachment; Closeness; Friends; Nurse's aides; Nurses; Nurses aides; Patients; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Private duty; Social circles; Social life

Subjects: Community development; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So here you are, a nurse's aide, and, um, you've been there for a long time.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds explains the details about the strike. Her husband was a big supporter of the union. They were both expecting a strike, especially when they heard that the hospital fired some people. Reynolds signed many cards that were petitioning for the strike, and she also had many people sign her cards for the strike. She wanted to go on strike because she felt like she needed more help in the hospitals, because the aides were not qualified to do the work of the nurses, even if they could actually do it.

Keywords: Fired; Husbands; Nurse's aides; Nurses; Nurses aides; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Union cards

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: You think most people were then willing to strike?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds and all the nurse's aides, and even some of the nurses, knew that a strike was inevitable. The day of the strike, they cleared the hospital of all the patients (some were even sent home). She was waiting for a picket line to start outside the hospital, which started at midnight the same night.

Keywords: Boycotts; Negotiate; Negotiation; Nurse's aides; Nurses; Nurses aides; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Rural Health- Kentucky; Rural health services; Strikes and Lockouts- Kentucky; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: So describe that night and what went on that night.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds talks about her experience on the picket line. She was on it 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. She also mentions some of the people she went on strike with, including Frieda Smith. To pass the time, they talked or read. Most of the nurse's aides went on strike with Reynolds, but some decided to go back to the hospital, although she was very hurt by it. The strike lasted for over two years.

Keywords: Attitudes; Bonnie King; Broken nose; Convincing; Eileen Phillips; Entertainment; Excitement; Food; Freda Smith; Friends; Giving up; Helen Maynard; Henry Stratton; Husbands; Minnie Carol; Nurses aides; Peggy Robinette; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Quitting; Recreation; Ruby Prater; Scabs; Schedules; Shacks; Sheds; Sons; Strikebreakers; Strikers; Treatment; Weather; Worry

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Well, one of the things I'm asking everybody to do is try to remember everything they did to win in the strike.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds talks about where she went during her time on strike and how the experience was. They went to John's Creek and downtown. The group of strikers handed out pamphlets to many people. They also had many roadblocks, and they made a lot of money off each roadblock. The money was used to pay the bills. The union really helped support the strikers. To avoid conflict during the roadblocks, they did not get in the way of anyone. The time on the picket line was always peaceful. Everyone was very nice, and she would still go into the hospital if she had to get her medicine. People from the hospital would let her know beforehand if she wanted to enter the hospital. The day they took the picket line down, the union gave a speech that told them to go back to their jobs, so all the strikers reapplied to their jobs. She then worked as a clerk at a supermarket.

Keywords: Bills; Considerate; Controlled; Hospitals; Jobs; John's Creek; Kentucky; Medicine; Money; Nice; Pamphlets; Peaceful; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Rallies; Rally; Reapplication; Reluctance; Roadblocks

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Um, when you think back about the strike now, what do you remember the most about it?

Segment Synopsis: The people were the best part about the strike. The public was also mostly considerate about the strike. However, some people were very rude. The strikebreakers would go to the picket line and tell the strikers, "You can't win!" The strikers would also go to the homes of the strikebreakers and try to get them to quit their jobs.

Keywords: Animosity; Attitudes; Consideration; Downtown; Homes; Jobs; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Public; Quitting; Rude; Strikers

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: So you were on strike for 28 months.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds describes the union meetings. They were always nice; they had a good president. Her husband would always haul her to and from the meetings. He would drive her in a cab to the picket line the years he worked as a miner. He was always encouraging, although he did not participate.

Keywords: Cabs; Coal miners; Encouragement; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Union meetings

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Did you get discouraged?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds does not regret anything about the strike. She would get discouraged sometimes, but she is a "happy-go-lucky" person, so she never let anything discourage her too much. She misses the people from the strike, because her current retirement means she does not get to see those people as much.

Keywords: Discouraged; Discouragement; Friends; Happy-go-lucky; Optimistic; Personality; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Retirement; Upset

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: What about, um, other stuff downtown? Did you do any of the other boycotts of picketing the other businesses?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds also participated in boycotts and strikes downtown, all going to different shops in different shifts and refusing to buy anything at the store. They chose these places because the strike coordinators would assign them to these places since they were connected with the hospital. The picket line was successful. For instance, the picket line did not allow the trucks that would give supplies to the hospital to pass through, so the hospital had to get their own trucks to deliver the materials. The picket line's tactic was to find out which businesses were working with the hospital and trying to end the strike, and then try to target those specific businesses.

Keywords: Boycotts; Businesses; Downtown; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Shifts; Shops; Strike coordinators; Trucks

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Well, uh, Causby, did you ever go on any of the trips that strikers went on?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds did not have time to go on any of the trips that strikers went on. She had a friendly relationship with the organizers, who were very supportive of the strike. Other people from outside would come help the strikers. The union could have done more to help the strikers. The lack of help stemmed from the people leaving and reentering the hospital, but the people could have stopped more people from entering the hospital. The hospital, in Reynold's opinion, should have been shut down more with more effort from the strikers.

Keywords: Groups; Help; Hospitals; Organizers; Outside help; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Strikers

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Did you ever have to do things during the strike that was kinda hard for you to do?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds claims that the strike went the way she wanted it to and she has no regrets. She also claims that she would do it again in a heartbeat. The one thing she misses the most about the strike is the companionship between the people and trying to help them. If her kids were to go on strike, she would want them to be fighting for the right thing. She believes she played an active role in the strike. The strike on the hospital was the first strike that Reynolds was involved with. Her grandfather was a union mine worker, just like her husband. Her mother was also a union supporter.

Keywords: Active role; Companionship; Friendships; Help; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Strikers

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Let's see, what else am I supposed to ask you?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds lived in Zebla in her own house with her husband. Her sons were serving abroad in the military, but they lived in Lexington. Her sons, when they were back, visited their mom because they were interested in learning what their mom was up to. Reynolds' husband was already disabled, but he was a cab driver who was also developing black lung. Nobody else ever moved into the house with Reynolds and her husband. She would do housework in the morning and go on strike in the evenings. Nobody was at home besides her husband in her house with her. Reynolds had two brothers and one sister, and although they did not participate in the strike with her, they were quite amused by it.

Keywords: Army; Black lung; Brothers; Cabs; Disabilities; Familial ties; Family; Houses; Husbands; Lexington (Ky.); North Korea; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Relations; Sons; Strikers; Vietnam

Subjects: Community development; Families.; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Did you ever think--you said you never thought about giving up, right?

Segment Synopsis: After the picket line was taken down, Reynolds applied to several jobs around town. Some of the places didn't hire her either because they truly did not need anyone or they knew she had been on strike. Her friend Mary-Ann James worked with her. She would usually work the evening shift at Magic Mart when she finally got the job. However, she preferred the hospital job. Before she was allowed the hospital jobs, she had to go back to school for 6 weeks. She worked with many people in the hospital, yet nobody treated her differently because she went on strike. She signed cards for the strike again only once.

Keywords: Hospitals; Jobs; Picket lines; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Strike cards; Strikers; Union cards

Subjects: Community development; Families.; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing--Kentucky--Pikeville; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: And your experience going back was that they put you on this graveyard shift, right?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds explains how she dealt with working the graveyard shift once she moved to the new hospital after the strike. Her husband would have the bath ready for her after work, and she would sleep until around 2 in the morning when she would get up and do her work around the house, like cleaning and cooking. She would usually be done by about 4, which is when she would go back to bed until about 6 or 7 in the morning. Although her husband was supportive of her, he was glad that she retired.

Keywords: Bathing; Graveyard shifts; Hospitals; Husbands; Mornings; Picketers; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Shifts; Sleeping; Strikers; Support

Subjects: Employment--Kentucky; Families.; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Medicine--Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: What did y'all do in those two years?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds talks about the reason for her heart attack. Her husband claimed he had to go on a trip, and that was the last that she saw of him. When she was informed of his death, she had a heart attack, and by the time she recovered from the heart attack seven days later, his funeral had already taken place. They took him to the Methodist Hospital where she worked, and they took great care of him while he was there. She also mentions how much she was getting paid. She made a lot more money at the new hospital than the old, a little over $4 per hour.

Keywords: Deaths; Heart attacks; Husbands; Loss; Methodist; Money; Paid; Payment; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Poor health; Recovery; Sickness; Wages

Subjects: Families.; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Medicine--Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky; Salaries.

Partial Transcript: Now what year was it that you went back? '81? '80?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds went back to her job in 1981 as a nurse's aide with her friend, who worked in the kitchen. She was very excited to go back, but she did have to go to six weeks of school before she went back to her job. She would work in the morning and go to school in the afternoon. She spent about a year at the new hospital on the graveyard shift. The day the picket line was taken down, they all went as a group to fill out their job applications for the hospital together. Reynolds claimed that the people at the hospital were different after the strike. She didn't have to do as much at the hospital, such as putting in a catheter, but there was still not enough help in the hospital. Her nephew works in the hospital now. The nurse's aide job was better the second time around.

Keywords: Education; Help; Hospitals; Medicine; Nephews; Nurse's aides; Nurses aides; Patient care; Patients; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Registered nurses (RNs); Responsibility; Schools

Subjects: Community development; Families.; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Well, Causby, I've been asking also everybody a little bit of biography so they can tell me--

Segment Synopsis: When Reynolds was finally getting close to retirement, she had to go in every other day, but one time she went in the next morning and that was her last day at the hospital. She had a lot of paperwork to fill out before her retirement. She had a hard time trying to obtain the papers for retirement. The retirement money did not come from their checks.

Keywords: Checks; Hospitals; Labor; Labor boards; Last day; Papers; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Retirement; Shifts

Subjects: Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Well, let me ask you all these biography questions.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds was born and raised in Dorton, Kentucky. Her mother was from Knott County and met her dad in Pike County and moved to Dorton. Her dad worked in the railroads and in mining. Her mom was a school teacher in Knott County, where she taught all grades. She taught before she was married to her father. Reynolds went to Dorton High School, where she went for two years. She met her husband James Reynolds at the YMCA. After her house burned down, they got married in 1938. She had three sons with him, the first one born in 1940, the second was born in 1942, and the third was born in 1944. While she was working in housekeeping, her husband worked in the mines.

Keywords: Coal mines; Connections; County; Familial ties; Family; High schools; Houses; Husbands; Jobs; Kentucky; Love; Marriage; Railroads; Sons; Teachers; Work

Subjects: Education--Kentucky; Employment--Kentucky; Families.; Married life

Partial Transcript: Out of all that, which work did you like the best?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds claims she liked working in the hospital the best, especially with the newborn nursery. She did not work with many sick children in pediatrics. She has two grandchildren, Heather May and Brandon. They are both about 13 years old. She sees them pretty often. She has lived in 3 houses, but she likes her current house the best.

Keywords: Children; Grandchildren; Grandkids; Homes; Houses; Kids; Newborns; Pediatrics; Sick children; Sickness; Towns

Subjects: Families.; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural

Partial Transcript: Well, let's see.

Segment Synopsis: Causby had no expectations for the strike because it is not something you can have expectations for. She just took the strike day by day. Reynolds' grandchildren love hearing her stories.

Keywords: Children; Expectations; Grandchildren; Grandkids; Kids; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Spontaneous; Stories

Subjects: Community development; Families.; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Well, what do you remember--since you two are in the room together, what do you remember about Mae during the strike?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds and Mae did not see each other too much at the hospital because they both worked on different shifts. Reynolds was ready to get back to the hospital. The hospital was already dumping a lot of work on them and they had to be ready to work as soon as they got their job at the new hospital.

Keywords: Friendships; Hospitals; Memories; Picket lines; Picketers; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Shifts; Strikers; Work

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: They spent a lot of money trying to beat you all.

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds was annoyed by the newly hired Filipino workers because they took the older employees' jobs at the hospital, but she did not have to work with them because they came into the hospital when she was not working there. The reason she heard about it was because news traveled very quickly in the hospitals.

Keywords: Employees; Filipino; Guard dogs; Hospitals; Jobs; New workers; Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Security guards

Subjects: Employment--Kentucky; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Do you think it's changed much about Pike County?

Segment Synopsis: Reynolds believes that the strike had a big effect on Pike County because they fought for the right thing, so they could not have lost. They did everything they could, and they could not have won the union even if they wanted to because they were already giving their all for the picket line.

Keywords: Effort; Losses; Lost; Picket lines; Picketers; Pike County (Ky.); Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Triumph; Winning

Subjects: Community development; Labor unions--Organizing; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Picketing.; Protest and social movements; Protest movements.; Rural health services; Rural health--Kentucky; Strikes and lockouts; Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining; Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--Kentucky--Pike County; Strikes and lockouts--Kentucky; Women political activists