Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433300
10 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2022 Crystal Lee Sutton (née Pulley) was born on December 31, 1940. Both her parents worked in the mills and, starting in her early teens, so did she. Early on May 30, 1973, the J.P. Stevens textile mill in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, fired 32-year-old Crystal Lee Sutton. Before Sutton left the plant, she climbed atop a table on the shop floor and raised above her head a simple piece of card- board with the word "Union" scrawled on it, turning very slowly in a circle so that all of her co-workers could read the sign. She is my hero ... she is a legend. Sound familiar? It should. It was an Academy Award-winning movie. Norma Rae was played by Sally Field who won an Oscar for her efforts. What you don't know is that the real Norma Rae was a single mom, strong willed and hardworking. For decades, J.P. Stevens called the shots in Roanoke Rapids, paying poverty wages to their crews and dealt with truly deplorable, unsafe working conditions. Many workers lost fingers, inhaled cotton dust that can bring on "Bysinosis," a disease of the lungs, and workers were inhaling vegetable fibers such as flax or hemp while at work. Cotton dust is VERY harmful to human lungs and creates serious respiratory problems. It also causes bronchitis and asthma attacks. Many of the workers at J.P. Stevens lost their hearing, due to deafening clatter of the loud machinery constantly moving. It was an awful situation for so many. J.P. Stevens was vehemently against unions. He planned to buy any and all small textile mills in the area just to close them down, taking out the competition. While at work, Sutton saw a flyer announcing a union organizing meeting. She had no previous experience or any associations with unions. Basically she had no knowledge of a resistance, but she did have a long- harbored resentment toward J.P. Stevens for the power the company held over families in her hometown. J.P. was a powerful man, a bully, and no one wanted to get in his way. If you did, it would come at cost ... losing your job. Sutton attended her first union meeting in a small African American church, and was one of only a handful of "white workers." But then things changed. Sutton's presence at meetings and in the mill (wearing the biggest union pin she had) was also noticed and many workers felt intimi- dated by the company, that they could lose their job if they didn't follow what the big bosses wanted. For all workers, Black and white, who showed any interest in or any support of the union ... well, let's just say it was intimidation at its best. Workers were scared, and many of them feared their boss, they knew they would be fired if they didn't follow orders. Sutton began hosting union meetings at her home, balancing her responsibilities as a mother with her union activism, as many women were compelled to do in the 1970s. Management decided to post a four- page letter, addressed to the mill workers on the company bulletin board. The letter implied that the union was a "front for a Black Power movement that would take over the town." The bosses knew the union could bring charges against them before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for posting these racially inflammatory messages on company property," Dave Moody tried to stop her. Crystal Lee Sutton would not be deterred. A few days later, as co-work- ers shuffled into the cafeteria for their dinner break, Sutton took advantage of a quick distraction and she was able to have attention diverted away from the board—she was able to copy the letter. When the general supervisor Mason Lee ordered her to stop, she replied, "Well, Mr. Lee, I didn't know you knew my name" and continued to copy. He threatened to call the police. She laughed and said, smiling at him, "Mr. Lee, I am going to finish copying this letter, and then, I am going to eat supper." Sutton copied the letter word for word in front of them. When she finished, she tucked the paper inside her shirt, certain that "Nobody will get it down there." After supper, Sutton was berated for using the pay phone on "company time." Crystal Sutton refused to respond to accusations. Lee shouted at her to leave the plant. Uncertain, Sutton insisted that she return to her worksta- tion to retrieve her purse. The men offered no objections and she stormed back to the shop floor. Supervisors followed her, joined by a security guard and a police officer. Out of sheer frustration Sutton scrawled one word, "Union" on a piece of cardboard. She climbed up on her workstation and held the sign above her head. As she slowly, and purposely, turned in a circle, workers began shutting down their machines and raising their hands in the "Victory" sign. One boss ordered her to come down, but NO ONE laid a hand on her. Although she was fired, met with threats and arrested, Sutton helped workers at J.P. Stevens win the right to be represented by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) in 1974. In 1977, she was awarded back wages and her job was reinstated by court order. Because she had moved out of the area, she chose to return to work for just two days. Crystal Lee Sutton was a 33-year-old mother of three when she worked in the plants, earning $2.65 an hour, folding towels. She is a hero for all union members, and a legend who taught us the way. I wish I could have met her in my lifetime. She inspired me and so many workers all over the globe, as a union organizer, a mother, a warrior. Throughout the remain- der of her life, she continued to be an outspoken advocate for unions and working people. She was a brave, strong woman who, over the years, advo- cated for many union members around the globe. Crystal Sutton was a true inspiration to so many, including me. The fact that she was a woman in the 1970s leading a struggle of thousands of textile workers against very powerful, mean, anti-union mill companies, who inspired workers of color and white workers as well, speaks to her incredible strength and will. I am in awe of Crystal Lee Sutton. She was a force of nature and a strong woman who stood up for others when no one else did. Following a long battle with cancer, Crystal Lee Sutton passed on September 12, 2009, at the age of 68. Crystal Lee Sutton led the fight and fought for so many workers' rights. What an inspiration, and a true hero. We are reminded of these fights today, as we are going into a possible strike. We will continue the fight for better working conditions, reasonable rest and NO Fraturdays! I know Crystal will be watching over us! We will STAY STRONG and UNITED Brothers and Sisters! K M. F Vice President/Director of Communications, IATSE K M. F Vice President, I.A.T.S.E. Local 706 FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT Norma Rae Was Actually Crystal Lee Sutton Crystal Lee Sutton with Sally Field