Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2023/Fall/Section18/Jean Solter

Overview

Jean Solter was born in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois. He was married at that time but had no children. At the time of his interview, he lived in Chicago and worked as a pork plant worker.

Biography

American Clinic in the 20th Century

Early Life

Jean's ancestry was Irish, and he was born in America. In terms of education, he received one year of high grammar school.

Adult Life

During Jean's adult life, he was active in the union and the auxiliary. He attended an Irish Catholic church and admired the priest. To improve the workers' medical condition, Jean called on the members to stick to the Labor Union and not be afraid to be called“red”.

Medical Conditions in the Workplace

Jean mentions his visits to the local clinic in the interview. He had been walking with a heavy box at work and had fallen because the floor was greased, and he went to the local clinic to have his arm checked out for an injury. He describes how the local doctor gave him some simple medication for his broken arm and sent him on his way. Jean complains about the inferior and superficial doctors and the lack of healthcare in the local clinic in their working yard and cites the example of people who are given a prescription for whatever ails them and then sent on their way. They go home to recover. If a pregnant woman is sick at work, she will never go to a clinic because the doctor will give her a perfunctory prescription and send her home to recuperate.

Jean believes that if the local councils provide enough money or if the local workers join together to form a union, not be afraid of what they are called, and not fear the consequences of the situation, they will be able to change the clinics and the medical conditions that the yard workers have been given. Jean also believes that if the local committee provides enough money or the pork plant workers stick to the union and not be afraid of what people call them at the time , they can change the medical environment for them.

Social Context

Labor Union and Red Scare

During the 1930's, the "Red Scare" was a public hysteria provoked by fear of the supposed rise of leftist ideologies in society, especially communism. Historically, "Red Scares" have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of those in government positions who have had connections with left-wing to far-left ideology. The First "Red Scare", which occurred immediately after World War I, revolved around a perceived threat from the American labor movement that followed revolutionary socialist movements in Germany and Russia during the 19th–early 20th century. Workers' fear of being called "red" limits trade unions' ability to protect public officials' rights and interests.

Workers' Medical Situation during the Great Depression

After his election to the presidency in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt chose not to pursue universal healthcare coverage. Several factors influenced his decision, not the least of which was major opposition from the American Medical Association. Roosevelt toyed with the idea of nationalizing healthcare as part of his plan for Social Security. However, he realized that tying universal health coverage to the Social Security Act might doom both initiatives to failure. Of course, Roosevelt's decision left unresolved the pressing need of many Americans for some way to deal with healthcare costs . It also led to many challenges in medical conditions for American workers during the Great Depression, with limited health care coverage and many unable to access proper medical care.

Citations

1. Alpert, Lynn.“St. Louis Labor Retrospective: The Red Scare's Effect on Union Membership.” The Labor Tribune, April 19, 2022.

https://labortribune.com/st-louis-labor-retrospective-the-red-scares-effect-on-union-membership/.

2. Dawsey, Jason. “1936, a Year for the Worker: Labor Action and the Reelection of Franklin D. Roosevelt.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, July 13, 2023.

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/1936-year-worker-labor-action-and-reelection-franklin-d-roosevelt.

3. GLENDE, PHILIP M. “Labor Makes the News: Newspapers, Journalism, and Organized Labor, 1933—1955.” Enterprise & Society 13, no. 1 (2012): 39–52.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/23702487.

4. Rook, David. “A Brief History of Employer-Sponsored Healthcare [from the 1930s to Now].” Employee Benefits Consultants - JP Griffin Group, September 30, 2020.

https://www.griffinbenefits.com/blog/history-of-employer-sponsored-healthcare.

5. Tapia Granados, José A, and Ana V Diez Roux. “Life and Death during the Great Depression.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, October

13, 2009.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2765209/.