Billie Weaver Oral History Interview

Billie Weaver discusses her life as a union member and leader, first in Prescott, AZ, as a member of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and later in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a federal employee of USDA Forest Service. She shares her beliefs on the importance of union membership; unions’ role in improving working conditions, wages, benefits, and workplace safety; and labor education in the schools. Shares advice for others who may feel hesitant to join a union. Interview by Xian Bass.

The Working People's History of New Mexico Project (WPHNM) is an oral labor history project created to gather the labor stories of working people in New Mexico. While part of the interviews focus on the specific jobs that the interviewees performed, the interviews also explore labor-management relations as well as union, workers council, and social activism participation.  The interviews contain information about family and social relationships and offer themes of social and historical interest in New Mexico and the US.