Tracy Hall Oral History Interview

As a third generation electrician, Tracy Hall has been an IBEW union electrician nearly his entire adult life. In this interview, he describes how he got involved in the trade and the different types of electrical work he did throughout his long career and his many active roles in the union over time. He describes working in the systems and safety of conveyor belts in copper mines in Hillsboro, NM, and details a 1985 workplace accident that left him blind in his right eye. During much of his interview, he describes the benefits of apprenticeship and trade unionism, which include high quality job training, family-sustaining wages, and the value of craftsmanship.

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 and/or worker council participation.  The interviews contain information about family and social relationships and offer themes of social and historical interest in New Mexico and the US.