Page 96 - Part One of a Two-Part Story: We Worked for General Instruments

ISSUE : Issue 49

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1988/8/1

you know.... We weren't looking for a hand? out or anything like that--just the jobs. (A lot of people got work experience there.) Oh heavens, yes. I think it gave you confidence, too. Like, if you've never worked in the workforce, and you're a moth? er, and you have 4 or 5 kids, and you got married--like, people used to get married very young, and never worked--it gave them confidence, then, when they worked there, to go and look for something else. I think it was a great confidence-builder, to know that women who were relatively uneducated could go out and do this job, and it gave them incentive to go and look for some? thing. I know different places now that you walk in, like Zeller's or Wooico or any? thing, you see G.I. girls working there. (I appreciate that, that they were given confidence to go and look for more work or for another job. When G.I. closed, were there other jobs to go to?) Heavens, no. Not in that magnitude. I would judge that only 10% of the people got jobs after they left there, 'cause there was nothing else. Where in the world in Cape Breton--in Nova Scotia--could 1200 people go and get jobs? Male or female. It was just impossible. To sort of sum it up, I think General In? struments was a fantastic place for the people to work. Not General Instruments the company, but General Instruments the em? ployees, were great. They were really real? ly great. And through no fault of theirs, the plant moved out. Because they all did their best. There were a few, a very small minority, that weren't willing to work. But you get a small minority wherever you are that aren't willing to work for their mon? ey. But on the whole.... The plant was go? ing to go whether they worked their butts off or not. End of Part One of "We Worked for General Instruments" Part Two of "General Instruments" will be in Issue 50 Please note: We have not found a photo of the interior of the General Instruments plant. Please contact us if you have a photo of the plant when it was filled with workers, or if you have any other related in? formation. Write Cape Breton's Magazine. Wreck Cove, N. S. BOC IHO. The only key to trouble-free and long car life is regular and careful maintenance. For over 25 years, maintenance-solely of European cars-has been our occupation.. if you don't wish to maintain your car, neither do we!! If you do, we'd like to help!! EUROCAR SERVICE LTD. 649 WESTMOU'' • ROAD SYDNEY 564-9721 EXCELLENT DINING INDOOR OR PATIO D.J. 6 Nights a Week Live Matinee Every Saturday 458 CHARLOTTE STREET DOWNTOWN SYDNEY Caoe BretOn'S subscriptions, Back Issues, & Cassette Tapes of Fiddle Music .- AO A 71 XT I? 'Mike MacDouaali. Winston "Scottv" Fitzaerald. Cane Breton Rddlers on Earlv LPs' (Mike MacDougall, Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald, Cape Breton Rddlers on Early LPs) SEE PAGE 54

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