Date of Interview
12-14-2011
Duration of Audio File
Audio File #1 00:43:46
Interviewee
Peter Kellman
Age
born 1946
Gender
Male
Birth Place
Brooklyn, New York
Residence
North Berwick, Maine
Occupation/ Work History
Labor Movement Activist
Mill or Principal Employer
Independent Scholar & Activist
Mill Location
Westbrook, Maine 04092
Keywords
S.D. Warren, Sappi, Paper Mills - Maine; International Paper - Jay Maine, Paper Mill Workers Strike of 1971, Woodsman's Strike
Abstract
Kellman's observations as an activist and historian of labor in Maine's paper industry. His focus was on his understanding of the ethnic and social character of Maine paper mill towns, including Jay, Madawaska, and Westbrook; as well as Maine's "Yankee" farmers. Kellman also describes Maine Woodsmen's Association strike of 1975, the Fraser Paper strike of 1971, and strategies by corporations to weaken unions after 1950.
Document Type
Interview
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Peter Kellman, interview by Michael Hillard, December 14, 2011, Stories of Maine's Paper Plantation, Digital Maine, Maine's Economic Improvement Fund, Digital Commons, University of Southern Maine
Comments
Kellman is a lifelong movement activist, labor hisotry and union strategy scholar (published a number of books, pamphlets and journal articles in labor journals). He began his life of activist as an anti-Vietnam activist while playing football at University of Maine, Orono and then joined the southern Civil Rights movement (1964-1966) as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Became a skilled carpenter, worked in a Maine shoe factory (New Balance) that he helped unionize and became first president of the new union local in late 1970s. Played an important leadership role in 1987-1988 International Paper Strike at Jay, Maine. In 2000s became president of the Southern Maine Labor Council AFL-CIO and mentored a group of young labor activists who became top staffers for the state AFL-CIO