Title

Interview with Paul Cyr

Authors

Michael G. Hillard, University of Southern MaineFollow

Streaming Media

Additional Streaming Media

Date of Interview

7-8-2008

Duration of Audio File

Audio File #1 00:43:31; Audio File #2 00:14:51; Audio File #3 00:43:32; Audio File #4 00:15:45; Audio File # 5 00:32:45

Interviewee

Paul Cyr

Gender

Male

Residence

St. David, Maine

Occupation/ Work History

Pipe Fitter, Safety Official

Role

Union

Mill or Principal Employer

Fraser Paper Company

Mill Location

Madawaska, Maine

Keywords

Fraser Paper, Paper Industry - Maine, Labor Unions- Paper Industry, Paper Mill Strike - 1971

Abstract

A key part of the Paul Cyr interview was the events of the 1971 strike against Fraser. Rolde was a young, militant union and Democratic Party Activist in 1970s, and then inspected mostly paper mills in the years after he left mill in 1978.

Comments

Vivid description of dramatic confrontation during strike between entire town and the state policie and auxiliary police attempting to force a paper shipment past protestors. Describes the riot and violence that took place. Eloquent on the events leading up to the strike, the strike itself, and the legacy of the strike for the ensuing decade and longer. Also led a huge inspection of Fraser as an OSHA official in early 1990s that led to a multi-million file and major improvements. Shockinly, there was still uncoated asbestos throughout the mill. Also, father was a mill supervisor fired by the managers that came from outside and caused the strike. His father became town manager, and worked with Paul and others to expand enrollments in the Democratic Party in early 1970s.

Document Type

Interview

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Paul Cyr, interview by Michael Hillard, July 8, 2008, Stories of Maine's Paper Plantation, Digital Maine, Maine's Economic Improvement Fund, Digital Commons, University of Southern Maine