Title

Interview with Gary Schauzer

Authors

Michael Hillard, University of Southern MaineFollow

Streaming Media

Date of Interview

6-13-2002

Duration of Audio File

Audio file #1 1:13:54; Audio file #2 00:23:24

Interviewee

Gary Schauzer

Age

born approximately 1950, early 50s at time of inteview.

Gender

Male

Birth Place

Greater Portland area

Residence

Greater Portland area

Occupation/ Work History

Electrician and production manager

Mill or Principal Employer

S. D. Warren

Mill Location

Westbrook, Maine 04092

Keywords

S.D. Warren - History, Paper Mills - History, oral history - labor, paternalism, labor management relations

Abstract

Schauzer worked at the mill from 1969 to 1999. He was an electrician, who eventually got a B.S. Degree and went into management. His prime goal as a manager was to rectify problems with management and support he had during his first 15 years as an hourly employee. Schauzer provides detailed descriptions of mill work life and S.D. Warren management culture.

Comments

Strong statement as a long-term, dedicated, smart and invested employee disgruntled with the 1990s’ management and ownership. Explains how new top management began to take benefits away from lower management and had a poor rapport. Contrast this with his opening comments on the old “family-orientated” style that persisted through the 1980s. Also how managers not laid off faced a piling on/speed-up of work as other managers were “downsized.” Astute observations about the competitive pressures faced by the Westbrook mill with advancing technology and entry by European and Asian paper mills in the 1980s and 1990s

Document Type

Interview

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Gary Schauzer, interview by Michael Hillard, June 13, 2002, Stories of Maine's Paper Plantation, Digital Maine, Maine's Economic Improvement Fund, Digital Commons, University of Southern Maine