This seemed relevant now, at election time. 0

[RWB]

This letter popped up while selecting documents for transcription.Considering it's election time (still...) it seemed to be relevant. The employee was later exonerated by poll workers and reinstated. However, the next day his job was eliminated and the employee fired. [Inferior image quality is a consequence of low-quality fluorescent lights in the NARA Philadelphia copy stand.]

Edited November 6, 2020 by RWB
Fix formatting - as usual

[scopru]

Interesting historical letter. 

[gmarguli]

1 hour ago, RWB said:

The employee was later exonerated by poll workers and reinstated. However, the next day his job was eliminated and the employee fired.

So Cancel Culture existed in 1880... 

[RWB]

The letter about his firing said that improvements were being made in the department where the fellow worked (Sweeps), and that one less worker was needed. He was the last-hired worker, so he was the first-fired. Seems like a convenient coincidence.

The Mints were very tight about employee behavior on and off work hours. It's interesting to note that although married women were hired as adjusters, counters and press operators, they qualified only if they were widowed or NOT living with their husbands. An 1880 letter from a woman tells of being told she could no longer work at the Philadelphia Mint because she was living with her husband -- she resigned. By the 1890s this had moderated and we find women getting married while employed at the mint and the payroll folks scurrying about to change names.

 

[scopru]

Certainly a different mind set back then.  

[VKurtB]

On 11/6/2020 at 1:31 PM, RWB said:

He was the last-hired worker, so he was the first-fired. Seems like a convenient coincidence.

It sounds like a Philadelphia labor union excuse. Trust me, there is NO SUCH THING as an "honest broker" in Philly government or unions. They're ALL thorough partisans or they never get hired. And that applied equally in the 1940's - 1950's when Philly was an "R town". Political hiring has ALWAYS been the "Philly way". Still is. Many other Pennsylvania towns also. It's all "machine", all the time.

Edited November 9, 2020 by VKurtB

[GoldFinger1969]

5 hours ago, VKurtB said:

It sounds like a Philadelphia labor union excuse. Trust me, there is NO SUCH THING as an "honest broker" in Philly government or unions. They're ALL thorough partisans or they never get hired. And that applied equally in the 1940's - 1950's when Philly was an "R town". Political hiring has ALWAYS been the "Philly way". Still is. Many other Pennsylvania towns also. It's all "machine", all the time.

Philly was an "R" town ?  I find that hard to believe.....maybe mayorally but not at the city council level.  Even with Italian-Americans gravitating to the R's to counter the Irish heading to the D's.

Edited November 10, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[VKurtB]

2 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

Philly was an "R" town ?  I find that hard to believe.....maybe mayorally but not at the city council level.  Even with Italian-Americans gravitating to the R's to counter the Irish heading to the D's.

Yup, in the 40’s there was a corrupt R “machine”. The current corrupt D machine puts them to shame. Our recent past lobbyist from the trial lawyers told us old war stories about D machine corruption. He took part. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by VKurtB