Doyle Howard oral history interview, September 17, 2014

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: HowardD_L2014-26

Staff Only

Doyle Howard oral history interview

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Phil LaPorte: Howard describes his childhood living on a farm in Alabama, and his father’s vocal support of labor unions. He goes on to describe his early jobs following graduation from high school, which included work at Lockheed Aircraft, Atlanta Transit Company, Boaz Spinning Company, and Hayes Aircraft. Howard describes his 30+ year career with IBEW Local 84 while working at Georgia Power Company and his successes and failures as Business Manager.

Dates

Creation: September 17, 2014

Creator

From the Collection: Georgia State University. Southern Labor Archives (Organization)
From the Collection: Lutz, Chris (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: LaPorte, Philip A. (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: Kata, Lauren (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: Reisinger, Andrew James, 1977- (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: Fishman, Marcia (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: Slawsky, Norman J., 1949- (Interviewer, Person)
From the Collection: Quest, Matthew (Interviewer, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Doyle Howard was born in Sand Mountain, Alabama in 1938. After spending time in the military, Howard moved to Georgia, where he found work at Lockheed and joined the union. He also joined the National Guard in 1959. While on layoff from Lockheed, Howard worked as a bus driver and trolley operator for Atlanta Transit Company, where he also joined the union. He moved back to Gadsen, Alabama to help his father and marry. He bought a service station and grocery store and worked at the Boaz Spinning Company in Guntersville, Alabama, until he was fired for organizing the company. Howard moved to Birmingham for a job in Hayes Aircraft. In 1963, Howard moved his family to Marietta for a new position at Lockheed. He became shop steward and worked on arbitration cases for the membership. He left Lockheed in 1971, opening and running a golf course for two years in Floyd County, GA. He then found worked for Georgia Power and spent the next few years moving around to different plants in North Georgia, before settling in at Bowen. There, Howard served as shop steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). He became the recording secretary to the executive board in 1976. In 1980, he was appointed assistant business manager. In 1986, he ran for and won the position of business manager, a position he held for a total of 12 years until 1998. He retired from Georgia Power in 1993. Howard ran and won re-election once more in 2001 and held that position for another 12 years.