Andrea Gorman oral history interview, November 19, 2013

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: GormanA_L2013-16

Staff Only

Andrea Gorman oral history

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Traci Drummond. Gorman begins by discussing her family background and recalls growing up as the seventh of eight children. She talks about her father’s death, when the family was separated and placed into orphanages, and their eventual reunion. She talks about her early marriage and becoming the mother of three sons. Gorman talks about becoming a Teamster in 1966 when she worked making car parts. She recalls becoming a steel worker, then a machinist and her efforts to promote equal pay for women. Gorman talks about the mentoring program for young machinists. She talks about her volunteer activities after retiring on disability at age 56, including being a delegate to District Lodge 190, working with the Obama campaign in Ohio as well as working on behalf of Social Security. Gorman ends by discussing her activism and her mentors.

Dates

Creation: November 19, 2013

Creator

Gorman, Andrea, 1946- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Andrea Gorman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1946 the seventh of eight children. Her father was a college professor and her mother a former teacher. After her father’s death, the family fell on hard times and for a while was separated, the children placed into orphanages. When the family received Social Security Survivor benefits, they were able to reunite and eventually moved to Ohio. Gorman married at 16 and became the mother of three sons before taking a job in a car parts plant and becoming a Teamster in 1966. She took a job as a steel worker in 1968 and relocated to California when the plant closed. Gorman became a machinist in 1982 at Sherwin Williams and got involved in effort to promote equal pay for women there. She retired from at 56, due to disability. After retirement, she remained active as a trustee for the local, serving on the human rights organizing committee, serving as a delegate to district lodge 190 and working with Obama campaign in Ohio.