I interviewed Catharine McCook in the lounge of my residence hall, Frontier. We immediately made the connection of us both being freshmen. Catharine hails from Chatfield, MN a place I had no previous knowledge of since I am from Wisconsin. She is planning on majoring in geology in the near future. In our opinions about labor and such topics, I was a three and Catharine was a four so we were slightly Moderate Liberals who didn’t have too differing of views. Catharine’s main standpoints on unions were that they are a good thing when they’re not bigger than the companies themselves. Catharine’s family may have influenced her views on unions because he aunt was a small business owner, therefore she hated unions because they would always overpower here small business. Catharine has never had a job in her life but hopes when she does acquire one, it will be an easy job whether it pays well or not. She also believes that if getting a job you want requires joining a union, then you should go ahead and join it. Another one of her relatives is a carpenter and is in a very interesting situation He is of course part of a union, being in the working-class job that he is, but he gets “laid off” every winter when there is no work for carpenters but still gets paid, and then gets “rehired” in the spring. There seems to be a lot of reliability in joining a union.
Overall Catharine seems like a very laid back and agreeable person. The epitome of “Minnesota nice” if you will. Her agreeableness made her think that when picketers are blocking the main road, they should be removed. I disagreed with this completely, being the sometimes obnoxious liberal I am. She seems a bit like a people pleaser and would not want to make anyone mad by obstructing traffic. I, on the other hand, with obstruct traffic until I’m forcibly removed it if is an issue worth fighting for. Catharine also said that she is in a partial-trust fund to pay for college so she understands when money is tight and how unions can help. I learned from Catharine how moderate Minnesotans can really be and how nice it is to not always be around obnoxiously liberal people like I was and still am when I go back to Madison.
I really like how you captured the sense that there are conflicting view points in Catharine's family pertaining to unions. I personally think that unions have a lot to offer and can definitely be very useful in making sure that workers get their fair share, but sometimes they cross the line. I too would stand up for something worth fighting for and would have to be forcibly removed, so I guess we can stand together Jane, lol! I will say that Catharine's ability to be agreeable is also needed in order to come to a decision. She seems to be like me in that sense...very negotiable, but in my case, there are things I would not back down on..like my moral standpoints. Overall, I liked how you linked her personality with your own and how that would affect how you would stand up for something worth fighting for, so that was a great conclusion to make. Great job, Jane!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this. "Minnesota nice," yes! ♥
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the fact that most unions are only good if they are smaller than the company itself. Otherwise, the union probably has too much power and will most likely do something unfair with the power. The union that her carpenter-relative is in seems like its doing a good job and fair for the carpenters.
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