@@bigpapikayu2706 even those revitalization projects have been canceled. Motive only gutted q couple building and left them like that. They havnt done anything downtown In over 2 years now
@@bigpapikayu2706 never progressed, the only things there are a clinic, a few buildings, and the Pavillion. It's sad thinking how amazing this place once was
I so remember this long strike that crippled Port Arthur. I was a young girl, my Dad had a Gulf service station and he couldn't get gas or oil products to keep his station going. He had to buy products from other companies for us to survive, picketers came to our business to throw up picket lines and my Dad had to fight them off. My Mom had to go to work to help make ends meet. It was a rough time for us which my Dad' business never recovered from. My Mom had to continue to work from that time on for us to have the nice things kids liked. As I grew up and moved out of town, I went to Las Vegas which was a huge Union town. In the early 1970's, the Unions completely shut down the strip and downtown for better wages and benefits. It took just 5 days of no business for the hotels to come to an agreement. However it was the beginning of the Unions downfall. The corporations from that point on started busting the smaller Unions and one by one they started to fall until the only Union left is the powerful Culinary/Bartenders Union which is about 65,000 members strong. There is also the Teamsters Union which is very strong. Slowly across the country, corporations are busting the Unions, as they did in Port Arthur, my beautiful hometown.
For those not aware, I can assure you that as a local amature historian, the local economy back in the '50s was flying high. The local petrochem biz employed directly about 5-6000 people and almost all were union members. There was a huge middle class here and growing. I lived and worked in this area for over 30 years and have seen it go from bad to worse since the local plants busted the unions. I can assure the viewer that the plants only wish they had kept the unions. And the residents of this area wish it too. In the post WWII era up until the early '80s there was nothing but constant expansion. It took a heavy drop in the cost of oil to bring about they laying off of over 4500 local employees of these same plants. Gone are the union supported training programs and the high standards of work. Now it is all on the job training and the skill level has never caught up again.
John Roberts ... Could it be that the unions were hi-jacked by anti-union people that caused chaos for the purpose of creating the "right to work for minimum wage" law?
john...you are exactly right! i don't understand why people would rather starve than be in the union. the union started because the corporations didn't want to pay people a living wage and stupid people fell for it and they had the money to sell their agenda with wedge issues like gays, religion and abortion! people are basically stupid and can be manipulated by big money!! i hope to see that change but with trump stealing our democrcy...i doubt we will EVER go back to decent wages that workers deserve...S A D!!
Let us not forget the petroleum plants ruined Lake Sabine. The water was so polluted that almost no fish were caught. The EPA finally made them clean up their mess .
A political piece shot for Allan Shivers for Governor. Downtown was filmed on Sunday morning when everyone was at church said the publicist from Austin that shot the footage. the 1950's, A difficult and different time in history. During this time there were about 20 open brothels and open gambling in town and again as many in Beaumont all in Jefferson County. All was attempted to be closed with the James Commission in the 1960s, just a year after they tried to close the ones in Galveston, Austin, Dallas, and so on. Yes, a different time. It was designed to be a controversial political ad for the time. Polarized just like today's politics.
You ought to see down town for Port Athur today. After 50 years of liberal Democrat control it looks like Detroit another Democrat city. A city of ruins.
ralph yarborough is one of my favorite politicians ever. allan shivers was a goddamn anti-black racist. yarborough had the BALLS to be an outspoken liberal in the south way back in the 1940s, 50s, and beyond. "put the jam on the lower shelf so the little man can reach it." . . . we love you smilin' ralph!!!
Gosh, what HISTORY I never knew about Port Arthur, Texas. I'm blown away seeing this footage with my own eyes, what Port Arthur businesses and that town went through...... It was funny to me to see a black woman holding a sign picketing right in the from of the interview that was taking place. Wow what HISTORY that town has....I'm very glad I got to learn that part of my State History....Born and raised in Beaumont Texas. Thanks so much for that amazing video.
