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I quickly found myself a new job, this time work by the piece. I got 25 grosze for a dozen of boys’ underwear made on the overlock. It wasn’t bad, but you had to make a lot of underwear! There were also these sets, brassieres and panties together, with buttons. Later I made underwear, knickers for women, then ladies’ slips, because they were popular at the time. Every woman used to wear a slip.
Later I changed jobs. I changed every few months, because there were strikes. New strikes every few months. Because it often happened that the owners of a plant signed a contract with the workers, saying that they would pay 32 grosze a dozen. So they signed it, but when we came to work, they would say: ‘Listen, I won’t pay you 32 grosze a dozen, I’ll pay you 25, if you want to work, you will, if not – then you have to look for work somewhere else.’ They didn’t push me as much like that, because I taught myself how to fix machines, as a mechanic.
Later I changed jobs. I changed every few months, because there were strikes. New strikes every few months. Because it often happened that the owners of a plant signed a contract with the workers, saying that they would pay 32 grosze a dozen. So they signed it, but when we came to work, they would say: ‘Listen, I won’t pay you 32 grosze a dozen, I’ll pay you 25, if you want to work, you will, if not – then you have to look for work somewhere else.’ They didn’t push me as much like that, because I taught myself how to fix machines, as a mechanic.
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Interview
Jakub Bromberg