Barter, Roy. Interview about lifetime work at Marystown shipyard

• Main Author: Baker, Patrick, 1948
• Other Authors: Barter, Roy, 1950
• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Work; Boats; Boatbuilding; Ships; Barter; Roy; 1950; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ich_en/id/1178

Interview conducted by Patrick Baker with Roy Barter, Creston South, Marystown on Thursday, April 11, 2019. Roy spoke about his lifelong career of work at the Marystown shipyard 00:00-00:39 intro by Patrick Baker; 00:39-01:15 Roy Barter re early education and welding training; 01:15-01:32 early work experience;01:33-02-2:24 Joey’s announcement of shipyard for Marystown, training programs for welders; 02:25-03:09 acceptance to Burin trade school welding program; 03:10-04:49 selected to work at shipyard for $1.26 an hour; 04:49-06:43 starting work at new shipyard, workforce; 06:44-08:12 one of 6 welders kept on when 68 apprentices laid off; 08:17-08:28 Ken Clarke manager; 08:29-09:36 beginning of shipyard union; 09:38-11:02 loss of FPL (Fishery Products Ltd.) dragger contract to Norway;11:03-11:27 contract to build NSP (National Sea Products) boats; 11:27-12:19 startup problems at the shipyard; 12:20-13:24 John Rannie as new manager, skilled workers, bright future;13:25-15:19 Joey announces plans to build supertankers at Marystown, little evidence of project at the yard, opposition from mainland yards; 15:19-16:08 long question from interviewer re types of ships built at yard;16:09-18:05 hard to build Atlantic boats, offshore boats bigger and easier to build, but offshore boats had sophisticated equipment, yard gained good reputation especially in repair work; 18:06-18:42 liquor from St Pierre boats; 18:43-19:28 health and safety concerns in early years especially with ventilation; 19:29-19:53 fog of smoke, asbestos, lead paint, every hazardous material known; 19:54-20:30 worst job ever was scrapping the Burgeo and Baccalieu,(former coastal boats) boats covered in thick paint, couldn’t see 20 feet across shed;20:31-22:10 boom and bust cycle of work;22:12-22:59 long work hours during boom times affected families, Roy never laid off but saw how people coped with no work, workers remained loyal to yard;22:59-24:12 union always proactive in looking for work and for benefits, 24:13- 25:37 Roy and other union members ...