Interviewer: Jacob Campbell

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mr. Charles was referred by EJ Aucoin, who was a co-worker of his with Unocal. I had told Mr. Aucoin I was having trouble contacting African-Americans who had worked in the oilfield during the project period, and he immediately recommended Mr. Charles, saying that he had a remarkable career with Unocal and would be very knowledgeable. Mr. Charles agreed to meet with me at his office south of Houma. He requested that the audio and transcript of his interview not be made public, though he was fine with the material being used in reports.

Mr. Charles was born in 1948 in Houma. His father was a laborer and construction worker. He noted that African-Americans were not hired in the oilfield during his daddy’s day. Mr. Charles was drafted into the Army in 1969, and was stationed at Fort Polk, LA, and Germany. Upon his return in 1971, he started with Unocal as a roustabout, when Texaco did not offer him a job. He began working maintenance, then became a utility man after one year. In 1975 he made operator 2. In 1982 he was promoted to Operator 1, in charge of Unocal’s projects in the lakes of Terrebonne Parish. In 1991, he was promoted to special project foreman, supervising construction projects in the region. One year later Unocal reorganized and created a pool of foremen, sending Mr. Charles widely through the Gulf, doing construction inshore and offshore. In 2002 he went to well control school, and started working on drilling rigs, but this lasted only one year. From 2003 to 2005 he continued working construction, based out of his house. In 2005 Chevron bought Unocal and he retired. He worked as a consultant from 2005 to 2007, when he was hired by Chet Morrison’s company, Rooster Petroleum, as a production foreman.