ABOUT LILA MAE WATSON
Lila Mae Watson joined the guild in 1952 when she became the first black female inspector in the guild’s history. Until 1954, Lila Mae held the elevator highest success rating in the guild’s history at an astonishing 100%. It was in October of that year that one of her elevators had their first fall. The Fanny Briggs Memorial Building’s elevator fell shortly after she had inspected it. This is where Lila Mae’s turmoils within the guild began, but is also what helped shape her into becoming a strong and effective leader capable of leading a guild to glory. Lila Mae Watson was able to do what no other had dared to, she united the guild thus creating the strong, surviving guild that still lasts today.
​
​
​
Her time in the guild​
​
Lila Mae Watson joined the guild in 1952 when she became the first black female inspector in the guild’s history. In the Elevator Guild’s humble beginnings in 1918, there existed only one way to inspect an elevator, the Empiricist way which was to thoroughly inspect an elevator following a strict set of guidelines like we have in place today. But in 1937, guild member and creative mind behind the Black Box, James Fulton created the Intuitionist faction. Intuitionists would inspect elevators depending on the sensations and feelings an elevator gave off. Lila Mae joined the guild as an Intuitionist, though by the end of her time an inspector that would change.
Until 1954, Lila Mae held the elevator highest success rating in the guild’s history at an astonishing 100%. It was in October of that year that one of her elevators had their first fall. The Fanny Briggs Memorial Building’s elevator fell shortly after she had inspected it. This is where Lila Mae’s turmoils within the guild began, but is also what helped shape her into becoming a strong and effective leader capable of leading a guild to glory.
Initially, after the fall the intuitionists were quick to throw blame at Frank Chancre, empiricist and president of the guild and he was quick to throw the blame on Lila Mae and the intuitionists all together. It was election year and Chancre had already been throwing blame at the intuitionists members and the faction itself. It only made sense that he would target the factions rising star in an attempt to sabotage her career to benefit his own. Tensions were already high in the guild as they always were during election years, however, it didn’t make too much sense to assume Chancre had been the cause for the fall of the elevator.
It was then that Lila Mae began her own personal journey to uncover the truth behind the Fanny Briggs Memorial Building’s elevator crashing. In the weeks that followed the crash, Lila Mae was constantly being watched and followed by the empiricists. After the fall, Lila Mae arrived home to two intruders sent by Chancre ransacking her home. It was at that time that Lila Mae first learned of James Fulton’s Black Box design. Some of Fulton’s blueprints had been sent to Chancre, Orville Lever (intuitionist in the running for guild president), and our very own Lift Magazine. Lila Mae was tasked with retrieving Fulton’s notebooks and remaining blueprints for the Black Box design.
Lever’s assistant, Mr. Reed sent Lila Mae on a series of tasks to find the location of the missing journals that eventually got her abducted by Chancre and his men. Lila Mae was kept in a room with another abductee, Ben Urich, a journalist for Lift magazine who had written an article on the Black Box design. Chancre threatened Lila Mae about her search for the notebook and reluctantly let her go under the condition she would cease her search. It was too late, Lila Mae was in too deep, she had to find the notebook if not for the guild then for herself. So she persevered and started her own search. She had to learn how to play them at their own game.
Lila Mae returned to Lift after some time to meet up with Ben Ulrich, who told her he had the complete blueprints but the elevator company Arbo wanted to monopolize the design in order to stay profitable. Lila Mae knew this was wrong, Arbo wanted to discredit James Fulton from his original design and claim it as their own, so she began her search for the real notes to right their wrong.
Lila Mae set out to speak with Mrs. Rodgers, a lady who worked under James Fulton during his time at the guild. She arrived at her house right after it had been ransacked by Arbo and Lila Mae explained her side. Mrs. Rodgers saw something in Lila Mae that she hadn't seen since working with Fulton, determination, grit, and honor. She knew Lila Mae would be the change the guild needed, so she told Lila Mae something that no one else in the Elevator Guild knew. Mrs. Rodgers told Lila Mae that James Fulton was actually half black but passed as white and that he hid his identity to remain relevant and respected. As if that news wasn't big enough, what she told Lila Mae next changed her and how she would view the guild forever. Mrs. Rodgers informed Lila Mae that James Fulton, the founder of the Intuistionst, started the faction as a joke. Things got carried away and he wasn't sure how to stop the progression of the faction so he just went along with it letting everyone believe his lie. Lila Mae was stunned, everything she had known to be true was a lie. Mrs. Rodgers gave her Fulton's notebook with the notes on the Black Box, and just like that Lila Mae had purpose again.
Lila Mae spent the next two years perfecting the Black Box design and making sure it was safe enough for even an Intuitionist inspector to check off on it. She needed to be certain that this design was right and what was best for the people that would be using it. Despite her new dislike towards Fulton, she stayed true to his design. Fulton might have created the biggest lie she has known but he was also the best there was when it came to designing safe elevators, and she knew she could respect that. Lila Mae went on to win 7 awards for her work on the Black Box and she shared her title with James Fulton.
her campaign
​
After a few years away from the guild, Lila Mae had time to reflect her time there. She wanted to return to the Elevator Guild but she wanted to play a bigger role in the guild, one where she could help others and change the guild for the better. But Lila Mae knew something about the guild that no one else in the guild knew, she knew the truth behind the Intuitionists faction, and she couldn't tell anyone. If the truth that the intuitionists were a made-up faction got out Lila Mae would lose support not only from people in the Intuitionists faction but also from the Empiricists faction. Both sides would lose trust in her, she needed to hold on to this secret for the time being.
During her first campaign run, Lila Mae faced much oppression. She had a lot going against her. If she were to win, Lila Mae would become the first black president of the guild and only the second female. Lila Mae also had a new radical idea that would work for her as well as against her, she wanted to unite the two guilds factions. She immediately gained small support from both sides of the guild but it wasn't enough to secure a nomination, she needed to expand her playing field. Lila Mae's platform was simple in theory, expand worker benefits, give more rights to the inspectors, provide proper equipment, and unify the two opposing factions that make up the guild.
Before she ever began her campaign, Lila Mae met with experts in the guild to discuss how all of her goals could be achieved. This meant financial experts, legal experts, OSHA consultants, labor workers, and past guild presidents. She spent two months gathering the information she needed to get these plans into action.
The hardest part of Lila Mae's campaign was convincing people to unite the guild as one. At the time, the guild was set in stone on the two faction system and not much could be changed. People from both sides viewed the factions as necessities, something the guild could not function without. This was a radical idea and one that caused a lot of concern from some members and gave her opponents reason to discredit her. However, there were guild members that immediately supported her cause and rallied with her.
After gaining popularity among the Elevator Guild inspectors, Lila Mae went on to secure her nomination in November. The support from the guild inspectors wasn't enough though; she needed support from the higher-ups and what better way to get that than through the people. Not just those who were in the guild, but the people in the city. By reaching out to them and assuring them that she would keep elevator users safe, Lila Mae could secure a win. They couldn't vote in the election but they could call the offices and show their support. And that they did. Lila Mae became the first guild candidate to advertise in this way.
Her campaign poster appeared inside many elevators, plastered on buildings, inside offices, and even appeared inside public works buildings across the metropolis. Lila Mae Watson gained popularity amongst the community and it began with this poster. Outside the elevator guild and community, not many people were familiar with Ms. Watson, until November 1967 when her campaign posters hit the streets. She quickly became a strong figure for young minority girls to look up to. Lila Mae became very active in her community following her rise in popularity to help ensure her spot as guild president and make a positive impact on the younger generation. This caught the eye of those who opposed her, namely the Empiricists who would often vandalize posters of her around the metropolis.
Knowing her audience, Lila Mae Watson put the door hangers advertising her campaign primarily in the elevator guild office on the doors of members of the Intuitionist faction. Lila Mae knew it would be hard to sway the members of the rivaling Empiricist faction so she didn’t waste paper there. However, Lila Mae took an approach that no guild front runner had done before, she advertised to the people outside her guild. These door hangers began to appear on the doors of apartments, offices, and any metropolis city building with an elevator. Lila Mae knew these people couldn’t vote, but these were still people being affected by the elevator guild, and they were more willing to voice their opinion. Phone calls began to flood the guild’s offices from people outside the guild asking questions and voicing their approval of Lila Mae.
Lila Mae Watson was the first candidate to advertise her campaign for Elevator Guild President in magazines. Her magazine ad series was featured in local metropolitan magazines and in the winter and spring issues of Lift Magazine. Just like with the door hangers, Lila Mae was sure this would reach a larger group of people and it did just that. People called into the Metropolitan Elevator Guild from around the country after seeing her advertisement in Lift. Across the country, people began to stand with Lila Mae.
In March of 1968 when elections rolled around Lila Mae was confident in her campaign but worried that her opponent might have the win. Her opponent was a well-loved Empiricist who was rerunning for election after taking a term off. He ran and won in 1960 by a landslide and was appreciated by Empiricists and Intuitionists both. It was to many Elevator Guild member's surprise that Lila Mae came out on top. She was able to secure a victory. The numbers were tight and she only won by a marginal number of votes, but her determination and willpower got her what she so badly wanted.
her Presidency
​
Lila Mae served as president of the elevator guild for twelve years. In the three terms that she lead the guild, she was able to accomplish every goal she had set out to. People rallied behind Lila Mae as soon as she took office and started helping guild members. When she ran for re-election in the 1972 election she won with over 80% of the votes and in 1976 when she announced she'd be running again for her final term, no one stepped up to run against her. Today in the lobby of the Elevator Guilds across the country hangs a portrait of Lila Mae Watson with a placard reading "The Uniter of the Guild" beneath it.
When she ran for her second election, Lila Mae used the slogan "United We Rise." The slogan was a marriage of her first campaign slogans "Together We Rise" and her secondary slogan "Unite The Guild." During her second run, the guild was united so she felt comfortable enough using the word unite so dominantly. At this point, the guild stood with her and saw the good in what she had done for the people of the guild and those that they serve.
The merging of the guild's factions was a slow process that took time. This was to help ease people into the new system. Lila Mae helped both Emericists and Intuitionists learn how the other faction inspected. She provided paid night classes for inspectors that wanted to learn or fine-tune their skills. When the factions did combine, the Elevator Guild saw the highest success in all inspections in history. Employees were happier and there were no inner turmoils bringing the guild down. Work was getting done more efficiently and with fewer problems.
To this day, Lila Mae Watson remains the highest-rated president in the Elevator Guild's history. She saw what was best for the guild and its workers and made the necessary change needed. She is the only guild president to have made national news and be invited to the White House. Lila Mae Watson deserves to be recognized for her work with the Black Box and with her work unifying the Elevator Guild.
