COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA. DISTRICT 7:

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is a nationwide union formed in 1947 as a successor to the National Federation of Telephone Workers. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. CWA District 7 represents telephone workers in the region formerly served by the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company (Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska), with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. CWA District 7 was at one time known as CWA Northwestern District 45, perhaps because it grew out of the former Northwestern Union of Telephone Workers (NWUTW) formed in 1941 as an amalgamation of several groups, including the Telephone Employees Association and the Telephone Operators Association in the "Northwestern Bell Territory." All of these early regional groups were affiliated with the national Federation of Telephone Workers. There was at one time a state board with a "state director," but state matters were later handled through the district organization, with no other administrative level between it and the local union.

Return to top

The records are dominated by collective bargaining files (1941-1963) and by administrative subject files. They also include minutes (1944-1949) of CWA Northwestern Division No. 45, minutes and reports of the national executive board, and minutes of annual state (Minnesota) assemblies (1942-1948). There are letters and memoranda of union officials, and there is information about annual conventions (1947-1974), union locals at Minneapolis and at Crookston (Minn.), and a telephone workers' strike (1946-1947).

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions:

Users of grievance files that are less than fifty years old must agree in writing to protect the anonymity of all parties mentioned in the files and to omit names of individuals from their notes.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Communications Workers of America. District 7 Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 9975; 10,313; 10,345; 11,736; 11,753; 11,775; 14,159

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, November 1990

Catalog ID number: 990017135030104294

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

The PACT News, a union newsletter, is found in the Minnesota Historical Society serials collection

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Collective bargaining -- Telecommunications.

Industrial relations.

Labor and laboring classes -- Minnesota.

Collective labor agreements -- Telecommunications.

Strikes and lockouts -- Telephone companies

Telephone companies -- Employees.

Labor unions -- Officials and employees.

Labor unions -- Telephone company employees.

Persons:

Beirne, Joseph Anthony, 1911-1974.

Rogers, Ray L.

Sullivan, John P.

Organizations:

Communications Workers of America. Convention.

Communications Workers of America. Local 7200 (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Communications Workers of America. Local 7220 (Crookston, Minn.).

National Federation of Telephone Workers.

Northwestern Bell Telephone Company.

Northwestern Union of Telephone Workers.

Telephone Employees' Association. Plant Department Northwestern Bell Telephone Company.

Telephone Operators' Association. Traffic Department Northwestern Bell Telephone Company.

Return to top