Series I: Photographic Prints, 1915-1988, inclusive; 1960-1988, bulk

Series I: Photographic Prints consists of approximately 4,300 prints--mainly 8x10" black and white photographs, with a small number of 3x4" and 3x5" black and white snapshots. Most of the images date from the 1960s to the 1980s. A handful, drawn from the records of predecessor or related earlier unions (some of which merged with the CWA) such as the International Typographical Union (ITU), Association of Communications Equipment Workers (ACEW), and National Federation of Telephone Workers (NFTU), date from the1910s, 1920s, and 1930s (many of these may be found in the Oversized Photographs series). Photographs of CWA President Joseph A. Beirne and his family, other union officers, CWA conventions, conferences and meetings, and other union activities (including organizing, dinners, receptions and the union's support for scholarships and charities) dominate the collection. Through images of their officers and members, locals from across the country are represented, including those from Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, reflecting a strong southern regional presence.

A large portion of the collection (its single largest series) also documents the union's international activities, through images showing its officers attendance at international conferences of telephone workers and allied unions in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific, Latin America, and international labor, as well as visits by representatives of foreign unions to United States. These international images reflect the union's involvement in Cold War politics through its friendly relationships with the CIA- and USAID (United States Agency for International Development)- financed American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), with labor unions in South Vietnam, and exiled Cuban labor unions.

Also well-represented are images showing the union's close relationships with leading American politicians, officials, and political figures (mainly Democratic) through photographs of CWA leaders posed with most of the sitting United States Presidents from Truman through Carter, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthur Goldberg, and Dean Rusk, members of Congress including Senators John F., Robert F., and Edward M. Kennedy, Kefauver, Mondale, Morse, and members of the House of Representatives, including both (then-Congressmen) Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy; Andrew Young, and Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, as well as with labor leaders such as George Meany and Walter Reuther. Occasionally a celebrity from outside the worlds of politics and labor makes an appearance, such as actors and comedians Charleton Heston, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and Linda Lavin. A smaller, but significant number of images document bargaining, strikes, demonstrations, and parades, members at work (mainly female telephone operators), and changes in telecommunications technology.

Many photographs have captions, dates, and identifications of persons written on their reverse sides. Individual photographs or groups of photographs have been assigned unique numbers or number/letter combinations, which are written inside square brackets on the back of each print.