Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone International Collection
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Abstract
The Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone International was formed in 1911 in Bern as the International Federation of Posts, telegraphs, and Telephones. The anti-fascist and anti-communist PTTI eagerly sought the spread of democratic trade unionism and promoted the League of Nations. By the early 1930's, PTTI's membership surged into the hundreds of thousands. Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the PTTI conducted research on the postal services of newly independent nations of Asia and Africa, and of Latin America and set up regional offices to integrate their postal unions. Today, the PTTI conducts educational programs and hold international conferences. In 1991, PTTI membership was more than four million and based in 65 unions in 102 nations. The collection includes material that documents PTTI's history, its organization and administrative structure.
Historical Note
The Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone International was formed in 1911 in Bern as the International Federation of Posts, telegraphs, and Telephones. However, the official founding conference was not held until 1920 in Milan, when postal employees realized that during World War I, the Post Office was unique in having maintained its international connections, and consequently should be developed as an instrument for world peace. The anti-fascist and anti-communist PTTI eagerly sought the spread of democratic trade unionism. It promoted the League of Nations and tried in its early years to be non-political for fear of a split between those who favored a separate trade union and those who favored affiliation with industrial unions. In the early 1920's, however, the union refused to admit the Soviet Postal Union.
Though always interested in learning from their foreign colleagues and uniting postal workers from all supposedly democratic nations, the discussions in the PTTI in the pre-WWII era seem to reflect concerns with nationalization of the postal services and employee control.
In the early 1930's, PTTI's membership surged into the hundreds of thousands, mainly of unionists from European countries. Because of communication difficulties, the implementation of Esperanto was attempted with some limited success. After 1935, the PTTI lost thousands of members as fascist forces closed PTTI offices in Vienna, Berlin, and other cities.
In 1947, the PTTI joined the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) as an International Trade Secretariat. In 1949, American unions and their allies withdrew from the WFTU because of rising cold-war tensions and disagreement over the Marshall Plan. They formed the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and the PTTI followed suit.
Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the PTTI conducted research on the postal services of newly independent nations of Asia and Africa, and of Latin America. The PTTI set up regional offices in these nations to integrate their postal unions into the International and to educate future leaders of the national postal unions.
Today, the PTTI conducts educational programs and hold international conferences. In 1991, PTTI membership was more than four million based in 65 unions in 102 nations.
Arrangement
The files are grouped into two series; I: History (1963-1967); II: Administrative Files (1914-1966).
Folders are arranged chronologically within each series.
Scope and Content Note
The 1.0 linear foot collection spans the years 1914-1967, with material evenly dispersed throughout those years. Provided in the collection is good documentation of the activities, structure, and goals of the organization. The collection, consisting mainly of reports, correspondence, bulletins, and indexes, is arranged in chronological order within each series.
Series I, History (1963-1967), contains a chapter outline plus one chapter of an unpublished book on the PTTI. This series also contains a thesis on the PTTI's history, based largely on information found in the collection.
Series II, Administrative Files (1914-1966), contains information generated by the central office of the PTTI, as well as resolutions passed in biennial congresses. Of special note in this series are the materials documenting the controversy surrounding the PTTI's 1924 refusal to admit the Soviet Postal Union.
The information documented this collection reflect the alliances, contradictions, and ideals of the larger international labor movement of this era.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1914-1967, are expected to enter the public domain in 2088.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Bruno Stein at an unknown date. The accession number associated with this gift is 1968.002.
