Communications Workers of America Oral History Project Records
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Abstract
The Communications Workers of America Oral History Project was an initiative of the CWA to document its history, the broader context of the union in larger society, its changing membership and leadership, and the experiences of individuals who have shaped the union's efforts. The Communications Workers of America Oral History Project Records (dated 2023-2024) consists of 29 oral histories with national and regional leaders of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The interviews document individuals who were influential in the union's transformations from the early 1970s until 2024, a period which reflected changes in broader society: deregulation and the rise of free-market policies, employers pursuing forceful anti-union strategies, wage stagnation for workers, and a dramatic decrease in private sector union rates. The interviews also document changes in CWA membership and leadership, with an increasing number of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals at all ranks; as well as the ways in which CWA worked to build activism within their membership to organize new members, gain strength at the bargaining table, pursue contract enforcement, elect pro-worker legislators, and promote progressive public policies. Each interview includes a transcript pdf, audio recordings in both WAV and mp3 formats, and a photograph. Some interviews contain supplemental materials, like articles or additional photographs.
Historical Note
The Communications Workers of America Oral History Project was an initiative of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to document its history, the broader context of the union in larger society, its changing membership and leadership, and the experiences of individuals who have shaped the union's efforts. The interviews were conducted in 2023-2024 by Debbie Goldman, retired CWA Research Director; Jeff Rechenbach, retired CWA Secretary-Treasurer; and oral historian John McKerley. Hanna Aliza Goldman served as producer. The production was supported by a grant from the Joe Beirne Foundation.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by interviewee first name.
Scope and Contents
The Communications Workers of America Oral History Project Records (dated 2023-2024) consists of 29 oral histories with national and regional leaders of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The interviews document individuals who were influential in the union's transformations from the early 1970s until 2024, a period which reflected changes in broader society: deregulation and the rise of free-market policies, employers pursuing forceful anti-union strategies, wage stagnation for workers, and a dramatic decrease in private sector union rates. The interviews also document changes in CWA membership and leadership, with an increasing number of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals at all ranks; as well as the ways in which CWA worked to build activism within their membership to organize new members, gain strength at the bargaining table, pursue contract enforcement, elect pro-worker legislators, and promote progressive public policies. In the interviews, narrators describe their how their early life and career experiences influenced their commitment to economic and racial justice within the labor movement. They also document a continuation of founding CWA President's Joe Beirne's "triangle" platform that focused on collective bargaining, political action, and bargaining. Each interview includes a transcript pdf, audio recordings in both WAV and mp3 formats, and a photograph. Some interviews contain supplemental materials, like articles or additional photographs.
Source: Communications Workers of America. "CWA Oral History Project." https://cwa-union.org/oral-history (accessed June 17, 2025)
Subjects
Organizations
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Communications Workers of America Oral History Project Records; WAG 378; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the Communications Workers of America in June 2025; the accession number associated with this gift is 2025.060.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Other Finding Aids
Description on the oral history project, as well as individual interview subjects is also available on the CWA's website for the project: https://cwa-union.org/oral-history
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, files were transferred off of a physical hard drive to networked storage space. Hidden files were deleted. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the content.
Materials were described on the collection-level (re-purposing a significant amount of description created by the oral history project team) and inventoried at the interviewee-level. Biographies of individual interviewees were also re-purposed from the oral history project team.
