Blanche Wells Papers: A Guide


Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Wells, Blanche.
	Title:	Blanche Wells Papers
	Inclusive Dates:	1944-1973
	Bulk Dates:	1947-1966
	Identification:	AR59
	Extent:	9 boxes (3.83 linear ft.)
	Language:	Materials are in English.
	Repository:	Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library

Historical Note

Longtime employee of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 1918-1966; secretary of Communications Workers of America, Local 6201, Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1949-1966; representative for Communications Workers of America, District 6, circa 1947-1966; member and officer, Telephone Pioneers of America, 1949-1972; political and community activist.

Mrs. Wells accumulated records from several levels of the CWA organizations and from other labor groups. She was a state and local officer in the Texas Social and Legislative Conference, an organization of labor and liberals. Those records were processed separately as AR120.

CWA Local 2402 changed to Local 6201 around March or April, 1951. Southwestern Division 20, a regional division of CWA International, changed to District 6 in 1950 or 1951.

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Scope and Contents

Correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports, resolutions, by-laws, bulletins, newsletters, notes, certificates, booklets, brochures, convention materials, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Includes records of Southwestern Telephone Workers' Union, 1944-1948; Communications Workers of America, Southwestern Division No. 20, 1947-1951; Communications Workers of America, District 6, 1951-1965; Communications Workers of America, Local 2402, Fort Worth, Texas, 1950-1951; Communications Workers of America, Local 6201, Fort Worth, Texas, 1951-1966; records of the international, Communications Workers of America, 1948-1966; and Telephone Pioneers of America, Lone Star Chapter, No. 22, 1949-1972. Also includes an unpublished history of union organizing activities in the telephone industry in Fort Worth, 1937-1949, by Wells; the Dallas area newsletter, Telephone Times, 1968-1973; and a folder of correspondence to and from Jim Wright.

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Organization
	There was no apparent order when the collection was received, so the records were arranged by organization. The CWA (International) series contains proceedings of District 6 caucuses in the convention materials for 1957, 1959-1961, 1965-1966.


		Series I. Communications Workers of America, Local 6201 Subseries A. Executive Board Minutes Subseries B. Regular Meeting Minutes Subseries C. Materials in Alphabetical Order
		Series II. Communications Workers of America, District 6 Subseries A. Minutes Subseries B. Correspondence of Blanche Wells Subseries C. Arbitration and Negotiations Subseries D. Convention Materials Subseries E. Material by Record Group Subseries F. Records of Groups within District 6
		Series III. Communications Workers of America (International Union) Subseries A. Minutes Subseries B. Convention Materials Subseries C. Miscellaneous Records
		Series IV. Telephone Pioneers of America Subseries A. Lone Star Chapter 22 Subseries B. Various Local Clubs and Councils Subseries C. TPA National Records
		Series V. Miscellaneous Individuals' and Groups' Records

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Restrictions

Access

Open for research.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

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Index Terms
	These materials are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of The University of Texas at Arlington Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
		Telephone Times
	Persons
		Wells, Blanche--Archives.
	Organizations
		Southwestern Telephone Workers’ Union.
		Communications Workers of America. Southwestern Division No. 20.
		Communications Workers of America. Local 2402 (Fort Worth, Tex.)
		Communications Workers of America--Records and correspondence.
		Communications Workers of America. Local 6201 (Fort Worth, Tex.)--Records and correspondence.
		Communications Workers of America. District 6--Records and correspondence.
		Communications Workers of America. District 6--Employees.
		Southwestern Bell Telephone Company--Employees.
		Telephone Pioneers of America. Lone Star Chapter 22--Records and correspondence.
	Subjects
		Telephone companies--Employees--Labor unions--Organizing--Texas--Fort Worth--History.
		Telephone companies--Employees--Labor unions--Texas--Sources.
		Women labor union members--Texas--Fort Worth.
	Alternate Titles
		Texas Labor Archives

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Related Material

CWA News, 1941 -

Labor News (Fort Worth), 1946-1975

AR143: Robert W. Staley Papers, 1944-1975

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Separated Material


	The CWA international proceedings were moved to the circulating collection. Agreements and constitutions were put in the agreement and constitution collection.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Louis Wells, 1975.

Citation

Blanche Wells Papers, AR59, Box Number, Folder Number, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Series I. Communications Workers of America, Local 6201

Subseries A. Executive Board Minutes

Arranged chronologically.

Box

Folder

Minutes, Executive Board Meetings, Jan. 30, 1950 - Nov. 2, 1959

Minutes, Executive Board Meetings, Jan. 7, 1960 - Jan. 7, 1963

Minutes, Executive Board Meetings, Feb. 4, 1964 - April 4, 1966

Subseries B. Regular Meeting Minutes

Arranged chronologically.

Box

Folder

Minutes, Regular and Special Meetings, Dec. 22, 1949 - Sept. 30, 1954

Minutes, Regular Meetings, Jan. 21, 1960, Dec. 20, 1962

Minutes, Regular Meetings, Dec. 17, 1964 - Mar. 17, 1966

Subseries C. Materials in Alphabetical Order

Arranged mostly by document type.

Box

Folder

Attendance records (?), no date

(records of dues payment?) one list, A-Z, no date; one list by payroll number

By-Laws Committee, Minutes, April 10, 1950

by-Laws

Correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1951; 1954-1955; 1959-1962; 1965-1966

Financial records, 1950-1965

budgets, financial reports

Grievances

reports, 1953-1954; miscellaneous records, 1953; 1955-1956; 1958; 1961

Grievances, correspondence (Wanda Ricketts case), 1965-1966

History of Unions in the Telephone Industry in Fort Worth, circa 1937-1949

by Wells (some background to 1918); manuscript, 16 pp.

Mandates to officers, 1951

Membership - lists, miscellaneous records

Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, manual of employment practice

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Series II. Communications Workers of America, District 6

Subseries A. Minutes

Box

Folder

Minutes, Executive Board, Jan. 16-24, 1951; Jan. 29 - Feb. 2, 1951

Minutes of joint meetings between CWA and management representatives, 1944; 1949

1944, Southwestern Telephone Workers' Union and management

Minutes of joint meetings between CWA and management representatives, 1949; 1957; 1965

Subseries B. Correspondence of Blanche Wells

Box

Folder

Wells, Blanche, Northwestern Division

Wells, Blanche, Northwestern Division representatives, correspondence, 1948

Subseries C. Arbitration and Negotiations

Box

Folder

Arbitration, 1961-1962

proceedings, memoranda

Negotiations with Southwestern Bell, 1953

resolutions, proceedings

Negotiations with Southwestern Bell, 1954; 1956

proceedings, proposals, resolutions

Negotiations with Southwestern Bell, 1957-July, 1965

bulletins, resolutions

Negotiations with Southwestern Bell, Sept., 1965 - 1966

bulletins, resolutions

Subseries D. Convention Materials

Box

Folder

Second Annual Convention, 1948

delegate's manual (Mrs. Wells')

Second Annual Convention, 1948

report

Fourth Annual Convention, 1950

delegate's Manual (Mrs. Wells')

Fourth Annual Convention, 1950

report

Subseries E. Material by Record Group

Arranged alphabetically.

Box

Folder

By-Laws, 1947, 1948

Educational Manual, 1948

Financial Records, Miscellaneous

Grievance Discussions, 1965

field report

Officers and Stewards' Manual, circa 1949

Officers and representatives, rosters, 1948-1949

Taft-Hartley Law, miscellaneous records, 1953-1954; 1959

Subseries F. Records of Groups within District 6

Box

Folder

Texas Traffic Group, Minutes, Nov. 20-22, 1947 - (1948?); Jan. 30, 1947

Texas Traffic Group, Arbitration hearings, 1948; 1956

correspondence, reports

Box

Folder

Texas Area Council

First Convention, 1947, report and recommendation; Second Annual Convention, 1948 - proceedings

Texas Area Council, officers

manual (includes Minutes of Council, June 1, 1948 - Sept. 7, 1948)

Central Committee of Fort Worth, Texas, minutes, Dec. 8, 1947 - July 5, 1949

Miscellaneous

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Series III. Communications Workers of America (International Union)

Subseries A. Minutes

Box

Folder

Minutes, Executive Board, Mar. 27 - April 1, 1951

Subseries B. Convention Materials

Arranged chronologically.

Box

Folder

Second Annual Convention, Spokane, Washington, 1948

resolutions, speeches, news releases, financial records

Third Annual Convention, Chicago, 1949

resolutions, speeches, news releases, reports, financial records

Box

Folder

Fourth Annual Convention, Cleveland, 1950

"Highlights"

Eleventh Annual Convention, Miami Beach, 1958

committee and executive board reports (includes proceedings of District 6 caucus)

Twentieth Annual Convention, Miami Beach, 1958

committee and executive board reports, miscellaneous records

Twenty-first Annual Convention, Cleveland, 1959

executive board and committee reports (includes proceedings of District 6 caucus)

Twenty-Second Annual Convention, St. Louis, Mo., 1960

executive board report, miscellaneous records (includes proceedings of District 6 caucus)

Twenty-third Annual Convention, Kansas City, Mo., 1961

executive board report, proceedings, financial records (includes proceedings of District 6 caucus)

Twenty-fifth Annual Convention, Kansas City, Mo., 1961

reports, miscellaneous records

Twenty-seventh Annual Convention, Kansas City, Mo., 1965

proceedings, reports of executive board, officers and committees (includes proceedings of District 6 caucus)

Twenty-eighth Annual Convention, St. Louis, Mo, 1966

proceedings of District 6 caucus

Subseries C. Miscellaneous Records

Box

Folder

Educational Conference, 1965

Manual (includes Mrs. Wells' notes)

Miscellaneous

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Series IV. Telephone Pioneers of America

Subseries A. Lone Star Chapter 22

Box

Folder

TPA, Lone Star Chapter 22, membership and financial records, 1949-1952

TPA, Lone Star Chapter 22, membership records, 1958-1961

Subseries B. Various Local Clubs and Councils

Arranged alphabetically by name.

Box

Folder

TPA, Local Clubs and Councils, miscellaneous records, 1950-1965

Subseries C. TPA National Records

Box

Folder

TPA (National) General Assembly, reports, 1958

TPA (National), Annual reports, 1950-1953; Pioneer Progress, 1954-1964

(incomplete)

TPA, history and miscellaneous records

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Series V. Miscellaneous Individuals and Groups' Records

Arranged alphabetically.

Box

Folder

Bell System, statements and testimony concerning labor relations, 1950

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Sixteenth Annual Convention, 1954

program, committee reports

Miscellaneous organizations - records

(a) Framemen and Cable Splicers' Helpers - minutes, Waco, Nov. 22, 1958

(b) Telephone Employees Legislative Association - constitution, n. d.

North Texas CIO Education Conference, 1953

delegate's manual (Mrs. Wells')

Southwestern Bell, 1946-1964

job titles and descriptions

Box

Folder

Telephone Chapter, United Fund miscellaneous records, 1953-1965

Telephone Employees' Blood Bank, n. d.

miscellaneous records

Telephone Times, newspaper of Southwestern Bell, Dallas Area, 1968-1969

Telephone Times, 1970-1973

Texas AFL-CIO, Ninth Annual Convention, El Paso, 1965

miscellaneous records

Wells, Blanche, notes, undated

Wells, Blanche, personal correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1958-1965

Wright, Jim, U. S. Rep., correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1958-1971; newsletters, 1963-1973

Miscellaneous

Box

Folder

OS147

Photographs

1. Sixth Annual Convention, C.W.A., Cleveland, Ohio, June 16-21, 1952

2. Executive Board Banquet, C.W.A., Los Angeles, Calif., December 10, 1954

3. C.W.A. National Convention, June 9-13, 1958, Miami Beach, Florida

4. C.W.A. National Convention, June 13-17, 1960, St. Louis, Missouri

5. National C.W.A. Convention, June 19-23, 1961, Kansas, City, Missouri

6. National C.W.A. Convention, June 19-23, 1961, Kansas, City, Missouri

7. National C.W.A. Convention, June 19-23, 1961, Kansas City, Missouri

8. 27th Annual Convention, C.W.A., June, 1965, City Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri

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