Communications Workers of America, Local 4305

The Communications Workers of America, Local 4305, is a Cleveland, Ohio organization representing the Ohio Bell Telephone employees located in Cleveland and the vicinity. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

Local 4305 originated as Local 6 of the Ohio Federation of Telephone Workers (OFTW), which preceded the CWA. The National Federation of Telephone Workers (NFTW), founded ca. 1937, included forty-eight semi-autonomous unions other than the OFTW. The OFTW remained linked to this group up to and throughout NFTW's nationwide strike in 1947. Following this strike, when the NFTW was transformed into the CWA, the OFTW established itself as an independent union.

The OFTW retained its independence through 1949. In the spring to that year, the CWA entered the ranks of the CIO, prompting the OFTW to follow suit. At this time, the OFTW represented approximately 10,000 Ohio Bell employees.

In the opening months of 1950, under the direction of the National Labor Relations Board, Ohio Bell employees chose the CWA as their bargaining agent over the Southwestern Ohio Telephone Workers, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) of the AFL. In August 1950, Local 6 of the CWA, Ohio Division 12 (CIO) merged with Local 104. This enlarged body was designated as Local 4305, CWA-CIO, District 4 in the spring of 1951.

Since its formation, Local 4305 has experienced few extended strikes or walkouts. Most contract disputes with Ohio Bell Telephone Company have been resolved quickly and without event. Local 4305 has displayed loyalty to fellow working people, often extending both moral and financial support to other locals and unions in need. Local 4305 justifies its claim of being "a community-minded union" by active participation in programs such as blood drives and fundraising efforts to benefit public service institutions.

Local 4305 is politically active. The local's newsletter, The Courier, urges members to support politicians who favor labor and to write to their representatives concerning legislation. Members of this local generously contribute to COPE, the Committee of Political Education, of the AFL-CIO, a body which encourages workers to register, vote, and perform their rightful part in the political life of the city, state, and national communities.

From the guide to the Communications Workers of America, Local 4305 Records, 1947-1975, (Western Reserve Historical Society)