The Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 4303 was a Canton, Ohio area union with membership primarily from the telephone industry. It was chartered in 1950 as successor to Local 4 of the Ohio Federation of Telephone Workers (OFTW). Local 4 was much like a company union, representing the blue collar employees of the Ohio Bell Telephone Company. It was also affiliated with the National Federation of Telephone Workers.
The CWA was formed in 1947 to remedy the major problems of the loosely confederated National Federation of Telephone Workers, which had been created in 1939 and consisted of locally autonomous unions from throughout the country. However, the lack of unity and centralization resulted in a weak and ineffective body. The reorganization that formed the CWA created a strong national union which could provide a more united bargaining agent to represent the membership. In 1950 the CWA lost its status as an independent union by becoming affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
Information for this historical sketch was taken from material in the collection and from Gary M. Fink, ed., Labor Unions, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions (Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1977).
From the guide to the Communications Workers of America Local 4303 Records, 1935-1972, 1935-1972, (Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron)
