National Association of Letter Carriers
Air Capital Branch No. 201 (Wichita, Kansas)

Records, 1991 – [ca. 2003]

Microfilm rolls MF 6290 – MF 6293

Descriptive Identification
History
Scope and Contents
Organization of the Collection
Adjunct Descriptive Data
Controlled Access Headings
Administrative Information
Detailed Description of the Collection

Descriptive Identification

This section provides basic data about the collection and a brief overview of its contents.

Repository: Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)

Creator: National Association of Letter Carriers. Air Capital Branch, No. 201 (Wichita, Kan.)

Titles:

National Association of Letter Carriers, Air Capital Branch, No. 201, records
Records

Dates: 1991—[ca. 2003]

Quantity: 4 microfilm reels

Abstract:

Branch of National Association of Letter Carriers organized Apr. 4, 1891, in Wichita, Kan., as an advocate for U.S. Post Office employees who delivered mail along city routes. Merged with Derby (Kan.) Branch, 1979. Merged in 1983 with Branch 4984, Mulvane, Kan.; Branch 1783, El Dorado, Kan. Merged in 1984 with Branch 278, Newton, Kan.; Branch 145, Fort Scott, Kan.; Branch 2110, Caldwell, Kan. Merged in 1985 with Branch 926, Wellington, Kan.; Medicine Lodge (Kan.) Branch. Merged with Branch 2492, Augusta, Kan., 1987. Merged with Branch 2393, Eureka, Kan., 1989. Merged with Kingman, Stafford (Kan.) branches, 1991. Offices in Wichita, Kan.

By-laws; a list of Branch presidents; and minutes of regular, special, Executive Committee, & other meetings. The minute books include primarily business matters relating to the operation of the Branch such as elections, social events, insurance & benefits, assistance, political activity, and community service, but also contain information on grievances, safety issues, working conditions, uniforms, and negotiations.

Identification:

Microfilm MF 6290—MF 6293

Ms. collection no. 5030

Microfilm located in the Research Room.

Consult the Detailed Description of the Collection for microfilm roll numbers for individual series and volumes.

Notes:

This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Research Room in the society’s Center for Historical Research during regular research hours. Support for telephone, mail, and on-line reference and research is limited.

In a continuing effort to improve the completeness and accuracy of finding aids, revisions are made as more or new information becomes available. Consequently, this finding aid may differ slightly from what appears in paper form or on the microfilm.

History

This section contains a chronicle of the organization that created the records.

In 1891, after several exploratory meetings of letter carriers, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) granted a charter to Branch 201 in Wichita, Kansas, on 30 March 1891. The initial officers were elected at a special meeting on 4 April attended by eleven carriers. W. C. Donnelly was the first president; E. B. Waldon the initial vice-president, and John T. McDonald the first secretary-treasurer. Ten founding members signed the charter.

The Wichita post office was established on 17 February 1869; Milo B. Kellogg served as the first postmaster. The post office was at Central and Main streets, the site of a later Sedgwick County courthouse, during the years 1870 to 1873. From 1873 to 1875 it was located on the southeast corner of Main and Douglas streets, and following that in the Occidental Hotel at 2nd and Main streets. A federal building containing a new post office and United States courthouse was built at William and Market streets in 1886. About two years later, city delivery of mail was started with eleven carrier routes.

The NALC was formed on 30 August 1889 at Milwaukee during a national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. William H. Wood, a Detroit letter carrier, organized the meeting, at which about 100 carriers from small and middle - sized cities, attended. A year later, carriers in the largest cities joined them. By 1892, there were over 335 NALC branches. The NALC lobbied Congress and the Post Office Department for better working conditions, fair implementation of the eight-hour-day law, uniform wages, a minimum wage for substitute carriers, and a pension for carriers.

In Wichita, the new Branch held elections and organized social events for members. Caring for sick and disabled carriers and their families was an early concern; in later years, this would take the form of union-sponsored insurance plans for members.

In the early years of the twentieth century, the Branch elected delegates to state and national conventions, proposed the establishment of a superintendent of delivery to relieve an overburdened assistant postmaster, and aided needy NALC members in other cities. In 1904, the Branch hosted its first state convention; many more would follow. The Branch lobbied members of Congress from Kansas to support improved salaries and benefits. In 1908 the first Ladies' Auxiliary was formed.

During the decade beginning 1910, the Branch spent much of its time advocating a 48 - hour week, discontinuing Sunday and holiday deliveries, retirement benefits, and better pay. Union officials attempted to work with the postmaster and presented grievances over working conditions.

In the years following World War I, the issue of a shortened work week came to the forefront; in 1924, Congress passed the Kelly-Edge Bill allowing a reduced Saturday schedule. Vacation and retirement benefits were also major issues during this time. The question of admitting African American carriers to membership was addressed repeatedly in the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and early '50s prior to the beginning of integration of the NALC nationally in 1954.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw layoffs, furloughs, and reduced pay for carriers so that the federal government could maintain solvency. The Union fought constantly to ensure that postal employees were not targeted unfairly for cuts and to restore wages and benefits to pre-Depression levels. Ensuring that substitute carriers had sufficient hours to earn a decent living was a major priority, and Branch 201 distinguished itself nationally by establishing a fund to help needy “subs.”3 A 44-hour week with no reduction in pay was proposed by the national union, but Branch 201 advocated longer hours so carriers could earn more income. Branch 201 invited carriers from nearby towns to become members. The Branch attempted to deal with supervisors who scheduled themselves in place of substitutes. In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation providing for a 40-hour work week. Ladies' Auxiliary Branch No. 351 was chartered in 1931; it continued through the end of the twentieth century.

During the World War II years, the Branch had to cope with carriers in military service at a time when Wichita grew rapidly due to aviation manufacturing; using high - school girls, older women, and temporary employees allowed mail delivery to continue. The Branch established a building fund.

Following the war, membership increased dramatically as Wichita continued to grow. The few Branch committees that existed before the war were joined by a number of others to relieve officers of some of the burden and to allow more participation. Grievances, route lengths, and other local concerns replaced the national issues dominant during the war years. Health and life insurance and retirement benefits became priorities. Work efficiency with accompanying merits and demerits was stressed. New schedules allowing some Saturdays off began to be introduced.

In 1951, the Branch began its first newsletter. Members contributed funds for relief for Topeka and other cities in northeast Kansas hit by flooding. More co-ordination of social events with the Ladies' Auxiliary was achieved through joint Executive Board meetings. Pay increases were legislative priorities in the 1950s, and the Branch repeatedly lobbied Kansas Congressional representatives in support of higher pay.

By 1960, Branch 201 was the largest in the state. Regular negotiations were held with the postmaster and other officials regarding grievances, labor-management issues, and safety concerns. The scheduling of shifts and vacations during the extremely-busy Christmas season was a continuing problem. In 1969, the first serious proposal to change the Post Office Department into a private corporation was initiated, an idea opposed by the NALC and other unions. Nationally, carriers were unhappy, and the possibility of an illegal strike or other militant action surfaced.

In 1970, Congress required binding arbitration in postal labor disputes. As pressure from some branches mounted for a strike, Branch 201 voted to back the more moderate national NALC leadership. In 1971, the Post Office Department was converted by legislation into the United States Postal Service (USPS), a federal corporation with a mandate to operate as a business. One of the consequences of this change was that postal unions now could operate similarly to unions in the private sector and negotiate with USPS management. Previously, the real power had been with Congress, and the NALC and other unions had to persuade members of Congress to promote legislation furthering the unions’ interests. After the conversion, NALC had much more flexibility; in addition, it had the right to have the National Labor Relations Board intervene in disputes. Union by-laws were revised to reflect its new situation and the new power it possessed. Branch 201 began a newsletter that lasted through 1973. Locally, as nationally, the NALC now was recognized as the bargaining agent for letter carriers, and the Branch now had the power to meet with Wichita postal management, negotiate, and make a good faith effort to resolve disputes. Socially, an annual family picnic was started. The year after the reorganization, problems with management began to surface. The Union accused management of economizing at the expense of employees, not filling positions as required by the contract, and violating agreements. It appears that Branch 201 began calling itself the “Air Capital Branch” about this time. Potential mergers with branches in El Dorado and other nearby cities were discussed but not consummated. Work related problems in this period included late arrival of utility bills, vehicles, clerks doing work reserved for carriers, and uncorrected safety hazards. The Branch continued the participation it began years earlier in the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) annual telethon and softball tournaments to aid MDA. In 1977, the first of many proposals was made to merge the federal Civil Service retirement plan and Social Security. The following year the Hatch Act was revised to allow more political participation. The NALC developed more insurance options for members. In 1979, Branch 201 merged with the Derby branch.

The merger with Derby would be the first of many, and by 1991 Branch 201 represented carriers in almost every post office in southern Kansas that had city delivery. The mergers included Branch 4984, Mulvane, and Branch 1783, El Dorado, in 1983; Branch 278 in Newton, Branch 145 in Fort Scott, and Branch 2110 in Caldwell in 1984; Branch 926, Wellington, and Medicine Lodge in 1985; Branch 2492, Augusta, in 1987; Branch 2393, Eureka, in 1989; and Kingman and Stafford branches in 1991.

In 1981, members of the Branch did informational picketing as national negotiations failed to produce an agreement. Once again, a “job action” (strike), though illegal, was discussed as a possible response. The Branch gave some financial support to striking air traffic controllers. Resolution of grievances and management’s disciplinary policies were major points of contention. The decade of the 1980s brought the Employee Involvement (EI) program initiated by the USPS and the Union Management Program (UMP) initiated by NALC to informally mediate problems before they became full grievances. When President Ronald Reagan proposed privatizing the USPS in 1988, the Union opposed it. By the end of the decade, automation was becoming more prevalent, and management aggressively pursued technology, and the Union felt these changes sometimes caused more problems on the workplace floor. The Branch was concerned about a decline in membership.

The 1990s saw escalation in conflict between management and employees. Nationally there was concern by employees about “cost cutting” measures implemented at the behest of the George H. W. Bush administration. In southern Kansas, withheld positions were seen as a workload problem. In 1991, the Branch celebrated its centennial. Amid Union charges that management sabotaged the program, UMP ended in 1992. As pressure increased on the USPS and its employees to operate more efficiently, the Union and management attempted to prevent violence to letter carriers and workplace threats. Whether to implement strict unilateral management with written protections for workers or less-formal collaborative Union/management methods to solve problems was decided individually by each postal facility. In a conflict with the Wichita postmaster over overtime, the Union prevailed. The Branch continued helping members by sponsoring a scholarship for members’ children. The postal service reorganized in mid-decade, and the regional office in Omaha, Nebraska, became more important. The Branch withdrew from the EI program, charging that postal supervisors were uncommitted to the process. The Wichita postmaster attempted other moves to allegedly increase productivity, but the Union argued that the real problem was too much intervention by supervisors. Increased quantities of machine mis-sorted mail brought more problems for carriers.

In 1996, the Branch decided to join other NALC branches in nationwide informational picketing to inform the public about what they perceived to be management’s abuses. The national Union advocated increased political activity by members to further their efforts. UMP, the joint Union/management mediation program, was reintroduced in 1997. The following years brought what the Union felt was excessive management imposition in workers’ jobs on a daily basis, at times requiring national NALC intervention to protect rights guaranteed by national and local agreements. NALC again resorted to picketing in 1999 to explain why carriers’ morale was so low.

Scope and Contents

This section contains a description and analysis of the contents of the collection.

These records document the efforts of a local union for over a century to press for better pay and working conditions, provide insurance and other benefits for employees when the federal government did not, and aid members’ families and other union members in need. The minutes show that Branch 201 in Wichita also held elections, organized social events for members, elected delegates to state and national conventions, and sent funds to needy National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) members in other cities.

The records consist of three series: two separated sets of revised by-laws from the 1980s and 1992, series 1; a list of Branch 201 presidents, series 2; and nine bound volumes of Minute Books from 1891 through 2000, series 3.

Some pages in the volumes are faint and difficult to read. They may have been microfilmed several times at varying exposures to produce a more readable image. Occasionally documents have been inserted between pages of some volumes; they have been microfilmed at their points of insertion. In some volumes, the left margins of text were close to the edges of the pages, and consequently some text was lost in binding. On some pages, shadows from the binding obscure some of the text.

A number of topics appeared repeatedly in the records, reflecting ongoing activities of the Branch: by-laws revision, lobbying members of the Kansas Congressional delegation and other political activity on behalf of better pay and benefits for carriers, Branch reactions to national Union issues, elections of new members, assisting members and families affected by illness or financial distress, decisions about the type of summer hats desired and other concerns about uniforms, working or disagreeing with the Wichita postmaster, joint social events with clerks, elections of officers, attempts to form ladies’ auxiliaries, and whether to admit African American carriers to membership.

The first volume of minute books, including the years 1891 through 1908, begins with an incomplete set of by-laws and also includes lists of officers and members; dues payment records; minutes of meetings for the years 1891–1892, 1901–1905, and 1907–1908; a membership list; the Branch’s constitution and by-laws; the order of business used at meetings; and a draft set of minutes. There are no minutes for 1893–1900 and 1906. Meetings were usually held monthly, though in a few years meetings were apparently quarterly; there were also occasional special meetings called to consider specific subjects. Elections of officers, organizational work, and the creation of the constitution and by-laws occupied much of the Branch’s time in the first year, but there was also time to organize a Letter Carriers’ Ball. Minutes for 1901 were primarily concerned with electing delegates to state and national Union conventions and the hosting of another dance. In the following years, the records show that meetings were moved from members’ homes to government buildings. In addition to the annual elections of delegates, financial assistance was offered to a carrier in another city; both of these activities would be documented often in succeeding years’ minutes.

The second volume includes minutes for the years 1909–1925; a few pages at the back of the volume contain an attendance register. Topics of special concern reflected in this book include use of streetcars by carriers; holiday pay for substitute carriers; 48 hour week legislation; use of uniform mailing labels; support for the Lord’s Day Alliance of the United States, an organization attempting to abolish Sunday workdays, and similar religious groups in the hope that carriers could have Sundays off; support for making President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday a holiday; the Branch’s “sick and loan” fund; badges, flags, sashes, and hats as a part of carriers’ uniforms; slow processing of newspapers in the post office; the beginning of Union retirement benefits; the rejection of affiliation with the American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.); discussion of federal retirement legislation; concerns about the handling of parcel post; entertainment at meetings; allocation of vacations and Christmas work schedules; mailing labels on newspapers; concern about carriers who were not Union members; creation of a constitution for the Branch’s Sick and Loan Fund Association; an NALC - wide referendum on joining the A.F. of L.; the possible loss of compensatory time and overtime; extra work for carriers who finished routes early; formation of a permanent Grievance Committee to meet with management; the naming of a Branch chaplain; reform of the C.O.D. system and reimbursement of carriers; the possibility of a shortened Saturday workday; and mailbox uniformity.

The third volume covers the turbulent years 1926 through 1942. Minutes for some months, particularly June through November 1928, are not in the book. Following the minutes are by-laws and an attendance list for the 1931 Kansas State Convention of Federal Postal Employees. Issues confronting the Branch and its members in the late 1920s included attempts to obtain reduced gasoline prices for carriers, social events, a minimum wage for assistant carriers, the possibility of a combined post office employees’ widows’ and orphans’ benefit fund, and formation of a credit union. After the stock market crash of October 1929, efforts changed to preserving jobs and paychecks. Still the Branch had time to invite the national NALC president to Wichita; other tasks included sustaining the NALC leadership in deferring its campaign for a wage increase until the economy improved, co-operating with the postmaster, advocating benefits for substitute carriers, trying to ensure the best wages possible during the Depression, promoting civil service expansion, advocating equality in pay between village and rural carriers, requesting better retirement benefits and employer insurance for carriers’ vehicles, providing aid to those hit by flooding in 1937, considering group medical and hospital insurance, dealing with parcel post problems, and advocating a reduced workload for “subs.” The Branch was concerned about the safety of bonds and bank deposits it held, and indeed some accounts were lost due to bank failures.

Volume four contains minutes for the period 1943 – 1960. Following the general meeting minutes are separate Executive Board minutes for March through October 1948 and a list of retirees. Many of the issues discussed in these minutes were continuations or variations of the themes present in the earlier volumes: grievances, benefits, working conditions, and conventions. Unique to this period were discussions about replacing high school girls with older women to compensate for men in the armed forces, displaying the flag, supporting the war effort, honoring members killed in action, subsidizing some expenses of soldier-members home on leave, and purchasing war bonds. The Branch honored retirees, a practice that became an annual event. Branch 201 requested an investigation of the Wichita Post Office over the application of seniority. The minutes reflected the formation of more committees to handle the growth in membership and activity following World War II. Equalization of carriers’ routes became a major issue after the war due to Wichita’s growth. The Branch supported the formation of a policemen’s union. Beginning with the 1950 minutes, proceedings of the Executive Board are included; these were primarily meetings to establish priorities and set budgets. Working conditions in Wichita’s overcrowded postal facilities was an ongoing problem. The Branch sent a delegation to participate in national NALC discussions about the Union’s hospital and surgical plan. A Branch newsletter was started in 1951 but lapsed. Detailed committee reports were not included in the general meeting minutes after 1951. In 1952, the Branch voted to support at the national convention the “dual charter” system allowing segregated branches in the same city. In 1956, discussions were held on merging clerks’ and carriers’ unions, but the Branch took no action.

The fifth volume consists of minutes of the years 1961–1970. By this time, the minutes included yearly lists of officers and committees, budgets, financial reports, meeting dates, and presidents’ reports of the Branch’s condition. The minutes included more explicit listings of labor-management discussions. Negotiations were apparently an ongoing activity with a committee devoted to the activity. Similarly, there was regular reporting of safety issues in the minutes. The records show that vehicles and safety became increasing problems. In 1968, the issue of car agreements—carriers using their own cars—or car-contracts—contracted vehicles—occupied the membership. The 1970 wildcat strike by some NALC branches did not include Wichita, but carriers in Branch 201 decided to support NALC President James H. Rademacher; voted 258-14 in a straw poll to strike if a walkout was called by NALC leadership; agreed to take another, formal vote if NALC called a strike; and voted to help striking carriers financially.

Volume six for the years 1971 through 1980 documents the fundamental changes brought upon the postal service, the NALC, and the Branch by the conversion of the Post Office Department into the United States Postal Service (USPS). Implementation and handling perceived violations of both national and local agreements with management became a major concern. National events such as the right to strike, management’s cost saving measures, automation, the threatened elimination of the Civil Service retirement system, and revision of the Hatch Act allowing more political participation by employees were reflected in the minutes. Local concerns over safety and workplace issues, settlement of disputes, and what the the Union felt was arbitrary rule making by management in violation of agreements were also evident in the records. Minutes for 1977 include proceedings of the Arbitration Committee.

Most of the issues from the 1970s continued into the ‘80s, and this was reflected in volume seven (1981–1990). In the 1980s, however, disgruntlement of carriers over what they perceived as management’s violations of their rights and indifference to requests for pay and benefits that kept pace with inflation erupted to new levels. It was also during this time that the Wichita Branch merged with many of the other NALC branches in smaller post offices to become a unified bargaining agent for letter carriers in southern Kansas. The NALC started a political action committee in the mid-1980s, and members were urged to support it.

Volume eight, spanning the years 1991 through 1995, demonstrated the Branch’s continued commitment, along with the rest of the NALC, to the Muscular Dystrophy Association through participation in its annual telethon and fund raising sports tournaments. The Branch also sponsored families at Christmas and co-operated with management in support of the United Way. Reflecting a larger membership and increasingly businesslike operations, the Branch operated out of its own office space, paid its officers for time away from the job, and, through the use of a computer, produced increasingly detailed financial reports accompanying the minutes. On the larger front, the records reflect national and local Union concerns with excessive management “interference” in carriers’ daily work and attempts to measure or force increased productivity through means not authorized in labor-management agreements. Despite several USPS reorganizations, the Union still continued to chafe under postal service management.

The final volume, number nine, covers the years 1996 through 2000. In it, the minutes reflected a decline in morale attributed to excessive management interference, mis-use of automation as a means to greater efficiency, what were seen as insincere efforts by postal officials to solve problems, and stress brought on by increased pressure from management.

Formal minutes of the various Branch 201 committees are mentioned in the general and Executive Board minutes, but were not included in this microfilming project. In many cases, however, summaries of the committees’ work are included in the general and Executive Board minutes in this collection. Aside from joint planning or Executive Board minutes, there are no separate minutes on this microfilm of Ladies Auxiliary Branch #351. Although events involving the non-Wichita postal units are included in the minutes after Branch 201 began representing the letter carriers in those cities, it should be noted that no pre-merger records of the former branches are included in this collection. Branch 201 newsletters for October 1971–January 1974 and March 1986–December 2003 loaned with these records were microfilmed separately at the request of the Kansas State Historical Society’s library staff. A one-volume attendance register, 1980–1987, was not filmed because copies of the individual attendance sheets were included in the minutes of each of the meetings.

Organization of the Collection

This section describes the order in which the collection's contents have been placed.

Collection, no. 5030; Organized into 3 series corresponding to the form or subject of the materials.

Contents: ser. 1.[By-laws, 198_?]—1992 — ser. 2. Branch 201 presidents, [ca. 2003] — ser. 3. [Minute books,] 1891—2000.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

This section includes lists of collections on similar subjects that may be of interest to researchers, items cataloged separately, items removed from the collection, and sources used in the preparation of this finding aid.

Related Materials

Ancient Order of United Workmen, Grand Lodge of Kansas, ms. collection (MC) 117. Access partially restricted
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen collection, MC 785
Howard Brown collection, MC 784. Finding aid available
Kansas Post Offices collection, MC 14
Kansas Postal History Society, comp., “Postal History Cards,” microfilm MS 1080 – 1081. Available through interlibrary loan (ILL)
Postal Service history collection, MC 629
United States Post Office Dept., “Records of Appointments of Postmasters: Kansas, 1849 – 1930,” microfilm MS 1082. Available through ILL
United States Post Office Dept., “Records of the Appointment of Postmasters: State of Kansas, 1849 – 1930,” microfilm MS 121. Available through ILL
Wichita history collection, MC 655

Separated material:

Newsletters: Bulletins, October 1971 – January 1974, and Air Capital Branch News, March 1986 – December 2003, microfilmed separately.

Other finding aid:

Copies of this finding aid are also available in the Research Room of the Center for Historical Research and on each roll of the microfilm.

Bibliography:

Baughman, Robert Williamson, 1907 – . Kansas Post Offices: May 29, 1828 – August 3, 1961. Topeka, Kans.: Kansas Postal History Society, ©1961
Hewett, Horace. “How It Began.” Air Capital News, 6 (April 1991): [1].
Mikusko, M. Brady. Carriers in a Common Cause: A History of Letter Carriers and the NALC. [Washington, D.C.]: National Association of Letter Carriers, 1982.
“NALC Facts & History.” National Association of Letter Carriers website (June 29, 2004), http://www.nalc.org/nalc/facthist/index.html

Controlled Access Headings

The terms listed below may include names, places, subjects, occupations, titles, and other words describing this collection. These terms are used in the ATLAS catalog used by the Kansas State Historical Society and affiliated libraries in Topeka, http://lib.wuacc.edu, as well as libraries and archives subscribing to OCLC, an international library/archives database. Searches on these words should produce a description of this collection as well as other books and collections that may be of interest. Topical terms are Library of Congress subject headings.

Corporate names

National Association of Letter Carriers. Air Capital Branch, No. 201 (Wichita, Kan.)
United States. Post Office Dept.–Employees.
United States. Post Office Dept. —Uniform.
United States Postal Service–Employees.
United States Postal Service–Uniform.
Wichita Post Office (Wichita, Kan.)–Employees.

Geographic names

Augusta (Kan.)
Caldwell (Kan.)
Derby (Kan.)
El Dorado (Kan.)
Eureka (Kan.)
Fort Scott (Kan.)
Kingman (Kan.)
Medicine Lodge (Kan.)
Mulvane (Kan.)
Newton (Kan.)
Stafford (Kan.)
Wellington (Kan.)
Wichita (Kan.)
Wichita Region (Kan.)

Subjects

Arbitration, Industrial–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Employee fringe benefits–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Employee - management relations in government–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Employees–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Grievance arbitration–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Grievance procedures–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Industrial relations —Kansas–Wichita Region.
Industrial safety–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Insurance, Group–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor disputes–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor union democracy–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor union locals–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor union meetings–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor union members–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor union welfare funds–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Labor unions —Kansas–Wichita Region.
Political participation–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Postal service – Kansas–Wichita Region–Employees —Labor unions.
Postal service–Kansas–Wichita Region–Safety measures.
Uniforms–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Work environment–Kansas–Wichita Region.

Genre/Physical characteristics

By-laws–Kansas–Wichita Region.
Corporate minutes–Kansas–Wichita Region.

Occupation

Letter carriers–Kansas–Wichita Region.

Administrative Information

This section provides more detailed information about this collection that may be helpful to those wishing to use it, including its history, restrictions, copyright information, other formats, and a suggested citation form.

Restrictions on Access: None

Restrictions on Use:

Notice: This material may by protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this microfilm may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the 1976 copyright act, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof for the duration of the copyright. Unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descend to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of an author or his publisher to secure permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

Copyright to the records created by Air Capital Branch, No. 201, National Association of Letter Carriers (Wichita, Kans.), belongs to the Branch or its successors. No copyrights were transferred to the Kansas State Historical Society in the loaning of these records for microfilming.

Preferred Citation:

Note: [document and / or series description, date], National Association of Letter Carriers, Air Capital Branch, No. 201 (Wichita, Kans.), Records, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm [roll number(s)].
Bibliography: National Association of Letter Carriers, Air Capital Branch, No. 201 (Wichita, Kans.). Records, 1891 – [ca. 2003]. Kansas State Historical Society microfilm [roll number(s)].

Acquisition information:

Loan: Air Capital Branch, No. 201, National Association of Letter Carriers (Wichita, Kan.), 2004; Accession no. 2005-109.01.

Processing Information:

Collection processed by Robert L. Knecht, 2004. Kim Angelina Glover, intern, assisted with descriptions of some volumes of minutes.

Accruals: Additions to this collection are possible but not planned at this time.

Notes:

Microfilm. Topeka, Kan. : Kansas State Historical Society, 2004. Microfilm roll numbers MF 6290—MF 6293; lab. no. 54139—54142.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Archival records are typically organized by series, a group of records that has a common element or function and a distinct organizational structure of its own, for example Correspondence Files, arranged chronologically, or Registers of Military Enlistments, arranged by regiment. Within series, records may be further arranged into volumes, folders, or items.

Microfilm is available on a self - service basis in the Research Room or may be borrowed from the Kansas State Historical Society through interlibrary loan. To request a roll of microfilm, the KSHS roll number should be used.

Series descriptions:

Series 1: [By-laws, 198_?] – 1992.

2 items. KSHS microfilm roll MF 6290.

By-laws amended July 20, 1992, and a predecessor set, presumably from the 1980s. Included are articles on the name & object of the Branch, membership, meetings, officers, nomination & election of officers & delegates, duties of officers, membership dues, committees, duties of committees, the chaplain, dues or expense allowances, death benefits, amendments, and the order of business.
Arranged so the undated set presumably from the 1980s precedes the 1992 revision.

Series 2: Branch 201 presidents, [ca. 2003].

1 p. KSHS microfilm roll MF 6290.

List showing the tenure and names of each Branch president from 2003 back through 1891.
Entries arranged in reverse chronological order.

Series 3: [Minute books,] 1891 – 2000.

1 ft. (9 v.)

Proceedings of regular, special, Executive Board, and other meetings of the Branch. The records include primarily business matters relating to the operation of the Branch, but also contain information on grievances, safety issues, and working conditions affecting Branch members. Other topics include elections; social events; aid to Branch, Union, and other unions’ members in need; insurance, benefits, and other forms of membership support; lists of officers & members; attendance; lobbying & political activity; uniforms; negotiation & arbitration; and community service.

Volumes arranged chronologically.

Contents:

KSHS microfilm rolls MF 6290—6293: