Finding Aid to the Tonie Jones Papers
Finding aid prepared by Labor Archives and Research Center staff
Labor Archives and Research Center
2015
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722
Business Number: (415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Title: Tonie Jones Papers
Date (inclusive): 1972-1983
Creator:
Jones, Tonie
Extent:
18.75 Cubic Feet
(14 boxes)
Collection number: larc.ms.0324
Accession number: 1989/084
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: This collection documents Tonie Jones' activities as a union steward and her work in organizing women office workers. The
resource material files contain a number of articles and pamphlets about union organizing written by and about women. The
collection also contains 11 cartons of unprocessed additions collected by Jones while she served as Local 3 steward. Materials
include safety and health committee information, union election documents, union meeting minutes, Labor Council minutes, union
newsletters and publications, union organizing material, trustee reports, Finance Committee documents, and Women's Committee
documents.
Physical Location: Collection stored offsite: advance notice required for use.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Related Materials
Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 3 records, 1950-2008.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Tonie Jones Papers, larc.ms.0324, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Tonie Jones in 1989, accession number 1989/048.
Processing Information
Processed by Labor Archives and Research Staff. Boxes 4-11 contain unprocessed material but are available for research.
Arrangement
The records are arranged in seven series: Series 1: OPEIU Local 3 Files; Series 2: OPEIU Local 29 Files; Series 3: OPEIU International
Files; Series 4: SEIU Local 400; Series 5: W.O.E.; Series 6: Toni Jones Personal Files; Series 7: Unprocessed Materials.
Organizational History
The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) began as a "union's union." In 1904 the American Federation
of Labor (AFL) started granting affiliated charters to clerical workers in the offices of trade unions and began referring
to the new unions as "federal labor unions." The organization of clerical workers in trade union offices was quite sucessful.
The workers were eager to organize, and the officials of the unions usually offered no resistance.
Despite setbacks in the 1920s, federal labor union activists continued their organizing efforts and expanded into offices
in service industries and private businesses in the 1930s. In July 1942 men and women representating the federal labor unions
gathered in Chicago and formed the International Council of Office Employes. Three years later the AFL replaced the affiliated
charters with an international charter, created the Office and Professional Employees International Union, and broadened the
focus of the union. It specifically charged the new international union to organize clerical workers in all offices in the
United States and Canada, not just those of trade unions. Organizing office workers in businesses, however, was much more
difficult than organizing employees of trade unions. Michael Troutman and Amy Blumenshine note a number of problems confronting
unions attempting to organize clerical workers:
Although the reality may be different, significant numbers of clerical workers continue to perceive themselves as temporary
members of the clerical workforce. Clericals fear job loss which employers may threaten for pro-union activity. Some clericals
develop strong loyalties to their bosses due to office configuration and psychological needs. Clericals have little contact
with or understanding about unionization and tend not to associate unions with their own needs as white-collar workers. Clerical
attitudes toward unions are often marked by suspicion and misconception due to distortions caused by the media and managerial
communications.
The OPEIU faced all of these problems. Not surprisingly many of the Union's early successes were in industries that had other
unionized employees. For example, in the 1940s and earlier the OPEIU was particularly active in the offices of shipbuilders,
most notably in Oakland, Portland, Vancouver, Tampa, and New York City.
After initial efforts in unionized industries, the OPEIU looked toward the largely unorganized industries of banking and insurance.
In the 1960s and 1970s the OPEIU leaders organized many banking offices and grew accordingly. The offices of the National
Bank of Washington, Washington, D.C. brought 565 new members to the Union. Not all of the Union's efforts in the banking industry
have been successful. Recently Local 29 in Oakland, responding to a request for unionization by employees of the Barclays
Bankcard Center in Concord California, attempted to organize the Center but lost a NLRB election on 10 July 1986. The OPEIU
has been even more active in the insurance industry than in banking. Some of the OPEIU's largest increases in membership have
been in offices of insurance companies; for example, the offices of Kaiser-Permanente, Oakland, CA, and Cleveland, OH and
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Seattle, WA each brought more than 1,000 new members to the Union.
In many ways the development of OPEIU Local 3 in San Francisco mirrors the history of the OPEIU international. In 1911 Samuel
Gompers of the American Federation of Labor chartered the Stenographers, Typewriters, Bookkeepers, and Assistants Association
No. 13188, the predecessor of Local 3. The Association had only 100 members, most of whom were men holding positions in the
offices of trade unions or in the offices of the city government of San Francisco. The Association was reorganized in 1937,
granted a new charter, and renamed OPEIU Local 36, but by 1955, when the Union became Local 3, it had only 100 remaining members.
The fortunes of the Union were turned by Phyllis K. Mitchell, who began serving as recording secretary in 1943 and then served
as president for twenty-five years. By 1965 she had increased the Union's membership eleven fold. She secured agreements in
public and private offices in industries from media to shipping to baking.
One of greatest successes of Local 3 in San Francisco was in the insurance industry. In 1972 Local 3 won a NLRB election at
Blue Shield of California. The membership of the Local, which had been 1,100 in 1965, jumped to nearly 3,000. Not only did
the membership increase, but its composition changed too. The workforce at Blue Shield was comprised primarily of women office
workers, especially Filipinas. After winning the election Local 3 broke the Company's freeze on wages and increased them by
one third.
Local 3 continued to represent employees at Blue Shield through the mid-1980s. It survived an open shop vote in 1981, but
in 1987, after Blue Shield reorganized and decentralized its workforce, the remaining 350 employees represented by the Union
voted to decertify it. The decertification of Local 3 at Blue Shield followed decertification of an OPEIU local at Blue Shield
of St. Louis in 1982. Despite these losses, OPEIU still represents nearly one-half of the unionized Blue Shield employees
across the nation in 1987 and is one of the largest unions in the country.
Biography of Tonie Jones
Two years after the election, on 19 February 1974, Tonie Jones began working at Blue Shield. In addition to her job at Blue
Shield, she held a number of positions in the union, most notably union steward. She actively fought for the rights of employees,
at times contesting the actions of the Union as well as those of the Company; for example, she sought to have the election
of Local 3 officers overturned in 1977. She appealed to the office of the International Union and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Her work as a steward brought written warnings, denial of promotions, and other forms of pressure from the Company, but she
continued her activities. Jones served on negotiating, staff, and trustee committees, organized get-out-the-vote drives, and
constructed internal networks at Blue Shield, among other duties. She was an advocate for women's rights and, at an Executive
Board Meeting of Local 3 in 1977, she and other union members introduced resolutions to support the Equal Rights Amendment
and the establishment of women's committees to address issues and rights of working women. The Local passed the resolutions.
Scope and Contents
The leaders of Local 3 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union had been organizing office workers in
San Francisco for more than seventy years when they won the NLRB election at Blue Shield of California in 1972. In the seventy
years from 1911 to 1972, the size of the office workforce in San Francisco, the gender of office workers, and the kind of
work and the machines used have changed tremendously. Not only did the number of office workers increase dramatically as San
Francisco and the United States moved to a service economy, but the majority of officer workers today, unlike at the turn
of the century, are women. In San Francisco a significant number of office workers are women of color. Many office workers
now spend eight hours a day in front of a video display terminal (VDT) in large, large offices.
The changes in the office workforce and the uncertainties of the U.S. economy in the 1970s and 1980s brought to the fore in
union negotiations issues such as flextime, comparable worth, production standards, automation training, health and safety
concerns for VDT operators, cost-of-living clauses, relocation of jobs to suburbs, and pension protection. At the same time
more traditional union issues such as wage increases, seniority, grievance procedures, and the right to conduct union business
at the workplace did not disappear. This collection will help researchers understand the role of Local 3 in dealing with these
issues most notably at Blue Shield but also at Airport Parking Management. Of particular interest are the files of negotiations
between Local 3 and Blue Shield. At times researchers will find a detailed paper trail of the discussions with Blue Shield
in the files. For example, the contract negotiations of 1977 contain the perspectives of Local 3 and the Company about advantages
and disadvantages of flextime. In 1978 the Union contacted arbitrators to achieve a resolution on the cost-of-living clause
in the contract. The 1980 strike involved a series of issues, including wage increases, VDT health and safety concerns, production
standards, seniority, salary protection for "bumped" employees, and a relocation settlement for employees whose jobs were
moved to other cities. The committee files of Local 3 also contain detailed information about concerns of the Union, but generally
in the form of notes taken by Tonie Jones rather than formal minutes.
The collection also demonstrates the interest of Tonie Jones in organizing women office workers. The resource material files
contain a number of articles and pamphlets about union organizing written by and about women. Groups such as Working Women
and W.O.E. are represented. The diversity of these pieces and other works are of interest. They were written for several audiences,
including union activists, employees, managers, and lawyers.
The collection also contains 11 cartons of unprocessed additions collected by Jones while she served as Local 3 steward. Materials
include safety and health committee information, union election documents, union meeting minutes, Labor Council minutes, union
newsletters and publications, union organizing material, trustee reports, Finance Committee documents, and Women's Committee
documents.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Clerks.
Women -- Employment.
Video display terminals -- Health aspects.
Wages -- Cost-of-living adjustments
Service Employees International Union.
Office and Professional Employees International Union. Local 3 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Series 1:
OPEIU Local 3 Files
1976-2013
Extent: 77 folders
General Physical Description note: (Cartons 1-3)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Included are minutes of the Executive Board; notes from Committee meetings; and an appeal to overturn the election officers
in 1977. The largest group of records in this series are the files pertaining to Blue Shield. The files contain correspondence;
records of arbitration decisions; notes from committee meetings; and materials generated by negotiations between the Union
and Blue Shield, including the strike files of 1980-1981. In addition to the union files of Blue Shield are the arbitration
records from a dispute about striking workers between the Union and the Airport Parking Management Co. in 1981.
carton 1, folder 1
OPEIU Local 3 Executive Board Minutes 85956
1976-1977
carton 1, folder 2
Constitution 85955
1972-1980
carton 1, folder 3
Insurance Trust Fund Plan 85954
1989 July 22
carton 1, folder 4
Membership Committe Minutes 85953
1976-1977
carton 1, folder 5
Trustees' Committee Meeting Notes 85952
1981
carton 1, folder 6
Stewards' Council Meeting Notes 85951
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 7
Staff Committee Meeting Notes 85950
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 8
Legislative Committee Meeting Notes 85949
2013
carton 1, folder 9
Budget Subcommittee Recommendation 85948
undated
carton 1, folder 10
International Union Correspondence 85946
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 11
Appeal of Election of Officers 85945
1977
carton 1, folder 13
New Member Information 85944
undated
carton 1, folder 14
List of Names and Addresses 85943
1980
carton 1, folder 15
Additions to Stewards' Manual 85942
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 16
Active Retirees Club Minutes 85940
1981
carton 1, folder 17
Affiliated Organizations: Labor Council 85939
1980
carton 1, folder 18
Model Contract 85938
1971
carton 1, folder 19
Sample Local 3 85937
1974-1977
carton 1, folder 20
Sample Local 3 Pension 85936
1982
carton 1, folder 21
Newsletter,
Reporter
85934
1976-1979
carton 1, folder 21
Newsletter,
Reunion
85933
1983-1989
carton 1, folder 23
Media Campaign Notes 85930
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 22-26
General 85928
circa 1975-1980
carton 1, folder 27
Negotiations 85927
circa 1978-1980
carton 1, folder 28
Grievance Writing and Management Issues 85926
undated
carton 1, folder 29
Organizing - Management Issues 85925
circa 1978-1979
carton 1, folder 30
Organizing - Teamster's Campaign at Mervyns 85924
1980
carton 1, folder 31
Organizing - Local 2, Hotel and Restaurant and Bartenders Union 85923
undated
carton 1, folder 32
Organizing - Proposals and Plans in the Bay Area 85922
1976-1981
carton 1, folder 33
Organizing - Marketing and Grassroots Planning 85921
circa 1972-1981
carton 1, folder 34
List of Bay Area Unions 85920
1976
carton 1, folder 35
Clippings 85919
1980-1981
carton 1, folder 36
Negotiating Committee Meeting Notes 85917
1977
carton 1, folder 37
Stewards' Committee Meeting Notes 85916
1981
carton 1, folder 38
General Correspondence 85915
1975-1981
carton 1, folder 40
Letters of Understanding 85913
1978-1979
carton 2, folder 1-2
Contract Negotiations 85912
1974, 1977
carton 2, folder 3
Flextime Negotiations 85911
1976-1977
carton 2, folder 4
Wage Charts 85910
1972-1982
carton 2, folder 5
Medi-Cal Negotiations 85909
1978
carton 2, folder 6-7
Contract Negotiations 85908
1980
carton 2, folder 8
Strike Support Committee 85907
1986
carton 2, folder 9-10
Strike Preparations 85906
1976-1980
carton 2, folder 11
Strike Materials 85905
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 13
List of Strike Workers 85903
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 14
Fundraising Benefits 85902
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 15
Rights of Immigrants During Strike 85901
1986-1987
carton 2, folder 16
Community Services 85900
1979-1980
carton 2, folder 17
List of Local Media 85899
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 19
Strike End Problems 85897
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 20
Strike Bulletins and Flyers 85896
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 21
Negotiating Committee Bulletins 85895
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 22
Clippings 85894
1980-1981
carton 2, folder 23
Move Opposition 85893
1982-1983
carton 2, folder 24
Arbitration Job Discrimination Case 85892
1974
carton 2, folder 25
Arbitration Cost-of-Living Clause 85891
1978
carton 3, folder 1
List of Arbitrators 85890
1981
carton 3, folder 2
Seniority and Call Back and Relocation Agreement 85889
1982
carton 3, folder 3
Grievances 85888
1977, 1980
carton 3, folder 4
Open Shop Votes 85887
1985
carton 3, folder 5
Election Flyers 85886
1974-1981
carton 3, folder 7
Posting Records 85884
1979
carton 3, folder 8
Airport Parking Management Arbitration - Replacing triking Workers 85882
1981
carton 3, folder 9
University of San Francisco Contract 85881
1974
Targets for Organizing 85874
carton 3, folder 10
Golden Gate University 85880
1981
carton 3, folder 12
Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California 85878
1987-1990
carton 3, folder 13
Banking Industry 85877
1979-1982
carton 3, folder 14
Organizing Leads 85876
1981
carton 3, folder 15
Organizing Forms 85875
1988
Series 2:
SEIU Local 400
1981-1983
Extent: 2 folders
General Physical Description note: (Carton 3, folders 16-17)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Series 2 staff meeting notes and materials generated during the organizing campaign of 1982.
carton 3, folder 16
Organizing Campaign 85872
1982
carton 3, folder 16
Staff Meeting Notes 85871
1981
carton 3, folder 17
Resource Material on Insurance Industry 85870
1983
Series 3:
OPEIU Local 29 Files
1978-1981
Extent: 2 folders
General Physical Description note: (Carton 3, folders 18-19)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Comprised of Local 29 constitution and newsletters.
carton 3, folder 19
Newsletter,
The Twenty-Niner
85867
1981
Series 4:
OPEIU International Files
1971-1980
Extent: 5 folders
General Physical Description note: (Carton 3, folders 20-24)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Comprised of copies of OPEIU International constitution and newsletters.
carton 3, folder 20-23
Constitution 85865
1971, 1974, 1977, 1980
carton 3, folder 24
Newsletter,
White Collar
85864
974, 1980
Series 5:
W.O.E.
1981
Extent: 1 folders
General Physical Description note: (Carton 3, folder 25)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Comprised of Union Liaison Committee notes.
carton 3, folder 25
Union Liason Committee 85862
1981
Series 6:
Tonie Jones Personal Files
1975-1982
Extent: 6 folders
General Physical Description note: (Carton 3, folders 26-30)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Series 6 comprises notes and flyers from organizing and public relations classes.
carton 3, folder 26
Blue Shield Warning Notice 85860
1978-1979
carton 3, folder 27
Conferences about Women and Unions 85859
1975-1982
carton 3, folder 28
Public Relations Class 85858
1981
carton 3, folder 29
Organizing Class 85857
1981
carton 3, folder 30
Women and Unions in San Francisco Class 85856
undated
Unprocessed Additions
Extent: 11 cartons
General Physical Description note: (Cartons 4-14)
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Scope and Contents
Contains unprocessed materials including newsletters, meeting minutes, shop steward election documents, newspaper clippings,
and materials related to workplace safety. Folder listing is provided when available but many cartons contain unlabeled loose
material.
carton 4, folder 1
Unlabeled loose material
undated
carton 4, folder 2
Supervisors' Investigation Reports
undated
carton 4, folder 3
Unlabeled loose material
undated
carton 4, folder 4
Safety Policy Memos
undated
carton 4, folder 5
Minutes - Safety Committee and Memos
undated
carton 4, folder 6
Safety - 720 Accident Reports
undated
carton 4, folder 7
1978 Safety Committee Minutes
1978
carton 4, folder 14
Safety Inspections
undated
carton 5
Newsletters and Periodicals (Loose)
undated
carton 6, folder 1
Thanks - Work Related
undated
carton 6, folder 3
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 6, folder 4
Organizing Class SFCC Fall '81
1981
carton 6, folder 6
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 6, folder 7
Print Size & Eye Strain
undated
carton 6, folder 8
Unlabeled Loose Material and Binders
undated
carton 6, folder 9
Binder of Organizing Material
undated
carton 7
Miscellaneous Material
undated
carton 8, folder 3
Labor Council Minutes
undated
carton 8, folder 9
Affirmative Action Committee (Union)
undated
carton 8, folder 10
Strike Support Committee
undated
carton 8, folder 11
Caucus Phone List 7 General Membership List
undated
carton 8, folder 12
Rank & File Coaltion Minutes
undated
carton 8, folder 13
WOE Union Task Force
undated
carton 8, folder 16
Financial Committee
undated
carton 8, folder 17
New Membership Packet Committee
undated
carton 8, folder 18-19
Women's Committee
undated
carton 8, folder 20
Negotiations 1977 Proposals & Counterproposals
1977
carton 8, folder 23
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 8, folder 27
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 8, folder 29-30
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 9, folder 3
Steward Name-List
undated
carton 9, folder 4
Steward's Council Minutes
undated
carton 9, folder 5
Steward's Meetings
undated
carton 9, folder 6
Prob. Staff '80-'83
1980-1983
carton 9, folder 7
Steward's Newsletter
undated
carton 9, folder 10
Trustee Reports OPE 3
1982
carton 9, folder 12
Airport Coalition
undated
carton 9, folder 14
Correspondence Jerry McC.
undated
carton 9, folder 16
Election Rules OPE 3 EAAA
undated
carton 9, folder 18
Intl' VP Election
undated
carton 9, folder 19
Right to Work States
undated
carton 9, folder 20
Intl' Pension Plan
undated
carton 9, folder 23
Intl' Officers Holding Local Union Office
undated
carton 9, folder 29
Model Contract Language
undated
carton 10, folder 1
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 10, folder 3
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 10, folder 4
Constitutions OPE 3
undated
carton 10, folder 5
Charges, Union Reps
undated
carton 10, folder 7
Next Membership Meeting
undated
carton 10, folder 10
Leaflets from Union Office
undated
carton 10, folder 11
International Caucus
undated
carton 10, folder 12
Organizing Committee SFLC
undated
carton 11
Miscellaneous Union Organizing Material
undated
carton 12, folder 2
Unlabeled Loose Material
undated
carton 12, folder 3
Moral Majority Report
undated
carton 12, folder 5
Northern California Labor Publication
undated
Union Newsletters and Publications
undated
carton 13, folder 1
Steward's Council
undated
carton 13, folder 4
UTU (United Trade Unionists)
undated
carton 13, folder 7
OPEIU Research News
undated
carton 13, folder 8
Rank & File Reporter
undated
carton 13, folder 10
Bay Area Labor Theater
undated
carton 13, folder 12
NLG Labor Committee (National Lawyer's Guild)
undated
carton 13, folder 13
Newsletter Other Publications
undated
carton 13, folder 14
BAC to BUB (Bay Area Coalition to Bust Union Busters)
undated
carton 13, folder 16
29er (OPEIU Local 29)
undated
carton 13, folder 20
"No on 13" Jarvis/Gann Campaign
undated
carton 14
Films, OPE 3 Newsletters, and Leaflets
undated