Memorandum on Conference Concerning Employment of Negroes as Telephone Operators in Baltimore, Maryland

At the request of the President’s Committee on Fair Employment Practice the following persons met in the State Office Building of the War Manpower Commission in Baltimore on the above date. Mr. Lawrence Fenneman, State Director of the War Manpower Commission; Mr. Joseph P. Healey, Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Interracial Cooperation in the State of Maryland; Mr. August B. Haneke, Vice President and General Manager of the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company; Mr. Julius M. Gardner, War Manpower Commission; Mr. Kenneth Douty, also of the War Manpower Commission.

Mr. Haneke explained the progress of the Telephone Company in the use of Negro employees.¹ He stated that at present there are about 200 Negroes employed out of a total of 5,500 persons. This represents an increase of approximately 125 colored persons in the past year. Negroes are working as clerical workers in the blue print room, coin box collectors, elevator operators, and there is one crew of Negro linemen. There is also an office located in the Northwestern section of Baltimore completely staffed by colored persons. This office employs approximately 25 persons and telephone bills may be paid there.

Mr. Healey asked for the name of the President of the union representing the operators in the Telephone Company. Mr. Haneke said that this was a Miss Crockin. He did not recall her first name.

During the course of the conference, Mr. Haneke said the Telephone Company was making plans for fuller use of Negroes in Baltimore, but he also stated that there was no plan for using colored operators in the immediate future. Mr. Healey asked what the reason was for not using Negroes as operators. Mr. Haneke replied that the opposition of his employees was the reason. Mr. Healey asked for a chance to talk with Miss Crockin and also an opportunity to go into some of the Telephone Company’s buildings, as he put it, to look things over. Mr. Haneke agreed to this. Mr. Healey then stated that he would like to present his findings and suggestions to the President’s Committee at its next meeting. I promised that I would lay this before Father Haas on returning to Washington. If it can be arranged, I would suggest that Mr. Healey come in and present the results of his findings to either Father Haas or the full committee.

Mr. Healey expects that a meeting of the Committee will be held in two weeks since I informed him that the Committee appeared to be meeting on that kind of a schedule. This means he will have his report ready within that time.