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John Risser, CWA pioneer in Iowa, Dead at 98
John Risser, a retired CWA representative in Iowa who helped organize the state’s telephone workers in the 1940s and 50s, died Nov. 1 at the age of 98.
Risser went to work as an installer’s helper at Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. in Des Moines in 1919, working summers while he was still in high school. He soon moved into other jobs with the company, spending 15 years as a PBX repair technician.
He became involved in the original company-controlled union, work that grew into an organizing effort for the independent National Federation of Telephone Workers, CWA’s predecessor. He was the Iowa State Director for the NFTW and was the state strike director when workers walked out in 1947.
“We may have not been as well organized as we ought to have been, but it was pretty solid,” Risser said in a 1969 interview for an oral history project. “We had good communications between us. I don’t recall any place that didn’t do a damn good job. Most of them did a remarkable job.”
Risser was concerned about workers outside his own company and understood that organizing was the key to bettering their lives. “I always had a soft spot in my heart for these guys that were working for independent companies and were making next to nothing. Just miserable,” he said in the interview. “I always said that one of the primary responsibilities of the CWA was to organize those groups. And we have done a pretty good job here in Iowa.”
Risser was hired by CWA in 1951 as Iowa’s state director. The job title changed to CWA representative, his position when he retired in November 1964.
In addition to his union work, Risser’s sons say he was most proud of his time in the Navy during World War II. He joined the Navy in 1942 and served on Iwo Jima in the 62nd Construction Battalion as a chief electrician’s mate.
Risser enjoyed playing golf and volunteering at the planetarium in Des Moines during his retirement. In recent years, he had been in a nursing home. He is survived by his sons, Fred, of Maine and Bob, of Missouri.
Risser went to work as an installer’s helper at Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. in Des Moines in 1919, working summers while he was still in high school. He soon moved into other jobs with the company, spending 15 years as a PBX repair technician.
He became involved in the original company-controlled union, work that grew into an organizing effort for the independent National Federation of Telephone Workers, CWA’s predecessor. He was the Iowa State Director for the NFTW and was the state strike director when workers walked out in 1947.
“We may have not been as well organized as we ought to have been, but it was pretty solid,” Risser said in a 1969 interview for an oral history project. “We had good communications between us. I don’t recall any place that didn’t do a damn good job. Most of them did a remarkable job.”
Risser was concerned about workers outside his own company and understood that organizing was the key to bettering their lives. “I always had a soft spot in my heart for these guys that were working for independent companies and were making next to nothing. Just miserable,” he said in the interview. “I always said that one of the primary responsibilities of the CWA was to organize those groups. And we have done a pretty good job here in Iowa.”
Risser was hired by CWA in 1951 as Iowa’s state director. The job title changed to CWA representative, his position when he retired in November 1964.
In addition to his union work, Risser’s sons say he was most proud of his time in the Navy during World War II. He joined the Navy in 1942 and served on Iwo Jima in the 62nd Construction Battalion as a chief electrician’s mate.
Risser enjoyed playing golf and volunteering at the planetarium in Des Moines during his retirement. In recent years, he had been in a nursing home. He is survived by his sons, Fred, of Maine and Bob, of Missouri.