Jimmy Gurganus began his career in 1966 with Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company in eastern North Carolina. Carolina Tel and Tel was one of the non-Bell system phone companies. Two years later, Gurganus joined the successful organizing drive to bring his fellow workers into CWA. He served as president of CWA Local 3681 for 21 years, from 1976 to 1997, during which time he led strikes, bargained contracts, organized call centers, and intervened in regulatory reviews as United Telecom and eventually Sprint bought the local company. Gurganus was elected vice-president of the CWA independent telephone sector in 2002 and retired in 2011.
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