Title: Massachusetts Welfare Rights Organization Records
Inclusive Dates: 1968-1972

Creator:

• Massachusetts Welfare Rights Organization

Call Number: Mss 373

Quantity: 1.8 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of the Massachusetts branch (1968-1973?) of the National Welfare Rights Organization. Documentation of internal operations is limited, consisting mainly of requests presented to various funding sources. About MWRO's efforts to publicize its positions and its efforts to win supplemental aid for welfare recipients there are numerous photocopied clippings, notices, and publications. There are also position papers, and files on the Massachusetts Democratic Party and on state and national welfare legislation. The latter contains copies of legislation and administrative documents and critiques of the legislation. Other welfare organizations in the area are represented by correspondence, reports, and printed matter.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00373

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The historian of the Massachusetts Welfare Rights Organization traces its origins to the founding in 1965 of Mothers for Adequate Welfare (MAW), an informal organization based in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. MAW sponsored a number of marches and sit-ins, produced a manual for welfare recipients, and succeeded in negotiating some of its demands with public officials. Its first conference in June 1968 had representatives from nine towns and cities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

MAW participated in the 1967 convention that founded the National Welfare Rights Organization, but close ties began in June 1968, with the arrival in Boston of organizer William Pastreich, privately funded but sponsored by NWRO Executive Director George Wiley. Using techniques that became a model for welfare rights supporters nationwide, he and others quickly established nine new MAW chapters in the Boston area, and these combined to form the MWRO in October 1968.

The MWRO had its greatest success in the eighteen months following Pastreich's arrival. The favorite activity was mass action by members of a chapter to pressure the local welfare office for additional aid under the program of special grants for special needs. The most frequent demands were for household furnishings and seasonal clothing. There were also demonstrations to persuade major retailers to grant credit to welfare recipients.

These mass participation activities were part of a continuing membership drive. There were 16 chapters by February 1969, 32 by August, and 45 (with more than 4000 members) by the end of the year. Thereafter the pace slackened, owing partly to division within the leadership and partly to the Governor's proposal to replace the system of special grants with a “flat grant” meant to cover all extraordinary needs. The internal problems were resolved by the middle of 1970, but the organizing drive did not recover its momentum. Group activities by chapters became less common than efforts of the staff and the lay leadership to join with other social action groups in publicizing their recommendations on welfare legislation and policy. There was a precedent for this in the widespread opposition to the state welfare measure H5453B, which became Chapter 885 of the General Laws in 1969. In 1970 and 1971 the national focus was on President Nixon's Family Assistance Plan and various alternatives to it, and in Massachusetts the MWRO and other organizations supported a parallel effort to pass an adequate income law for the state. The MWRO outlived these campaigns, but the lay leaders found themselves increasingly deprived of staff assistance and membership support, and the organization may have ceased to exist by summer 1973.

This collection is organized into the following 11 small series: MWRO ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION, MWRO ACTIVITIES, CLIPPINGS ON MWRO ACTIVITIES, MWRO NOTICES AND PUBLICATIONS, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC PARTY, STATE WELFARE LEGISLATION, STATE WELFARE ADMINISTRATION, FEDERAL FAMILY ASSISTANCE, REPORTS AND PAPERS, and EPHEMERA.

The records document the public activities of the Massachusetts Welfare Rights Organization and other groups concerned with public welfare in Massachusetts and on the national level. Two kinds of material predominate: 1) mimeographed leaflets and mailings produced by organization staffs for distribution to members, the press, and the public; and 2) photocopied newspaper clippings reporting members' and leaders' activities.

There are few records of the ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION of the MWRO headquarters and the offices of its local affiliates. There are no financial records, no minutes of executive board meetings, and no correspondence between the headquarters and the affiliates or between the staffs of the MWRO and the NWRO. The major administrative records are requests for funds and manpower made to government agencies and private organizations and individuals. These include summaries of the history, programs, and aspirations of the MWRO and a few of its affiliates.

The CLIPPINGS are the major source documenting the efforts of the MWRO to publicize its positions and win benefits for its members from local welfare offices. The file begins in July 1968 and provides detailed coverage of MAW and MWRO activities for the next year and a half. There are fewer items for 1970 and 1971, at least in part because there were fewer activities to report. Most are from Boston daily papers: the Globe, the Herald Traveller, the Record American, and occasionally the Christian Science Monitor or the Bay State Banner. The file as received included much general reporting of state and national welfare news from these papers and from the New York Times, but most items not naming the MWRO were separated from the collection. All the papers but the Herald Traveller are available on microfilm from the State Historical Society Library. The file also has clippings from elsewhere in the state. These describe organizing and membership activities in Somerville, Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke, Quincy, Adams, Chelsea, Cape Cod, and Lynn. Of special interest is the coverage of the campaign for free lunches in Chelsea public schools between October 1969 and March 1970 and the organizing drive and demands for benefits in Cape Cod towns in 1969.

The papers also document activities, 1969-1972, of OTHER ORGANIZATIONS in the Boston area whose interests overlapped with those of the MWRO. Most of these were dominated by professionals and civic leaders, and their main activities were gathering information and developing alternative public policies, Most of the items are mimeographed, but there is some correspondence between staff members of different organizations.

The papers on the MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC PARTY, 1970, originated mainly with the candidates or with the state convention. The only items demonstrably related to MWRO activity are a speech on public welfare by Boston Mayor Kevin White and a critical response by MWRO President Roberta Grant. There is no evidence anywhere in the collection of personal ties between anyone in the MWRO and any public official except some miscellaneous correspondence sent to staff member Michael Kerr by State Sen. Jack Backman, in whose district the headquarters was located.

The files on STATE WELFARE LEGISLATION and STATE WELFARE ADMINISTRATION contain two kinds of items: 1) legislative and administrative documents produced by the government, and 2) criticisms of laws and policies produced by social action groups. The state files emphasize the struggle over House 5453B in 1969 and the implementation of the flat grant system of welfare payments in 1970. The file on the FEDERAL FAMILY ASSISTANCE PLAN contains criticisms of President Nixon's proposal and alternatives to it offered by members of Congress and by private organizations in 1970 and 1971.

The REPORTS AND POSITION PAPERS deal with the MWRO, with Massachusetts welfare administration, and with broader questions of social and welfare policy in the United States. Several were written by students and professors in the Boston area. The EPHEMERA is a single folder.

Lawrence N. Bailis, Bread or Justice: Grassroots Organizing in the Welfare Rights Movement  (Lexington, Mass., 1974)) is a historical and sociological study of the MWRO, emphasizing the period 1968 to 1970.

The George Wiley Papers (Mss 324) contain large quantities of National Welfare Rights Organization records, and there is one NWRO folder in the Social Action Vertical File (Mss 577).

Acquisition Information

Presented by Michael Kerr, Washington, D.C., June 19, 1974. Accession Number: M74-274

Processing Information

Processed by Susan Grigg (FGH intern) and Joanne Hohler, February 23, 1976.

	Series: MWRO Organization and Administration
Box   1 Folder   1	By-laws, 1968-1969
Box   1 Folder   2	Lists of chapters
Box   1 Folder   3	Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1969, Oct. 7-1970, Dec. 10
	Requests for support, 1969-1970
Box   1 Folder   4	Money
Box   1 Folder   5	Manpower
	Series: NWRO Activities	⇧
Box   1 Folder   6	Opposition to song “Welfare Cadillac,” 1970, Apr. 13
Box   1 Folder   7	Diet Clinic, 1970, summer and fall
Box   1 Folder   8	School Lunch Program, 1970, fall
Box   1 Folder   9	Wage Supplement Organization, 1970
Box   1 Folder   10	Unemployment meeting in Topsfield, 1971, Jan.
	Series: Clippings on MWRO Activities	⇧
	Boston and other papers
Box   1 Folder   11	1968, July 24-Aug. 14
Box   1 Folder   12	1968, Aug. 15-Nov. 14
Box   1 Folder   13	1968, Nov. 15-1969, June 30
Box   1 Folder   14	1969, July 15-1971, May 8, undated
Box   1 Folder   15	Worcester papers, 1968, Aug. 13-1969, July 8
Box   1 Folder   16	Cape Cod papers, 1969, Jan. 8-1970, Jan. 17
Box   2 Folder   1	Chelsea Record, 1969, Oct. 28-1970, Mar. 4
Box   2 Folder   2	WYZ (Boston TV and radio) editorials, 1971, Jan. 23-Feb. 11
	Series: MWRO Notices and Publications	⇧
Box   2 Folder   3	Leaflets of Boston chapters
Box   2 Folder   4	Mailings to “ Dear Friend” and “Dear Family,” 1969, Apr. 30-1971, Apr. 8
Box   2 Folder   5	Manuals
Box   2 Folder   6	Miscellaneous
Box   2 Folder   7	Press Releases, 1969, Oct. 7-1970, Apr. 29.
Box   2 Folder   8	Reader
	Series: Other Organizations	⇧
Box   2 Folder   9	Action for Boston Community Development, 1970, Sept. 30
Box   2 Folder   10	Citizens' Committee to Change Welfare, newsletter, 1969, Mar. 15-1972, Oct. 12
Box   2 Folder   11	Citizens for Participation Politics, 1970
Box   2 Folder   12	Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands, 1969, Sep. 23-Oct. 15
Box   2 Folder   13	Food Budget Week, 1969, Mar.-Apr.
Box   2 Folder   14	Legislative Clearing House, 1970, Jan.-1971, Feb.
Box   2 Folder   15	Massachusetts Commission on Human Rights, 1969, Sep. 15-1970, Nov. 25
Box   2 Folder   16	Massachusetts Conference on Social Welfare, 1970, Nov. 4
Box   2 Folder   17	Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, 1970, Nov. 10-1971, Apr. 20
Box   2 Folder   18	Massachusetts Public Welfare Council, 1969, Aug. 12-1972, Feb. 24.
Box   2 Folder   19	Massachusetts Social Workers' Guild, Local 509 (Boston), and Social Welfare Workers' Movement
Box   2 Folder   20	United Community Services of Metropolitan Boston, 1970, Oct.-1972, Mar.
Box   3 Folder   1	Welfare Coalition, 1971, Feb. 12-1972, July 11
	Series: Massachusetts Democratic Party, 1970	⇧
Box   3 Folder   2	Platform
Box   3 Folder   3	Gubernatorial race (Kevin G. White)
	Congressional districts
Box   3 Folder   4	Third (Robert F. Drinan)
Box   3 Folder   5	Ninth (opposition to John W. McCormack)
Box   3 Folder   6	Twelfth (Gerry E. Studds)
	Series: State Welfare Legislation	⇧
Box   3 Folder   7	Report of Joint Committee on Social Welfare, 1968, Nov.-1969, Mar.
Box   3 Folder   8	Lists of public welfare bills, 1969
Box   3 Folder   9	Texts of House 5453B, 1969, July
Box   3 Folder   10	Opposition to 5453B (Ch. 885), 1969, July 2-Oct. 1
Box   3 Folder   11	Press conference in opposition to 5453B, 1969, July 14
Box   3 Folder   12	5453B (Ch. 885), miscellany
Box   3 Folder   13	Adequate income legislation, 1970, Mar. 10-1971, Apr. 8
Box   3 Folder   14	Public welfare bills, 1970-1971
Box   3 Folder   15	Legislative material, miscellaneous, 1970-1971
	Series: State Welfare Administration	⇧
Box   3 Folder   16	Massachusetts Public Assistance Policy Manual, Ch. 7, Medical Care Plan, revised 1965
Box   3 Folder   17	MEDICAID in Massachusetts, 1967, Oct. 31-1970, Aug. 7
Box   3 Folder   18	Implementation of Ch. 885, 1969, Oct. 1-Dec. 11
Box   3 Folder   19	Flat Grant Program, 1970, Sep.-Dec
Box   3 Folder   20	Flat Grant monitoring system, United Community Services, 1970, Oct. 29-1971, Feb. 19
Box   3 Folder   21	Hearings and revision of department regulations, 1971, May 21-1972, Apr. 26
Box   3 Folder   22	Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare Advisory Board, 1972, Jan. 28-Apr. 28
Box   3 Folder   23	MDPW, miscellany
Box   3 Folder   24	Work Incentive Program
Box   3 Folder   25	Access to Title I federal funding
	Series: Federal Family Assistance Plan	⇧
Box   4 Folder   1	Miscellany, 1970, Mar. 11-1972, Oct. 12.
Box   4 Folder   2	National Manpower Policy Task Force Associates Policy Statement, 1970, Apr. 17.
Box   4 Folder   3	Massachusetts items, 1970, Apr.-1972, Apr
Box   4 Folder   4	NWRO opposition, 1971, Jan. 7-May 4
	Series: Reports and Position Papers	⇧
Box   4 Folder   5	Austin, David M., “Public Welfare in Massachusetts in 1974,” 1970, Nov. 4
Box   4 Folder   6	Desmond, John J., Resignation as Chairman of Massachusetts House Social Welfare Committee
Box   4 Folder   7	French, David, “Humane Delivery of Health Services,” 1972, Nov.
Box   4 Folder   8	Garafola, Robert et al., “ Reply to Anthony Downs--policy of “Opening up the Suburbs””
Box   4 Folder   9	Geiger, H. Jack, “Hidden Professional Roles: The Physician as Reactionary, Reformer and Revolutionary,” and criticism
Box   4 Folder   10	Harris, Eric A., “ Welfare Rights Organizing as Practiced by the MWRO,” 1969, May
Box   4 Folder   11	Kershaw, David N., “ Negative Income Tax Experiment in New Jersey,” 1971, Jan.
Box   4 Folder   12	Levenson, Marya, “Welfare Organizing: Its Goals and Methods,”
Box   4 Folder   13	Piven, Frances, and Richard Cloward, “Disrupting City Services to Change National Priorities,” Viet Report, 1968, summer
Box   4 Folder   14	Stewart, Donald M., “Welfare and the Politics of Protest,” 1969, May
Box   4 Folder   15	UAW with cooperation with MWRO, Welfare Rights for Workers and their Families
Box   4 Folder   16	Watts, Harold W., “...the Urban Graduated Work Incentive Experiment,” Revised, 1970, June 10
Box   4 Folder   17	“Welfare in Cambridge,” Transcript of panel discussion, 1970, Mar. 4
Box   4 Folder   18	Willig, Laurence, “Techniques of Fund Raising,” Commonwealth Service Corps Seminar, 1968, June 24-26
Box   4 Folder   19	Series: Ephemera	⇧