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Research Guides

Women & Labor: Labor Union Collections

Guide on women and labor

Records of organizations that were the collective bargaining agents of workers.

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, Region 9 Records, circa 1955-2000

Representative of national AFL-CIO in the Pacific Northwest. Office defunct; former jurisdiction encompassed: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington; in 1996-1997 these areas were merged within new AFL-CIO regional office structure and placed under Western Region Office, San Francisco, CA. Mainly records of local or state councils sent as information copies to the regional director. Includes: Constitutions and By-Laws; region director's correspondence, annual financial reports; also materials concerning various legislative issues, organizing, collective bargaining, and boycotts.

American Federation of Teachers, Local 200 records, 1951-1979

Labor organization of teachers in Seattle public schools since 1927. Local 200 of American Federation of Teachers was chartered in 1921, a union of classroom teachers in Seattle. Ross Reider was president ca. 1966-67.

American Federation of Teachers Local 200 Photograph Collection, c. 1970-1974

Labor organization of teachers in Seattle public schools, first established in 1927. The collection contains images of Seattle teachers involved in various meetings, strikes, and campaigns. Some photographs were made by Don Wallen and Joel Panzer.
American Federation of Teachers, Local 401 records, 1936-1949

Labor organization of the University of Washington faculty. Local 401 became disaffiliated with the AFL in 1948.

American Federation of Teachers, Local 772 records, 1963-1982

Local group affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. This local was affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. It represented kindergarten through 12th grade public school teachers. It was replaced by an NEA local, the Everett Education Association, ca. 1982.

American Federation of Teachers, Yakima Local 1485 records, 1969-1997

Local group affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers

Building & Construction Trades Council (Seattle, WA) records, 1959-1974

Coordinates the efforts of local unions in the building trades, including contract negotiations with employer organizations and apprenticeship and training programs. Formerly the Seattle Building Trades Council. Defendent in an affirmative action lawsuit. In the suit, U.S. v. Ironworkers Local 86, et al., the United States Justice Department alleged that the practices of named unions and apprenticeship committees for admission, training, and job referrals discriminated against blacks. In 1970, U.S. District court found the Building Trades Council defendants guity of discrimination and ordered the formation of an advisory committee comprised of representatives from the construction industry, unions, and community organizations.

Building Service Employees' International Union, Local 6 records, 1937-1955

Records of the Union

Everett Education Association (Everett, WA) records, 1937-1992

Everett Education Association records, 1937-1992. Teacher's union in Everett, Washington.

Industrial Workers of the World records, 1906-1944

Radical labor organization formed in Chicago in 1905 by the Western Federation of Miners, other labor groups, Eugene Debs and Daniel De Leon. They chose to use a strictly non-political approach and to organize the disenfranchized.

Industrial Workers of the World California Office records, 1914-1917

Radical labor organization formed in Chicago in 1905 by the Western Federation of Miners, other labor groups, Eugene Debs and Daniel De Leon. They chose to use a strictly non-political approach and to organize the disenfranchized. Photocopies of outgoing correspondence of this radical labor organization; 1914-1917.

Industrial Workers of the World Records Seattle Joint Branches records, 1905-1950

Radical labor organization formed in Chicago in 1905, the IWW (known as Wobblies) chose to use a strictly non-political approach and to organize industrial unions to use economic action (strikes and slow downs, etc.) as weapons in the class struggle.

Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific Records records, 1934-1985

Labor union organized as Ferryboatmen's Union of California in San Francisco, 1918. The name was changed in 1936 and it affiliated with the CIO in 1937-1948. In 1948 to 1979 it was affiliated with Seafarers' International Union of North America. October 31, 1980 it was affiliated with International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union.

International Association of Machinists, Hope Lodge 79 records, 1932-1941

Records of the Association's Hope Lodge 79

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Aerospace Industrial District Lodge 751

Publication of IAM, 751. The 751 Aero Mechanic. May 12, 1939-January 1, 2008. This link is to an online version of the publication hosted on the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers of America, Local 104 (Seattle, Washington) records, 1937-1961

Labor organization, Seattle, Washington. Prior to July 1953 the organization's name was the International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers, Iron Ship Builders, and Helpers of America, Local 104 (Seattle).

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 77 records, 1905-2003

Records of the IBEW Local 77: Minute books (1905-96), and contract files (1936-2003).

International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America records, 1950-1970

Labor organization. Correspondence, hearing transcripts and case files. Files are of Jack Goldberger, general organizer for the Teamsters, based in San Francisco. Correspondence is with Teamster headquarters and locals, mainly in California and the Southwest.

International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union Fishermen and Allied Workers Division, Local 3 records, 1935-1981

Union composed of several dozen local units. Two predecessors of the Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's union were the United Fishermen's Union of the Pacific, Puget Sound District, and International Fishermen and Allied Workers of America, Pacific District, Local 3 (IFAWA). The IFAWA includes about 15 small local unions as well as larger member unions such as the Alaska Fishermen's Unions .The IFAWA merged with ILWU in 1950. It was active with external organizations such as the Maritime Federation of the Pacific.

International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 1-1 records, 1933-1988

Records of the first International Longshoremen and Warehousemen Union local chartered in the state of Washington.

International Typographical Union records, 1890-1982

Founded in 1852 as the National Typographical Union, became the International Typographical Union in 1869 after entering into an affiliation with Canadian printers' unions. Affiliated with the affiliation with the Communication Workers of America in 1987 , becoming the Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector of that orginization. This collection includes charters for Local #142 (Olympia), 1890; for Local # 355 (New Whatcom, later Bellingham), 1899; for Local #699 (Bremerton), 1912; for Local #99 (Seattle/Tacoma), 1974. Accession also includes convention programs of the ITU conventions in Seattle in 1929 and 1982, and a statement and article about the proposed Taft-Hartley Act, 1948 and 1949.

International Typographical Union, Local 99 records, 1907-1979

Labor union of Seattle, Washington. Resulted from mergers in 1974 of various locals whose records are represented here, of which Seattle (#202), and Tacoma (#170) were the largest. Bremerton and Olympia are also represented.

International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25 records, 1933-1971

Successor union to the Western Federation of Miners became International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in 1916, and weathered repeated accusations of Communism against its leadership during the 1940s and 1950s; in 1967 it merged with the United Steelworkers of America. Local 25 of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers was organized in 1933 by workers at the Tacoma Smelter of the American Smelting and Refining Company. It continued as Local 25 of the United Steelworkers of America when the International merged with the United Steelworkers.

International Woodworkers of America Records, 1936-1987

Contains minutes of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local #2532, Portland, and continues as the International Woodworkers of America in 1937, when most of the LSMWU affliated with the Congress of Industrial Organization. This seems to be a record of the Columbia River District Council, which opposed the more radical leadership in Washington State.

International Woodworkers of America Local 3-101 Records, 1935-1987

AFL-CIO labor union representing mill and timber workers. The Woodworkers of America was established in 1940 as a Congress of Industrial Organizations union in Everett, Washington. From 1940, Local 101 represented workers in the Everett Weyerhaeuser mills and Eclipse Lumber Company. Unions which merged with Local 101 were other members active in the Snohomish Industrial Union Council, local coordinating arm of the CIO. Local 18 of Cannery Workers' branch of Internatinal Fishermen and Allied Workers of America, was also a member of the SIUC. Other local unions that merged with it included branches from Anacortes, Bellingham, Sedro Woolley, and Sultan, Washington. When Districts 2 and 3 of the union merged in 1953, the Everett local's designation changed from 2-101 to 23-101; in 1959 it became Local 3-101.

King County Labor Council Records, 1889-2003

Coordinating and decision-making body of the various affiliated union locals in King County, Washington since 1888. Began in 1888 as the Western Central Labor Union, became Central Labor Council of Seattle and Vicinity in 1905. Merger of the AFL and CIO in 1955. Collection is comprised of records of the central coordianating labor organization of King County from 1889-2003.

King County Labor Council Provisional Trades Section minutes, 1935-1971

Minutes of the Council's Washington Provisional Trades Section

National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, Local 38 records, 1926-1942

Labor organization Seattle. Correspondence, minutes, journals, legislative materials, financial records, ephemera, agreements, reports, constitutions and bylaws of the union on national and local levels. The correspondence is mainly that of William Peel, business manager of Local 38.

Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 8 records, 1938-1998

Organizational records of a local union which represents over 4,000 members in health care, social services, insurance and office settings throughout Washington. Local 8 chapter of the international union of clerical and office workers of a wide variety of businesses around Puget Sound. The name of the parent body changed from Office Employees International Union, ca. 1966.

Pierce County Central Labor Council records, 1890-1989

Local coordinating arm of AFL-CIO. The Tacoma Trades Council was organized in 1890 as an independent organization. Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor in 1899. Tacoma Central Labor Council, was chartered by the AFL in November, 1907. The records of the Tacoma Trades Council were turned over to the Central Labor council at this time. As a result of the AFL-CIO merger the Tacoma Central Labor Council (AFL) and the Pierce County Industrial Union Council (CIO) merged to form the Pierce County Central Labor Council in December, 1957. The Central Labor Council published its newspaper, the Tacoma Labor Advocate, from 1909-1978.

Retail Clerks International Protective Association, Local 186 (Enumclaw, Wash.) minutes, 1941-1955

Minutes. Bound volume includes roll calls and minutes for regular and special meetings of the Enumclaw chapter of the RCIPA

Seattle Education Association records, 1958-1985

Records of the Association, formerly called the Seattle Teachers' Association

Seattle Teachers' Association records, 1958-1969

Teacher's union of Seattle, Washington. Established in 1958, it was concerned with the relationship of the Seattle public schools and various affiliates of Washington Education Association.

Service Employees International Union, Local 120 records, 1924-1989

The Building Service Employees International Union changed their name to the Service Employees International Union in 1968. BSEIU Local 108 merged into BSEIU Local 120 in 1960, which in turn merged with SEIU Local 925 around July of 2001. The successor organization, SEIU Local 925, is comprised of the public sector employees of the former locals. Minutes of the Bellingham Central Labor Council are part of the collection, apparently because it was within BSEIU Local 108's geographic and occupational jurisdiction of Bellingham Washington before they merged with Local 120.

Ship Scalers, Dry Dock, and Boat Yard Workers Union, Local 541 records, 1930-1986

Ship Scalers Union, Local 541 represented ship scalers working in the Seattle area from the 1930s until 1986. It was affiliated with the International Hod Carriers', Building and Common Laborers' Union of America, later renamed the Laborers' International Union of North America. Ship scalers clean the interior and exterior of ships, scraping and sandblasting, mopping up fuel from tanks, and removing debris. After World War II, a majority of the members of the local were African Americans. The local had a series of conflicts with the international to which it belonged, centering around efforts by the local rank and file to elect a slate of reform candidates as officers in 1972 and again in 1980. The dispute led to years of court challenges and reversals. Local 541 was suspended by the Laborers' International Union of North America in 1986 and representation of Seattle area ship scalers was subsequently transferred to another local.

Snohomish County Central Labor Council records, 1915-1999

Correspondence, minutes, committee files, financial records, conference and convention materials, newsletters, and related files. Includes correspondence, minutes, and related files of AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education, subgroups of Everett Union Card and Label Council (1955-1957), Washington State Federation of Union Card and Labor Councils (1955-1961), and AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Dept.; and records of Federation of Teachers, Local 1690, Edmonds, Wash

United Faculty of Central records, 1998-2004

The United Faculty of Central (UFC) is a bargaining agent for faculty of Central Washington University. The union, founded in 1998, was among the first wave of university-level organizing in Washington state. Faculty members organized for higher wages, a faculty voice in campus affairs, and a presence in Olympia during legislative funding debates.

United Farm Workers records, 1968-1976

United Farm Workers union publicity materials urging farm workers to organize and urging boycotts of businesses supporting non-union labor.

Washington Education Association records, 1920-1977

Professional association established in 1889. WEA began as a statewide education organization in 1889. For more than 80 years, membership included teachers and administrators. In the 1970s, following passage of a collective bargaining law for teachers, WEA evolved into a pro-active teachers union. Today, their members include a range of staff in educational institutions.

Washington State Congress of Industrial Organizations records, 1950-1957

Labor organization made of of local unions affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Merged with the Washington State Federation of Labor in 1957, becoming the Washington State Labor Council. These two labor bodies had been bitter rivals in the 1930s but the need to cooperate to defeat right-to-work measures (Initiative 198 in 1956 and Initiative 202 in 1958) cemented their alliance.

Washington State Federation of Labor records, 1950-1957

Labor federation comprised of affliated local unions. The political arm of the largest segment of the labor movement in Washington. Founded in 1893, unions throughout the state sent delegates to the first Washington Labor Congress, which forme a permament Executive Board in 1902, becoming the Washington State Federation of Labor (WSFL); an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor. Became the Washington State Labor Council in 1957 after merging with the Washington State CIO.

Washington State Federation of Teachers records, 1937-2006

Teachers union of Washington state, established in 1935. Sometime after 1976, Washington State Federation of Teachers changed its name to Washington Federation of Teachers. It is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers and is actively organizing colleges and universities in Washingtion State.

Washington State Labor Council records, 1919-1996

The Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) was formed in 1957 by a merger of the Washington State Federation of Labor and the Washington State CIO Council. These two labor bodies had been bitter rivals in the 1930s but had slowly grown closer together. The need to cooperate to defeat right-to-work measures (Initiative 198 in 1956 and Initiative 202 in 1958) cemented their alliance. After defeating these measures, labor groups took the offensive. The United Labor Lobby (ULL), which grew out of the committees created to defeat the right-to-work initiatives, won an extension of the 40 hour maximum work week to all Washington workers and an expansion of the unemployment insurance system in 1959. The ULL and WSLC were not able to follow up on these victories in the early 1960s as the increasingly Republican state legislature soon forced labor back on the defensive.

Washington State Nurses Association records, 1911-1980

The Washington State Nurses Association was established in 1908 as the Washington State Graduate Nurses Association. The name was changed in 1940. It is affiliated with American Nurses Association and engages in collective bargaining with employers.