Labor Archives of Washington

The Labor Archives of Washington (LAW) was founded in 2010 to preserve the records of working people and their unions and to serve as a center for historical research, ensuring that new generations have access to the rich labor history of the region.

A unit of the Special Collections of the University of Washington Libraries, the Labor Archives is a collaborative project of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies and the University of Washington Libraries. Initial funding for the Archives came largely from the labor movement; the contributions of dozens of unions and hundreds of individuals made this possible. Their names are recorded in the Labor Archives Founders Circle.

Scope of Collections

The Labor Archives contains more than 300  collections of labor and labor-related materials from individuals and organizations. These collections document the local, national, and international dimensions of the labor movement in the Pacific Northwest. Collections document the intersection between labor unions and social justice, civil rights, and political organizations that feature a labor relations or labor rights as part of their focus.

Resources

• Subject Guide to Labor-Related Collections (Finding Aids)

• Union Collections - Many unions have made the Labor Archives the official repository for their historical records--minutes, office correspondence, membership files, publications and contracts.
• Personal Papers - Labor leaders, attorneys, arbitrators, and rank-and-file workers, and labor rights supporters have donated their personal papers.
• Organizational Records - Records from organizations that supported organized labor, worker's rights, and civil rights and also records from labor critics and opponents. Also included are records of employers, some of which were the collective bargaining partners--and sometimes opponents--of unions.

• Online Digital Collections
  

• Digital Collections -  LAW has over a thousand photographs and digitized documents showing workers, industrial settings, strikes and union activities, civil rights campaigns, and more.
• Northwest Labor Press -  The Northwest Labor Press is an independent, union-supported newspaper. The print edition is mailed out twice a month to over 50,000 members of more than 80 unions in Oregon and Southwest Washington. An online edition has been maintained at nwlaborpress.org since 1997, and is distinct from the print edition. This Labor Archives collection is of the print edition from January 2006-December 2017.
• SeaTac-Seattle Minimum Wage History Project, a digital archives of documents and interviews. Including audio and video interviews with dozens of supporters and opponents who were in or affected by the struggles over a $15 minimum wage at SeaTac and in Seattle as well as the broader, ongoing effects and efforts at a national level.
• Oral History Portal, includes dozens of oral histories that relate to workers and their lives. Particular strengths are oral histories of labor activists and organizers, women, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Jewish Americans.

Digitally Preserved Labor and Labor-Related Websites

• Union/Labor Websites - Digital archives of labor union and labor related websites and social media. The Labor Archives crawls hundreds of websites and social media accounts of labor unions and labor-related organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. These captures includes older versions of previous websites, as well as some websites that have disappeared. The collections are similar to the captures available via the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine, but the Labor Archives' captures are done more regularly, contain more information, and are not the same as those in the regular WayBack Machine.

Labor Archives TV and Radio Programs

• Watch episodes of LAW’s TV segment on UW360, a University of Washington television program. Stories highlight our collections and researchers, airing on KOMO, UWTV, and streaming thereafter. View playlist.
• Listen to our regular radio segment, “Learn Yourself”, on KSVR FM’s We Do the Work radio program, which examines labor history events and highlights our collections and other sources to inspire researchers to pursue their own research on the topic. The segment is part of Public Radio Exchange and is broadcast via affiliates nationally. Listen to the shows.
• Access and Preservation By preserving the records of unions, labor leaders, and activists LAW serves as a center for historical research.
• Collection and Consultation LAW staff work with unions advising on records management and arranging for donation of their historical materials to LAW.
• Outreach and Education LAW develops educational projects that are widely accessible to union members, schools, and the public. Students serve as interns in the Labor Archives, learning first-hand about unions and their vital history in our region.

Help Preserve and List Regional Labor Records

• Labor and labor related organizations and cultural institutions: Take the Labor Archives of Washington's regional records survey
  

Contact the Labor Archives of Washington Staff

Conor Casey

Head
Labor Archives of Washington
MA, MLIS, CA

• Curation of collections and materials in all formats
• Donating collections and funding
• Reference questions
• Consultations on records management, research workshops, oral history, exhibits, and appraisal
• Tours for groups
• Labor Archives press and publicity
• Class orientations for faculty
• Oral history, digital humanities, exhibits, and archives projects Project Proposal Form
• Permissions of use for labor materials
• Research help

• Reference questions
• Preservation and processing questions
• Regional records survey information
• Social media inquiries and collaborations
• Research help