For FAQs and current status of services and policies see 
Collections/How to Use
The Labor Archives contains more than 200 separate collections of labor related materials from individuals and organizations documenting the local, national and international dimensions of the labor movement in the Pacific Northwest.
Papers of individuals who were labor union officers, members, and activists.
Papers of academics, authors, and other researchers who investigated labor history and the lives of workers. Some of these collections contain the research files and manuscripts of published works.
Papers of individuals that advocated equality in the workplace, fought discrimination on the job, or advocated new pro-labor sociopolitical relations but may not have been members of labor unions.
Occupational histories of individual workers. Many of these collections contain narratives or documentation of their worklives.
Digital Collections
LAWS has over a thousand photographs and digitized documents showing workers, industrial settings, strikes and union activities, civil rights campaigns, and more. See Digital Resources of the Labor Archives of Washington.
Getting Started in Using Special Collections
Video Tour of the Labor Archives and How to Get Started in Research
- FAQ: Archival Research at UW Special Collections- How-to guide outlining the most useful reference resources, bibliographies, and tools for beginning your research at UW Special Collections, emphasizing labor and labor-related collections.
- FAQ: Primary Reference Tools - Selected resources and research tips for labor history researchers and those interested in ethnic, social, local, political, and women's history
- Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research by Laura Schmidt- How-to overview of how to start research in archives and special collections in general.