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Collection: University of Washington (UW)

View: CIO Unions History and Geography

The CIO transformed American labor and American politics. Defying the American Federation of Labor’s commitment to craft unionism, the Committee for Industrial Organization was established in 1935 by leaders of the United Mine Workers and other AFL unions who embraced industrial union organizing strategies.

View: Knights of Labor History and Geography 1869-1899

The Knights of Labor was the largest and most extensive association of workers in 19th century America. Organized in 1869, the movement grew slowly in the 1870s, then surged in the 1880s, reaching a peak membership approaching one million in 1886-1887 with Local Assemblies spread across the country in more than 5,600 cities and towns.

View: Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project

This multi-media web site brings the vital history of Seattle’s civil rights movements to life with scores of video oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, documents, movement histories, and personal biographies, more than 300 pages in all. Based at the University of Washington, the Seattle…

Communism in Washington State: History and Memory
View: Communism in Washington State: History and Memory

This site explores the controversial history of the Communist Party in the Pacific Northwest from 1919 to the present. The project is sponsored by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington and is one of the Pacific Northwest Labor and…

Photo from the Waterfront Workers History Project
View: Waterfront Workers History Project

The West Coast connects to the world through its ports. Ships have been the economic lifeblood of the West Coast since the early 19th century, and the ports where goods and people move from water to land and from land to water have keyed important…

Logo for the WTO History Project
View: The WTO History Project

The WTO History Project, a joint effort of several programs at the University of Washington – the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, the Digital Initiatives project and the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections division of the…

Logo for Seattle General Strike by University of Washington
View: The Seattle General Strike Project

This multimedia website explores the history and consequences of the Seattle General Strike of 1919. Below you will find original research articles, digitized newspaper articles and other important documents, photographs, and extensive bibliographic materials.  Visit site

Logo for Labor Press Project from the University of Washington
View: The Labor Press Project: Pacific Northwest Labor and Radical Newspapers

This site brings together information about the history and ongoing influence of newspapers and periodicals published by unions, labor councils, and radical organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Labor newspapers have been a critical part of American labor movements since the early 19th century and an…

Logo for IWW History Project by the University of Washington
View: The IWW History Project: Industrial Workers of the World, 1905-1935

This project explores the history of the IWW in its first three decades, presenting information that has never before been available. We have compiled databases of more than 1,800 strikes, campaigns, arrests, and other incidents involving IWW members and present this information both yearbook format…

Logo for STRIKES!
View: Strikes! Labor History Encyclopedia for the Pacific Northwest

This project assembles the most extensive online collection of materials about labor history for this, or any other, region. Here you will find detailed information and primary sources about key historical events, including the Seattle General Strike of 1919, the unemployed movements and labor crusades…

View: Mapping American Social Movements Through the 20th Century

This project produces and displays free interactive maps showing the historical geography of dozens of social movements that have influenced American life and politics since the start of the 20th century, including radical movements, civil rights movements, labor movements, women’s movements, and more. Until now…