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 parts of the the history of this region.
Longshoremen waiting strike deadline, 1934
The Waterfront Workers History Project explores this vital history, focusing first on the men and women who have worked in the ports, the inland waterways, the fisheries, canneries, and other waterfront industries of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. Strikes and struggles for workplace rights have been part of that history and waterfront workers have created some of the most influential labor unions anywhere, including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
This multimedia website is in progress. It currently includes several short films and video presentations, hundreds of rare photographs, and an online archive of key publications including the Waterfront Worker, Pacific Coast Longshoremen, and Local 7 News. When complete it will feature video interviews, detailed articles about people, union locals, strikes, and other events, a special section about Harry Bridges, an extensive special section on the 1934 coastwide longshore strike, another section about Alaska cannery workers and Filipino-American unionism. In addition, we are pleased to recognize the work of historian Ron Magden, whose writings and collection of documents and photographs anchor this project. .
Here is what is currently available:
Photo archive
Here are more than 250 photographs of waterfront workers and union activities from the collections of Ronald E. Magden, Jean Gundlach, Ross Rieder, and Lonnie Nelson.Documents and Publications
Here is a complete digital collection of the Waterfront Worker, published from 1932-1936, courtesy of the ILWU Archives. You will also find important historical records and documents about the ILWU and predecessor unions on the West Coast.
Films:
Here you will find an important collection of videos, including a 20 minute film about the 1934 Longshore Strike with rare original footage of events in Seattle and Tacoma and Harry Bridges's address to Local 23 in 1988.
Oral Histories and Video Memories:
Watch brief videos of Nikki Bridges, Martin Jugum, Judge Jack Tanner, Jean Gundlach, and others.
Ronald E. Magden Archive and Oral History
For more than forty years, historian Ronald Magden has documented the history of waterfront workers in the Puget Sound area. His books, oral histories, and and collection of irreplaceable union records make this project possible. Here is a video interview with Ronald Magden, a guide to his collections, and digitial copies of many of his books, articles, photographs, and films.
1934: The Great Strike
This is the first of our special sections, featuring films, interviews, photos, documents, and a detailed history of the 1934 strike that won the waterfront and lead to the formation of the ILWU.
The Waterfront Workers History Project began with a working group grant from the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.
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