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International Longshoremen's Association, Local Pacific Coast District records

 Collection
Identifier: Coll 412

Scope and Contents

The collection (1934-1945) contains records from the Pacific Coast District including constitutions, bylaws, and working rules, material regarding the strike of 1934, correspondence and minutes, convention material, financial records, photographs, articles and clippings, ILA publications, and other material.

Dates

  • Creation: 1934-1945

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

According to the official International Longshoremen's website, "The International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 65,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada."

"Organized in 1892 along the U.S. Great Lakes, the ILA is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations; the Canadian Labour Congress and the world-wide International Transport Workers' Federation."

"Additionally, the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots; the United Marine Division Tugboat Workers and the New York State Supreme Court Officers are affiliated with the ILA."

The Labor Press Project describes the origin of the Pacific Coast district thusly: "The ILA’s Pacific Coast District was formed after a coast-wide dockworkers’ strike in 1934. Protesting poor wages, dangerous working conditions, and unscrupulous hiring practices, waterfront workers in West Coast port cities went out on strike on May 9th. After eighty-five days of violence, arrests, and attempted strikebreaking, the Pacific Coast’s dockworkers won the strike and coast wide union recognition. The West Coast dockworkers became part of the International Longshoremen’s Association, under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)"

[Sources: Labor Press Project website: depts.washington.edu/labhist/laborpress/Pacific_Longshoreman.htm

The International Longshoremen's Association website: ilaunion.org]

Extent

15.75 linear feet (12 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), AFL-CIO, organized in 1892, is a union of maritime workers in North America, and the Pacific Coast District was formed after a coast-wide dockworkers’ strike in 1934. The collection (1934-1945) contains records from the Pacific Coast District including material regarding the strike of 1934.

Arrangement

Material within this collection may have little to no intellectual or physical arrangement. Any arrangement may have derived from the records' creators or custodians. It may be necessary to look in multiple places for the same types of materials.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Paul Farber.

Physical Description

9 record storage boxes, 2 clamshell boxes, and 1 half-manuscript box.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Katie Boyer, 2007, and Tanya Parlet, 2013.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal to no organization and rehousing.

Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents.

Box lists are generalizations and should be used as a starting point to locate materials. For example, a box labeled “correspondence” may contain mostly correspondence, but other materials such as meeting minutes or speeches may be found in the same box.

Folder titles are based on those created by the creators or previous custodians. Titles have not all been verified against the contents of the folders. In some cases, staff supplied folder titles during initial processing.

Title
Guide to the International Longshoremen's Association, Local Pacific Coast District Records
Status
Complete Description
Author
Tanya Parlet.
Date
2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Sponsor
Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Repository Details

Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1299 USA