Chris D. Mensalvas photograph collection, 1937-1956

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Mensalvas, Chris D., -1977
Title
Chris D. Mensalvas photograph collection
Dates
1937-1956 (inclusive)
Quantity
3 photographic prints (1 folder)
Collection Number
PH0657
Summary
Three photographs of Filipinos including cannery workers in Alaska, and union members submitting a donation for a strike on the island of Lanai in Hawaii
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Between 1910 and 1930, a wave of Filipino immigrants came to the United States. Instead of better opportunities, many encountered discrimination, poor living conditions, and oppressive labor practices. Chris Delarna Mensalvas (1909-1978) immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1927. He became an important figure in the Filipino labor movements of the 1940s and '50s, organizing unions and initiating strikes for just working conditions and fair wages for farm and cannery workers.

Between the years 1949 and 1959, Mensalvas was president of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) Local 37 in Seattle - the Filipino Alaska cannery workers union. He was publicity director of the local from 1948 to 1949, when it was Local 7 of the Cannery Workers' and Farm Laborers' Union. Mensalvas actively opposed the deportation of Filipinos under the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952. The noted Filipino author and activist Carlos Bulosan and fellow activist Philip Vera Cruz were among his friends. He was an inspiration for later Filipino activists Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, who consulted him about his labor organizing experiences. Mensalvas died in 1978.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of three photographs relating to Filipino cannery workers and union members.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format.

Restrictions on Use

Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor, Chris D. Mensalvas, 1974.

Processing Note

Processed by Paul Nasenbeny, 2004.

The photographs were relocated from the Chris D. Mensalvas Papers, Accession no. 2361-1, in the repository in 2002.

Related Materials

Carlos Bulosan Papers, Accesion no. 581-012.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Container(s) Description Dates
Folder item
1 1 Filipino cannery workers at harbor in Alitak, Alaska.
M.B. Pabillon (photographer)
1937
1 2 Filipino cannery workers with a Giant Pacific Octopus (probably at Alitak, Alaska)
M.B. Pabillon (photographer)
Note on photograph: "Joy despite unsurmountable hardship."
undated
1 3 Union delegate Dick Querubin and Secretary Mathias J. Lagunilla submitting donations for a strike in Lanai, Hawaii, at Seattle union office.
Broadway Photo, Seattle, WA (photographer)
1956

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Cannery workers--Alaska--Photographs
  • Filipinos--Alaska--Photographs
  • Labor unions--Washington (State)--Seattle--Officials and employees--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)