Tyree Scott photograph collection, 1966-1995

Tyree Scott (1940-2003) was a labor leader and activist deeply involved in many minority workers’ and equal opportunity organizations.

Scott, an electrician grew up in Texas and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He moved to Seattle in 1966 and became a leader in the Central Contractors Association. In 1970, Scott was a founding member of United Construction Workers Association.. He later served as a director. The United Construction Workers Association combined community organization, peaceful demonstrations, and legal action to fight workplace discrimination.

In 1973, Michael Woo of the United Construction Workers Association worked among Asian and Alaska Native cannery workers who lived in Seattle but worked summers in the salmon processing plants in Alaska. From this work, the Alaska Cannery Workers Association was formed to combat discrimination in worker housing, facilities, pay scales and hire status. The Alaska Cannery Workers Association filed Title VII lawsuits against the world’s largest fish companies, including the New England Fish Company and Ward's Cove Packing Company.

Also in 1973, members of United Construction Workers Association, Alaska Cannery Workers Association, and the Northwest Chapter of United Farm Workers of America came together to found the Labor and Employment Law Office. Labor and Employment Law Office hired lawyers and served workers of color, helping them pursue legal recourse in issues of labor discrimination. From its inception, Tyree Scott served on the board of directors of Labor and Employment Law Office.

While Labor and Employment Law Office had always combined its legal work with participation in community organization, the focus was primarily on court action in the early years of its operation. However, in 1989, the Supreme Court’s decision in the long-contested Antonio vs. Ward’s Cove case constituted a major shift in the pursuit of discrimination cases and in Labor and Employment Law Office’s operations. In the Ward's Cove case, the Court’s decision was that the plaintiffs’ statistical demonstration of racial disparity between classes of workers did not make a prima facie case for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This set a new precedent for the burden of proof in Civil Rights cases and vastly increased the difficulty of workers pursuing discrimination charges under Title VII.

Tyree Scott became less involved in the activities of the United Construction Workers Association in the late seventies, and the organization faded out of existence around 1981. Tyree Scott retired from the electrician’s trade and remained active as a board member for the Labor and Employment Law Office until his death in 2003.