Tyree Scott photograph collection, 1966-1995

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Scott, Tyree, 1940-2003
Title
Tyree Scott photograph collection
Dates
1966-1995 (inclusive)
1975-1978 (bulk)
Quantity
91 photographic prints, 73 negatives (1 box) ; sizes vary
201 color slides (1 box) ; 35mm
Collection Number
PH1093
Summary
Photographs related to United Construction Workers Association demonstrations, events, and tours. The slides include images from Tyree Scott and Michael Woo’s trip to China in 1975, a trip to Cuba in 1975, Bakke Decision protests in 1977, and images related to the Ward’s Cove Supreme Court case.
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

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

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.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection includes photographs and slides relating to the activities of Tyree Scott and the United Construction Workers Association (UCWA). Included are images from Tyree Scott and Michael Woo’s trip to China in 1975, a trip to Cuba in 1975, and various demonstrations including Bakke Decision protests in 1977. Images related to the Ward’s Cove Supreme Court case and Frank's Landing are also included, as well as images from 1978 editions of the publication No Separate Peace .

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor: Tyree Scott, June 20, 2001.

Processing Note

Processed by Erin Briggs and Erin Berg; processing completed in June 2012.

Photographs were relocated from the Tyree Scott Papers (MSS Accession No. 5245-001) on April 23, 2002.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Marine Corps Service in Vietnam, 1966Return to Top

Container(s): 1/1, Item 1-20

20 slides from Tyree Scott's service in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam in July, 1966. Images depict time lapse explosion on barren hills in slides 1-4, men in military uniforms including Tyree Scott in slides 19 and 20, Vietnamese people traveling in vans and trucks in slides 9 and 10, and the Vietnamese countryside.

Container(s) Description Dates
Trade Unionists tour of China
Slides are deteriorating, tinted red.
1975
Working conditions
1975
Box/Folder item
1/2 21-33
Construction sites
13 slides depicting male and female construction workers laying bricks, nailing wood planks, and digging dirt, as well as images of scaffolding and a narrow dirt tunnel.
1975
1/3 34-45
Factory sites
12 slides depicting male and female factory workers working with large machinery and garment workers using sewing machines.
1975
1/4 46-53
Medical sites
8 slides depicting female nurses, an open heart surgery procedure on a male patient, and a general examination of another male patient.
1975
Box/Folder item
1/5 54-74
Chinese landscape
21 slides depicting waterscapes, Chinese countrysides, statues of Chairman Mao and soldiers in Zhongshan Square, an airport, and various unknown structures.
1975
1/6 75-89
People
15 slides depicting Chinese people drinking tea, doing Tai Chi exercises, playing musical instruments, riding bicycles, walking in gardens, and dressed in festive costumes.
1975
1/7 90-99
Children
10 slides depicting Chinese children dancing, dressed in festive costumes, holding their noses, and playing basketball and badminton.
1975
Cuba trip
1975
Box/Folder item
1/8 100-110
Construction
11 slides depicting young male and female construction workers of various ethnicities stacking tiles, shoveling dirt, and laying bricks outdoors.
1975
1/9 111-114
Events
4 slides depicting an anti-imperialist parade in Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Cuba and an anti-imperialist meeting of young men and women with a banner advocating solidarity against imperialism.
1975
1/10 115-128
Town and country scenes
14 slides depicting urban streets, Cuban countrysides, a beach, and a three-panel mural during and after creation.
1975
1/11 129-147
People
19 slides depicting people of various ethnicities playing guitars during a pro-revolution meeting, riding and deboarding a bus, at cookouts, and playing volleyball. In many images, people are wearing shirts with a "TBV" logo, with a star in the "T".
1975
Ward's Cove, Alaska trip
undated
Box/Folder item
1/12 148-159
Working facilities
12 slides depicting interiors and exterior views of factories and warehouses.
undated
1/12 160-169
Living facilities
10 slides depicting exterior views of housing, and interior views including kitchen cupboard, hallways, hanging clothing, and art on walls.
undated
1/13 170-180
Laundry and bathroom facilities
11 slides depicting toilets, showers, sinks, laundry machines, and pipes.
undated
1/14 181-189
Landscape near Ward's Cove
9 slides depicting grassy slopes, streams, and larger bodies of water near Ward's Cove.
undated
1/15 190-195
People
6 slides depicting men of various ages working and living at Ward's Cove. Most men appear to be of Asian descent.
undated

UCWA office in Seattle, Washington, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 1/16, Item 196-201

6 black and white slides depicting Chicano, African-American, and Native American men and women at UCWA office.

Demonstrations and protestsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Bakke Decision Protest in Seattle, Washington
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unconstitutional the admission process of the Medical School at the University of California at Davis, which set aside 16 of the 100 seats for African American students. Many proponents of Affirmative Action opposed the ruling.
Box/Folder item
2/1 202
Bakke Decision Protest
Contact sheets and negatives for 37 photographs depicting people marching, holding protest signs, and gathering on the steps of the United States Courthouse in Seattle, Washington. Includes prints for items 202/6, 202/13, 202/15, 202/19, 202/24, 202/25, 202/26, 202/27, 202/28, 202/34, 202/35 and 202/36.
1977
2/2 203
Bakke Decision Protest
Contact sheet and negatives for 14 photographs depicting people marching, holding protest signs, and gathering on the steps of the United States Courthouse in Seattle, Washington. Includes prints for items 203/0, 203/1, 203/2, 203/3 203/9 and 203/11.
1977
2/3 204-207
Bakke Decision Protest on the steps of the United States Courthouse in Seattle, Washington
4 black and white photographs depicting Tyree Scott speaking to people of various ethnicities in front of the United States Courthouse in Seattle, Washington.
1977
2/3 208-228
Scenes of the Bakke Decision Protest
21 color photographs depicting people of various ethnicities marching, holding protest signs and megaphones in Seattle, Washington. One image depicts Tyree Scott in a red shirt and tan hooded sweatshirt.
1977
Box/Folder item
2/4 229
March related to the Marxist–Leninist Party, USA
Image includes signs reading: "Down with Reagan - Chieftain of Capitalist Reaction", "Pass E.R.A.", "No Way on 3-Way", "Jobs for All", "Tax the Rich, Not the Poor".
1982
2/4 230
United Construction Workers Association protest in an urban setting
Image includes signs reading: "Tax the Corporations", "Free Pilar!", "Jobs for All", "Alaska Cannery Workers Assoiciation".
undated
2/4 231
March near Spring Street in Seattle, Washington
Image depicts young people of various ethnicities marching with flags.
undated

No Separate Peace Return to Top

No Separate Peacewas a newspaper published by the UCWA from 1975-1978. It focused on news about the struggles of minorities to obtain human rights in the Seattle area, as well as nationally and internationally.

Digitized versions of No Separate Peace can be viewed at: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/NSP.htm .

Container(s) Description Dates
Robert "Spider" Gaines, University of Washington football player
Robert "Spider" Gaines was a wide receiver on the University of Washington football team from 1975-1978. An inteview with Gaines was included in the publication No Separate Peace, Vol. 3, No. 1 - March 1978.
Box/Folder item
2/5 232 1978
2/5 233 1978
2/5 234 1978
Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) Building
The Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) was founded in 1964 as part of the first generation of community-inspired organizations funded by the Economic Opportunity Act. The building is located at 722 18th Ave, Seattle WA 98122. An article about CAMP was included in the publication No Separate Peace, Vol. 3, No. 1 - March 1978.
Box/Folder item
2/6 235 circa 1978
2/6 236 circa 1978
A Tribute to Working Women
On March 11, 1978, approximately 80 people came together to commemorate International Women's Day. The event was covered in the publicationNo Separate Peace, Vol. 3, No. 2 - May 1, 1978.
Box/Folder item
2/7 237 1978
2/7 238 1978
2/7 239 1978
2/7 240 1978
2/7 241 1978
2/7 242-244 1978
Auto mechanics' strike in Seattle, Washington
On April 1, 1978, auto mechanics in the Seattle area led a march through the north area of downtown Seattle. The march was covered in the publicationNo Separate Peace, Vol. 3, No. 2 - May 1, 1978.
Box/Folder item
2/8 245
Forward-facing view of workers marching in auto mechanics' strike in Seattle, Washington
Man in foreground is carrying a sign that says "Concerned Citizens Support Auto Trades."
1978
2/8 246
Side view of workers marching in auto mechanics' strike in Seattle, Washington
Men in foreground are carrying signs that say "On Strike / Boycott / Struck Auto Dealers."
1978

Events and meetingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Forum in Brazil
1995
Box/Folder item
2/9 247
Anna Simeon, Head of Domestic Workers Union in Brazil
Note on accompanying material: Brazil, 1995, [was at WTO Seattle].
1995
2/9 248
Rosa Cadeo
Note on accompanying material: Rosa Cadeo (sp), (in flowered dress + black sweater), Dominican --- works for garment workers, (organized underground).
1995
United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) Picnic
Box/Folder item
2/10 249-250 undated
2/10 251-266 undated
Box/Folder item
2/11 267
Meeting in unknown location
Note on verso: Tutu present at mtg, Chicago?
undated

Frank's LandingReturn to Top

Frank's Landing is an area on the Nisqually River in southern Puget Sound. Labor activists including Tyree Scott and Roberto Maestas visited Frank's Landing to support the Indian fishing rights movement.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/12 268 circa 1970-1975
2/12 269
Tyree Scott at Frank's Landing
Note on verso: Tyee S @ Frank's Landing.
circa 1970-1975
2/12 270 circa 1970-1975
2/12 271
Juan Bocanegro and others at Frank's Landing
Note on verso: Juan Bocanegro (?) @ Frank's Landing.
circa 1970-1975
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/13 272 undated
2/13 273
Planning committee for the Conference of National Minority Marxist-Leninists in Detroit
Sylvia Kimora (second from the left) and Leslie Roberts (third from the right) were both speakers at the conference.
circa 1979-1980
2/13 274-275 undated
2/13 276
Man with glasses pointing
Word bubble stating "SEND ME YOUR MINORITIES." affixed to photograph.
undated
2/13 277
People at outdoor gathering
Contact sheet and negatives for 20 photographs.
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Scott, Tyree, 1940-2003--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • United Construction Workers Association

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)