Archives West Finding Aid

Scope and Content: Transcripts and tape recorded interviews with longshoremen and teamsters. Photocopied minutes, reports, contracts, writings, membership records, clippings and secondary material collected and created by Magden, primarily for his book A History of Seattle Waterfront Workers (1998). The records relate especially to the activities of longshore workers and of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on the West Coast. Much attention is paid to the matters of strikes, worker grievances, disputes and arbitrations, especially events that took place in the 1930s. Also covered is the history and development of the organizations themselves. These documents date from 1886 to the late 1990s, with a significant amount of material from the 1930s and 1940s.

Material regarding the Teamsters accounts for a little more than 2 cubic feet of the accession, and dates from 1888 to 1996. The documents of the Newspaper Union Publishing Company make up a small fraction of the collection, and date from 1952-86.

Many of the primary source materials are photocopies – including most of the minutes of the various organizations represented. However, original material can be found. Many of the arbitration files are originals, as is most of the correspondence. Much of the ephemera (especially in the Teamster subgroup) are originals. Almost everything in the Newspaper Unions Publishing Company subgroup is original material.

A significant portion of this collection is Magden’s tapes and transcripts of interviews with local longshoremen who were active in the unions in the 1930s. Among those interviewed are John Mahoney, Shaun Maloney and Burt Nelson. There are also four transcripts of interviews with local teamsters, but the tapes are not included.

Magden also collected the personal papers of a few individual longshoremen and union members. These papers include original material and give personal accounts of both daily longshore life in the 30s and 40s and the struggles and activities of longshore labor during this time.

Magden also collected the personal papers of a few individual longshoremen and union members. These papers include original material and give personal accounts of both daily longshore life in the 30s and 40s and the struggles and activities of longshore labor during this time.

Scope and Content: Ronald Magden's labor history research files

Scope and Content: Research materials for Magden's books on Japanese-Americans living in the Pacific Northwest, particularly for his book, Furusato: Tacoma-Pierce County Japanese 1888-1988.

Scope and Content: Audiocassettes and videotape interviews with longshoremen and teamsters primarily for his books The Working Longshoreman and A History of Seattle Waterfront Workers. The records relate especially to the activities of longshore workers and of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on the West Coast and in the Puget sound region.

Also among these papers is a typed manuscript by Ottilie Markholt entitled: Against the Current: A Social Memoir along with Ottilie Markholt's handwritten notes on longshore history (n.d.)

Scope and Content: Research materials for Magden’s publications and exhibits on the history of Tacoma waterfront workers, primarily photographs. Includes photographs of marine vessels, waterfront facilities, workers on the job, and portraits and group photographs of members of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). A smaller number of photographs portray events and people associated with the Seattle waterfront and port. Many of the photographs are copies of items in other collections, particularly the Tacoma Public Library, ILWU locals 19 and 23, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections, and those of private individuals. A large number of original photographs (negatives and prints) relate to commemorative events, such as the 1984 celebration of the anniversary of the 1934 longshore strike. Audio and video records include recordings of interviews with waterfront workers, union activists, and others associated with the Tacoma and Seattle waterfronts, as well as of events and TV programs related to labor and waterfront history.