WAUMusiciansAssociationofSeattle5685.xml Guide to the Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493 Records 1890-2010 Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493 Records Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries © 2012 (Last modified: 8/5/2022)
Allen Library BOX 352900 Seattle, Washington 98195-2900 Business Number: 206-543-1929 speccoll@uw.edu http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-03-28. Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493 records Musicians' Association of Seattle 5685 5.91 cubic feet 6 boxes 1890-2010 1960-1990 Records of the union's Local 76-493; AFM Local 76; AFM Local 493; AFM Local 117; AFM Local 184; AFM Local 124; AFM Local 236; AFM Local 451; and AFM Local 461 in Washington State Collection materials are in English.

The Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493 is a labor union that represents musicians in Seattle; Vashon Island; Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Mason, Island, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom counties; and parts of Pacific County. Local 76-493 has been a labor organization since 1890 and is led by elected officers and an elected board of directors.

Musicians' unions began in Seattle in 1890 with the creation of the Seattle chapter of the Musicians Mutual Protective Union (MMPU) Local 76. MMPU Local 76 reorganized under the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 76 in 1898 and represented white musicians. Non-white musicians were barred from joining AFM Local 76 so they formed a separate union, AFM Local 458. Tension between the two unions resulted in the international union revoking Local 458's charter in April of 1924. However, Black and other musicians of color were able to charter a replacement union, Local 493, later that year. In 1958, Local 76 and Local 493 were amalgamated into Local 76, ending the racial segregation of musicians' unions in Seattle. In 1994 the local's name was changed to Local 76-493.

Previously distinct AFM locals in Western Washington became amalgamated under the jurisdiction of Local 76-493 between 1980 and 2010 including AFM Local 117, Tacoma; AFM Local 184, Everett; AFM Local 124, Olympia; AFM Local 236, Aberdeen; AFM Local 451, Bellingham; and AFM Local 461, Mount Baker/Anacortes.

Sources:

Blecha, Peter. "AFM Local 493, Seattle's 'Negro Musicians' Union,' Holds Big Benefit Bash on May 29, 1951," February 20, 2013. http://www.historylink.org/File/10330.

Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493. "About Us." Musicians' Association of Seattle, February 28, 2017. https://local76-493.org/about-us/.

Materials include meeting minutes, financial records, bylaws, bylaws amendments, resolutions, reports, correspondence, membership applications, attendance lists, essays, and newsletters documenting the activities of the Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 76-493, AFM Local 76, and AFM Local 493 in Seattle, Washington; AFM Local 117 in Tacoma, Washington; and AFM Local 184 and Snohomish County Musicians Club in Everett, Washington. Also included to a lesser extent are materials relating to the activities of AFM Local 124 in Olympia, Washington; AFM Local 236 in Aberdeen, Washington; AFM Local 451 in Bellingham, Washington; and AFM Local 461 in Mount Baker/Anacortes, Washington.

Forms part of the Labor Archives of Washington.

Open to all users, but access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact Special Collections for details.

Request at UW

The creators' literary rights have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Donated by Motter Snell, President of the Musicians' Association of Seattle, 2012 February 10.

Inventorying and initial rehousing of this collection was done in 2012 by Rachael Black, who also created a preliminary intellectual arrangement. Hannah Robinson changed the title from Musicians' Association of Seattle records to Musicians' Association of Seattle, American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493 records; opened access to many microfilm reels after examining for personally identifiable information; and enhanced finding aid to meet DACS requirements. Revised intellectual subdivisions and a revised arrangement were created in consultation with Conor Casey, who made some revision and corrections to the finding aid.

The Musicians' Association of Seattle website was regularly captured by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine from 2014-2019. The snapshots can be viewed here: https://wayback.archive-it.org/3988/*/http://www.local76-493.org/

Wikidata is available for this collection

Musicians' Association of Seattle--Archives American Federation of Musicians. Union Local 493 (Seattle, Wash.)--Archives American Federation of Musicians. Union Local 493 (Seattle, Wash.) Labor Archives of Washington (University of Washington) Washington (State) Seattle Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington) Musicians--Labor unions--Washington (State) Labor History Labor Unions Music Series 1, Musicians' Association of Seattle, AFM Local 76-493; AFM Local 76, Seattle; and AFM Local 493, Seattle Records, 1890-1891, 1919-1990 SERIES 1 0.46 cubic feet 1 box, including 29 microfilm reels

Scope and Content: Materials include board meeting minutes, financial records, and membership applications documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 76-493, American Federation of Musicians Local 76, and American Federation of Musicians Local 493 in Seattle, Washington.

Restrictions on Access: Some materials in this series are restricted.

 Board meeting minutes 8 microfilm reels 1890-1891, 1919-1977 5685-001 Box 6 Financial records: quarterly dues payments 18 microfilm reels 1925-1953 5685-001 Box 6 Membership cards and payment records 2 microfilm reels approximately 1971-1990 5685-001 Box 6

Restricted

 New member applications and transfer applications 1 microfilm reel 1977-1978 5685-001 Box 6

Restricted

 Series 2, AFM Local 117, Tacoma, Washington Records, 1941-1996, undated SERIES 2 1.51 cubic feet

Scope and Content: Materials include Executive Board meeting minutes, bylaws, correspondence, financial records, and reports documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 117 in Tacoma, Washington.

 Executive Board minutes 1941-1993 5685-001 Box 1 1-32 Bylaws and bylaws revisions 1990, undated 5685-001 Box 1 32-33 Correspondence regarding internal financial audits 1985-1990 5685-001 Box 1 35 Per capita dues reports, initiation fee reports, union officer records 1990-1995 5685-001 Box 1 36 Financial register of daily receipts and disbursements 1958-1968 5685-001 Box 1 37-47 Check register 1986-1995 5685-001 Box 1 48-51 Monthly transaction and balance sheets 1989-1996 5685-001 Box 2 1-8 Financial records including tax reports and tax forms 1988-1993 5685-001 Box 2 9 Labor organization annual reports, non profit corporation annual reports, and Pierce County Assessor affidavit 1990-1996 5685-001 Box 2 10 Membership initiation fee reports 1994-1996 5685-001 Box 2 11 Series 3, AFM Local 184, Everett, Washington Records, 1902-1991 (bulk 1960-1991) SERIES 3 3.74 cubic feet

Scope and Content: Materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, financial records, reports, and newsletters documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 184 in Everett, Washington. Also included are articles of incorporation, bylaws, meeting minutes, and financial records of the Snohomish County Musicians Club.

 Quarterly payroll reports, tax forms, and budget notes 1972-1983 5685-001 Box 3 1 Correspondence with IRS 1990-1991 5685-001 Box 3 2 Meeting minutes books 8 items 1902-1983 5685-001 Box 3 Snohomish County Musicians Club meeting minutes book 1966 5685-001 Box 3 Cash receipts ledgers 2 items 1955-1968 5685-001 Box 3 Correspondence with IRS regarding tax return discrepancies and tax return forms 1988-1989 5685-001 Box 4 1 Correspondence with IRS regarding tax return discrepancies, tax return forms, and correspondence with Washington State Employment Security Office 1990 5685-001 Box 4 2 Meeting minutes and newsletters 1982-1989 5685-001 Box 4 3 Snohomish County Musicians Club articles of incorporation and bylaws 1966-1977 5685-001 Box 4 4 Snohomish County Musicians Club meeting minutes 1971-1986 5685-001 Box 4 5 Appraisal of union building 30621 5685-001 Box 4 6 Newsletters 1965-1986 5685-001 Box 4 7-10 Check registers 1960-1984 5685-001 Box 4 11-23 Snohomish County Musicians Club check register 1966-1986 5685-001 Box 4 24 Financial records 1976-1981 5685-001 Box 4 25 Financial records 1967-1988 5685-001 Box 5 1-18 Series 4, AFM Local 124, Olympia, Washington Records, 1941-1983 SERIES 4

Scope and Content: Materials include meeting minutes, bylaws amendments, and financial records documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 124 in Olympia, Washington.

 Meeting minutes and bylaws amendments 1941-1968 5685-001 Box 2 12 Quarterly tax forms 1977-1983 5685-001 Box 2 13 Income and expense reports 1981-1983 5685-001 Box 2 14 Series 5, AFM Local 236, Aberdeen, Washington Records, 1993-1994 SERIES 5

Scope and Content: Materials include notes and a resolution documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 236 in Aberdeen, Washington.

 Notes and resolution regarding merger with AFM Local 76, Seattle, Washington 1993-1994 5685-001 Box 2 15 Series 6, AFM Local 451, Bellingham, Washington Records, 1950-1981 SERIES 6

Scope and Content: Materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, attendance lists, and essays documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 451 in Bellingham.

 Meeting minutes 1962-1981 5685-001 Box 4 26-27 Roll call list for officers and guest lists from meetings 1964-1972 5685-001 Box 4 28 Essay about AFM local 451 history, meeting notes, and correspondence 1950-1969 5685-001 Box 4 34 Series 7, Mount Baker/Anacortes, Washington Records, 1992-2010 SERIES 7

Scope and Content: Materials include meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, and attendance lists documenting the activities of the American Federation of Musicians Local 461 in Mount Baker/Anacortes, Washington.

 Financial reports 2000-2010 5685-001 Box 4 29 Correspondence and roster 2004-2010 5685-001 Box 4 30 Meeting minutes 1992-2010 5685-001 Box 4 31-33