WaSMAR1802_j6.xml Guide to the Loyalty Oaths Loyalty Oaths Finding aid prepared by Julie Kerssen Seattle Municipal Archives 2022
PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle 98124-4728 archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-12-07. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. Seattle Municipal Archives Loyalty Oaths Seattle (Wash.). Civil Service Commission 1802-J6 3.6 cubic feet 9 boxes 1951-1961 1951 Oaths signed by city employees attesting that they were not members of subversive organizations. English .

The Civil Service Commission was established in 1896 to oversee the Civil Service Department, which administered the City's personnel system, including the fire and police forces, laborers, inspectors, and clerical, electrical, and library workers. The commissioners classified city services and employees, coordinated and administered physical, medical, and competence examinations, dealt with appointments, promotions, and removals, and conducted investigations in the event of an employee appeal. The years brought new employment issues, including those of wartime employment conditions and women in the workforce. During the Commission's early years, it faced some opposition; in 1912, charged with wastefulness and inefficiency, the Commission underwent an investigation by the City Council. Subsequently, a 1917 report reclassified city services and employees. Other difficult times in the Commission's history included the first and second World Wars, as well as the Great Depression; budgets were often tight, and many city employees joined the armed services or found business opportunities in other industries. In 1937, the City's services were again reclassified. In 1979, the City's personnel system was reorganized with the creation of a Personnel Department independent of the Commission. The Commission was reorganized with jurisdiction to hear employee appeals relating to demotions, terminations, suspensions, certain lay-offs, and violations of personnel rules. Three members, serving staggered three-year terms, comprise the Commission. One member is appointed by the mayor, one by the City Council, and one is elected by City employees.

In 1951, the Washington State Legislature made a loyalty oath - swearing the employee was not "a subversive person or a member of any subversive organization or foreign subversive organization" - a requirement under state law. Such oaths were common in the Cold War era and continued to be a prerequisite for city employment for many years. After a long court battle led by the ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down loyalty oaths for Washington state employees in 1964, and the city's Corporation Counsel Alfred L. Newbould informed the Civil Service Commission that the city's loyalty oath requirement should also be discontinued.

Most of the oaths in this series are from 1951, but there are some from later years in the library and "no department noted" folders.

Records are open to the public.

[Item and date], Loyalty Oaths, Record Series 1802-J6. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Oaths are arranged by department and then alphabetically. Some employees have more than one oath. The end of the series includes an alphabetical run without departmental affiliations noted. If looking for a specific person, check both department folders and these more general files.

 Civil service--Washington (State)--Seattle Loyalty oaths--Washington (State)--Seattle Subversive activities Public employees--Washington (State)--Seattle Board of Public Works 1951 1 1 Building Dept. 1951 1 2 City Light A-B 1951 1 3 City Light C-D 1951 1 4 City Light E-G 1951 1 5 City Light H-J 1951 1 6 City Light K-L 1951 1 7 City Light M 1951 2 1 City Light N-Q 1951 2 2 City Light R 1951 2 3 City Light S 1951 2 4 City Light T-V 1951 2 5 City Light W-Z 1951 2 6 Civil Service Dept. 1951 2 7 Comptroller/City Clerk 1951 2 8 Executive Dept. 1951 2 9 Fire Dept. A-C 1951 2 10 Fire Dept. D-H 1951 3 1 Fire Dept. I-N 1951 3 2 Fire Dept. O-S 1951 3 3 Fire Dept. T-Z 1951 3 4 Harbor Dept. 1951 3 5 Law Dept. 1951 3 6 Legislative Dept. 1951 3 7 Library A-B 1951-1961 3 8 LIbrary C-D 1951-1961 3 9 LIbrary E-F 1951-1961 4 1 LIbrary G-I 1951-1961 4 2 LIbrary J-L 1951-1961 4 3 LIbrary M-O 1951-1961 4 4 LIbrary P-R 1951-1961 4 5 LIbrary S 1951-1961 4 6 LIbrary T-Z 1951-1961 5 1 Municipal Court 1951 5 2 Parks A-D 1951 5 3 Parks E-J 1951 5 4 Parks K-P 1951 5 5 Parks R-Z 1951 5 6 Planning Commission 1951 5 7 Police Dept. A-C 1951 5 8 Police Dept. D-G 1951 5 9 Police Dept. H-J 1951 5 10 Police Dept. K-M 1951 6 1 Police Dept. N-R 1951 6 2 Police Dept. S-Z 1951 6 3 Public Health A-G 1951 6 4 Public Health H-O 1951 6 5 Public Health P-Z 1951 6 6 Purchasing Division 1951 6 7 Retirement System 1951 6 8 Traffic Violations Bureau 1951 6 9 Transit System A-B 1951 6 10 Transit System C-D 1951 7 1 Transit System E-G 1951 7 2 Transit System H-I 1951 7 3 Transit System J-L 1951 7 4 Transit System M 1951 7 5 Transit System N-Q 1951 7 6 Transit System R 1951 7 7 Transit System S 1951 8 1 Transit System T-Z 1951 8 2 Treasurer 1951 8 3 No Department Noted A-B 1951-1957 8 4 No Department Noted C-D 1951-1957 8 5 No Department Noted E-G 1951-1957 8 6 No Department Noted H-J 1951-1957 8 7 No Department Noted K-L 1951-1957 9 1 No Department Noted M 1951-1957 9 2 No Department Noted N-P 1951-1957 9 3 No Department Noted R 1951-1957 9 4 No Department Noted S 1951-1957 9 5 No Department Noted T-V 1951-1957 9 6 No Department Noted W-Z 1951-1957 9 7