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Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium / University of Washington

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Home
Brief History Labor Press

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LABOR NEWSPAPERS
Aero Mechanic
APWU News
Bellingham Labor News
Guild Daily
Industrial Worker
International Woodworker
Pacific Longshoreman
Portland Labor Press
Scanner
Seattle Union Record
1900-1928
Seattle Union Record
1912-1914
Third Rail
Timber Worker
Washington State Teacher
Washington Teamster

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RADICAL NEWSPAPERS
The Agitator
Discontent: Mother of Progress
People's Advocate
Seattle Socialist
Socialist World
Socialist Voice
Socialist Herald
Tacoma Truth/ Socialist Worker
Everett Commonwealth
Commonwealth Builder
Northwest Worker
Co-op News
The Party Builder
Vanguard/ Unemployed Citizen
Voice of Action
Washington New Dealer
Washington Socialist

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Socialist Party factions 1900-1917


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ETHNIC NEWSPAPERS
Philippine-American Chronicle
Seattle Civil Rights Project Newspaper Reports


Welcome to The Labor Press Project. This site brings together information about
the history and ongoing influence of newspapers and periodicals published by
unions, labor councils, and radical organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Labor newspapers have been a critical part of American labor movements since the
early 19th century and an equally critical, if largely unacknowledged, part of
the history of American journalism. Today more than a hundred periodicals serve
the labor movement. Thousands more have done so in the past.

The History of Labor Journalism

The history of labor journalism in the United States is a huge but relatively
unexplored topic. Karla Kelling Sclater surveys 180 years of labor journalism
and discusses key books and articles about labor journalism in her essay:  

 * "The Labor and Radical Press 1820-the present" by Karla Kelling Sclater
 * The International Labor Communications Association today maintains the
   traditions of labor journalism.

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UNION NEWSPAPERS

The Seattle Union Record is one of the most famous examples of labor journalism
in the Pacific Northwest. It has a fascinating double history. A daily newspaper
with a circulation that sometimes reached 80,000, it was the voice of labor from
1900-1928. It became so again in the fall of 2000 when it was resurrected by
members of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild during their seven week strike
against the Seattle Times and Seattle Post Intelligencer.

 * The  Seattle Union Record (1900-1928) by Natalia Salinas-Aguila
 * The  Seattle Union Record (1912-1914) by Josh Kaplan
 * Digital copies of daily issues (Jan-Feb 1919 General Strike)
 * Database of selected articles (1915-1919)

 

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The Industrial Worker was the principal newspaper of the IWW, the Industrial
Workers of the World. Published initially in Spokane, the Industrial Worker
moved to Seattle in 1916. Here is a detailed report:

 * Industrial Worker (1909-1930) by Victoria Thorpe & Christopher Perry
 * 
 * The newspaper has had an interrupted history since the 1920s but continues
   today. For information visit the Industrial Workers of the World site.

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Washington State Labor News, a monthly, was published by the Washington State
Labor Council from 1924 until 1965. Distributed to hundreds of AFL local unions
and the county labor councils, WSN reported on political issues of importance to
labor and publicized campaigns, strikes, and boycotts. We have compiled a
year-by-year database of more than 500 articles from the Washington State Labor
News from 1930 to 1937.

 * Database of Washington State Labor News articles 1930-1937
 * Today the Washington State Labor Council publishes an online daily
   newsletter: The Stand.

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The Northwest Labor Press of Portland is the oldest continuously published labor
newspaper in the region. Since 1900, the Portland Central labor Council and
Oregon State Federation of labor have made sure that the Labor Press remains a
strong and active voice for unionism. We report on the early years of the
newspaper when it was called: 

 * Portland Labor Press (1905-1915) by Kristin Peasley
 * Today the semi-monthly publication can be read on-line at The Northwest Labor
   Press

 

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The Guild Daily was the paper of the American Newspaper Guild.  In the 1930s the
guild organized journalists across the country.  But the strike that solidified
that union took place at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1936. Striking
journalists not only brought the Hearst corporation to its knees, they published
a daily newspaper of their own that kept the city informed of local, national,
and strike news:

 * Guild Daily (August-November 1936) by Ericka Marquez

 

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The Timber Worker and The International Woodworker were the official
publications of the International Woodworkers of America.  The IWA was formed in
1937 when unionized workers in the timber industries broke with the AFL and
joined the CIO.  The papers provide invaluable information on the union and its
causes: the struggle to establish legitimacy in early jurisdictional disputes,
the union's campaign to improve safety conditions in the woods, and internal
debates over communism.  We report on both of the union's papers:    

 * Timber Worker (1936-1942) by Gerardine Carroll and Michael Moe
 * International Woodworker (1942-1987) by Bryan Schnase

 

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The Pacific Coast Longshoreman was the newspaper of the Pacific Coast District
of the International Longshoremen's Association.  The ILA’s Pacific Coast
District was formed after a coast-wide dockworkers’ strike in 1934.  Protesting
poor wages, dangerous working conditions, and unscrupulous hiring practices,
waterfront workers in West Coast port cities went out on strike on May 9th. 
After eighty-five days of violence, arrests, and attempted strikebreaking, the
Pacific Coast’s dockworkers won the strike and coast wide union recognition. 
The paper was founded a year after the strike and published weekly until 1936
when the Pacific Coast longshoremen left the ILA and formed the ILWU.  Our
report on it is below:    

 * The Pacific Coast Longshoreman (1935-1936) by Kristen Ebeling

 

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The Aero Mechanic was published by Local 751 of the International Association of
Machinists.  During World War II The Boeing Company became the Northwest's
largest employer and Boeing workers joined what was to become one of the
mainstays of the region's labor movement, IAM Local 751, International
Association of Machinists.  Local 751 began publishing the paper in 1939.  Below
is our report:

 * Aero Mechanic (1939-1943) by Julian Laserna

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The Washington Teamster was the publication of Washington State's International
Brotherhood of Teamsters.  The union has long been a powerhouse in Seattle. From
his base in Seattle's Joint Council 28, Dave Beck organized delivery drivers and
long-haul drivers up and down the coast. We have a report on joint Council 28's
newspaper:

 * Washington Teamster (1940-1943) by Carol Daniels

 

 

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The Washington State Teacher was the official organ of the Washington State
Federation of Teachers (WSFT), which was allied with the American Federation of
Teachers (AFT) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). As a result, the
paper had a two-fold objective: to strive for the the betterment of public
education and to advance the organized labor movement. Our report focuses on the
publication from October–November 1945 until January 1951

 * The Washington State Teacher (1945-1951) by Trevor Sargent

 

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Public sector unions dated back to the early part of the century but were hard
to legitimate until the 1960s when federal workers were finally accorded
bargaining rights similar to what private sector workers had won in the 1935
Wagner Act. Postal workers in Seattle had maintained a union since before World
War I and a newspaper since 1947. In 1971 they became part of the American
Postal Workers Union and the newspaper changed its name to the APWU News. 

Protective service workers (police and fire) also have a long history of
unionism.  Seattle Firefighters Local 27 (International Association of
Firefighters was formed in 1918.  The Third Rail is its monthly newspaper.

 * APWU News (1972-1991) by Jacqueline Hailey
 * Third Rail (1992-present) by Steve Bergquist

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Representing nearly all of the AFL-CIO union locals in Seattle, the King County
Labor Council has published various newspapers throughout the past century,
starting with the Union Record. In 1968, KCLC began publishing, the Scanner, a
monthly that lasted until 1968.

 * The Scanner (1975-1981) by Victoria Troisi

 

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The Bellingham Labor News was established in 1939 as the paper of the Bellingham
Labor Council.  The paper not only sheds light on the Bellingham labor movement,
but as "the official paper of Bellingham," it also provides insight into the
history of this important Northern Puget Sound city.

 * The Bellingham Labor News (1939-1943) by Jordan Van Vleet

 

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RADICAL NEWSPAPERS

The Socialist Party exerted considerable influence over Northwest politics and
within the broader labor movement during the first two decades of the 20th
century. Gary Siebel sorts out the factions and issues in an introductory essay,
The Squabbling Socialists of Washington State, followed by reports on
four Socialist  papers published in Seattle:

 * Socialist: The Workingmans Paper (1900-1910) by Gordon Black
 * Socialist Voice (1911-1912) by Jordan Shay
 * Herald/Socialist Herald (1915-1916) by Kaira Veckaktins
 * Socialist World (1916-1917) by Gary Siebel

Five Socialist newspapers were published in Everett:

 * Commonwealth (1911-1914) by Frederick Bird
 * Washington Socialist (1914-1915) by Frederick Bird
 * Northwest Worker (1915-1917) by Frederick Bird
 * Co-operative News (1917-1918) by Frederick Bird
 * Party Builder (1916-1919) by Scott Livingston

Two Socialist newspapers were published in Tacoma:

 * Truth/ Socialist Worker (1913-1914) by Stephanie Curwick

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The Anarchist Movement had an active presense in the Pacific Northwest, centered
in the community of "Home" just across the narrows from Tacoma. Founded in 1896,
the anarchist colony attracted radicals from all over, including Emma Goldman
who visited twice. Residents published several newspapers. We have reports on
two:

 * Discontent: Mother of Progress (1898-1902) by Amanda Rankin
 * The Agitator (1910-1912) by Heather Gorgura

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The People's Party briefly dominated Washington state politics, electing a
governor and many other public officials in 1896. The populist movement was
strong both in the cities and in rural areas and laid the ground work for
long-lasting radical tendencies among farmers as well as workers. Of the many
Pacific Northwest newspapers that carried the Populist message only a few
survive. We have a report on the influential Chehalis, WA, newspaper:

 * People's Advocate (1892-1900) by Jayne Muir

 

 

 

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Radical journalism in the 1930s and 1940s took new forms. The socialist-linked
Seattle Labor College launched a newspaper in 1930 which helped galvanize one of
the most effective unemployed movements in the country. By late 1931 the
Unemployed Citizens League had tens of thousands of members organized in "self
help" production and barter clubs. See the report on:

 * Vanguard/Unemployed Citizen (1930-1933) by Erick Eigner

The Communist Party initially organized competing Unemployed Councils in Seattle
but later joined the Unemployed Citizen's League, a move which set off a
struggle for leadership in that organization. Here is a report on the CP
dominated newspaper:

 * Voice of Action (1933-1936) by Christine Davies

 

 

 

 

 

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The Washington Commonwealth Federation was a coalition of progressive
organizations and unions that nominated candidates for state and local offices
under the banner of the Democratic Party. Communists were initially excluded but
after 1936 played an important role in the WCF. The Federation was a major force
in Washington state politics from 1934 to 1949 and published a series of
influential weekly newspapers during that fifteen year period. Three of them are
profiled here.

 * Washington Commonwealth Builder and Washington Commonwealth (1934-1936) by
   Jessica Dunahoo
 * Washington New Dealer (1938-1943) by Joshua Stecker

 


ETHNIC COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

 

The Northwest has been home to many newspapers that have served minority
communities. Some like The Philippine-American Chronicle were associated with
labor organizations. The paper supported The Cannery and Farm Laborer's Union,
which was launched in 1933 by Filipino workers who made the annual circuit from
the Alaska canneries to the fields of eastern Washington and California.  See:

 * Philippine-American Chronicle (1935-1936) by Rache Stotts-Johnson

Here are reports on other newspapers serving various ethnic and racial
communities:

 * The Japanese-American Courier (1937-1940) by Mark Morzol

 * The Northwest Enterprise: Social and Racial Equality in 1938 by Kelly Connors

 * The Northwest Enterprise in the Cold War Years (1947-1949) by Grace Taylor

 * Racial Equality Bulletin and the Christian Friends of Racial Equality,
   1951-1953 by Brooklynn Gregorich

 * Black Power and Education in the Afro American Journal 1968-1969 by Doug
   Blair

 * The Filipino Forum: Founding Years 1928-1930 by Mark Mabanag

 * Victorio Velasco, Pioneer Filipino American Journalist by Erik Luthy

 * The Jewish Transcript 1924-1926 by Rachael Blanchard

 * The Jewish Voice of the Pacific Coast: 1915-1916 by Kate E. Marshall

 * The Real American -- "A National Newspaper for Indians and their Friends"
   1922-1924 by Erin Plummer

 * Quileute Independent and Quileute Chieftain, 1908-1910 by Heather McKimmie

 * World War II and Japanese Internment in the Seattle Star by Rochelle Krona

 * Internment of Japanese Americans as reported by Seattle Area Weekly
   Newspapers by Luke Colasurdo

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Several dozen other historical labor newspapers from the Pacific Northwest have
been collected and preserved by the University of Washington library and the
public libraries of Seattle and other area cities. Here is a list of these
holdings.

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About the Project: This site has been developed through the contributions of
many people. Special thanks to the students in HSTAA 353 (Class and Labor in
American History) who wrote the research reports; to Steve Beda who collected
and digitized the newspaper pages with help from Jessica  Albano, Glenda
Pearson, and Suzi Freelund at the UW Library; to Brian Grijalva who designed an
earlier version of this web site, to Fred Bird for much useful advice.  

This site is one of a collection of Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights
Projects directed by Professor James Gregory and sponsored by the Harry Bridges
Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington. See below for
copyright and citation information.



 


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