Overview

Reference Works

Labor Organization Publications

Unpublished Materials

Unpublished materials such as archival collections and oral histories can be particularly useful in labor history research. These kinds of materials are generally kept in non-circulating special collections.

Archival records

• The Bancroft Library holds the organizational records of many labor unions, including these major collections.
• The Online Archive of California indexes finding aids to archival collections throughout the state.
• The Labor Archives & Research Center at San Francisco State University holds the largest collection of union records and labor-related manuscript collections in the Bay Area, including the records of the San Francisco Labor Council, Central Labor Council of Alameda County, California State Federation of Labor and many local unions. Other significant archival collections on California unions are at the Urban Archive Center at Cal State Northridge.
• The San Francisco-based California Historical Society collects California labor history materials; its collection is searchable via Melvyl.
• To search for archival materials nationally, use the online database ArchivesUSA and the print guide, Labor history archives in the United States: a guide for researching and teaching (HD8066.A12 L335 1992 MAIN and IIRL).

Oral Histories

• IIRL Oral History Project
• ILWU Oral Histories
• UC Berkeley's Regional Oral History Office has produced many labor-related interviews, which can be located via Pathfinder's advanced search (use "oral histories" in the genre keywords field and combine it with other keywords).
  

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