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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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733 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

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Image of Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) open house, 1967
Photograph

Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) open house, 1967

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:1986.5.10043.1
Date:1967
Image of Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) open house, 1967
Photograph

Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) open house, 1967

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:1986.5.10043.2
Date:1967
Image of City workers installing parking meters, Seattle, November 1941
Photograph

City workers installing parking meters, Seattle, November 1941

On November 7, 1941, the city of Seattle began installing hotly-debated metal parking meters, hoping the move would eliminate traffic congestion and make driving safer in the city's central business district. Over 1600 meters were installed between First and Fifth Avenues, and Yesler Way and Virgina Street. Drivers were charged 5 cents an hour to park between 7:00 am and…
ID Number:1986.5.10115.1
Date:1941
Image of L. R. Maynock collecting parking meter fees, Seattle, January 1942
Photograph

L. R. Maynock collecting parking meter fees, Seattle, January 1942

On November 7, 1941, the city of Seattle began installing hotly-debated metal parking meters, hoping the move would eliminate traffic congestion and make driving safer in the city's central business district. Over 1600 meters were installed between First and Fifth Avenues, and Yesler Way and Virgina Street. Drivers were charged 5 cents an hour to park between 7:00 am and…
ID Number:1986.5.10123.1
Date:1942
Image of Girl covering ears near band, Seattle, August 10, 1958
Photograph

Girl covering ears near band, Seattle, August 10, 1958

The Rainier District Pow Wow began in the midst of the Great Depression as a day-long community picnic at Seward Park. Between 1934 and 1992, when it ended, pow wow events paralleled what was going on in the rest of the country, celebrating neighborhood commerce in the 1930s, patriotism during World War II, the Baby Boom of the late 1940s…
ID Number:1986.5.11304.2
Date:1958
Image of Seamstresses sewing skiwear at Roffe, Inc., Seattle, circa 1960
Photograph

Seamstresses sewing skiwear at Roffe, Inc., Seattle, circa 1960

Seattle ski wear company Roffe, Inc., was founded by Sam Roffe (1909-1994) in 1953. Until 1996 it operated as one of the largest stretch ski-pants manufacturing factories in the United States, even outfitting the 1960 U.S. Olympic Alpine Ski Team. In this image seamstresses work on garments at the Roffe manufacturing site at 419 First Avenue South in downtown Seattle.…
ID Number:1986.5.11420.1
Date:Circa 1960
Image of Seamstresses sewing skiwear at Roffe, Inc., Seattle, circa 1960
Photograph

Seamstresses sewing skiwear at Roffe, Inc., Seattle, circa 1960

Seattle ski wear company Roffe, Inc., was founded by Sam Roffe (1909-1994) in 1953. Until 1996 it operated as one of the largest stretch ski-pants-manufacturing factories in the United States, even outfitting the 1960 U.S. Olympic Alpine Ski Team. In this image seamstresses work on garments at the Roffe manufacturing site at 419 First Avenue South in downtown Seattle. Handwritten…
ID Number:1986.5.11420.2
Date:circa 1960
Image of Women demonstrating welding suit at Associated Shipyards, Seattle, 1943
Photograph

Women demonstrating welding suit at Associated Shipyards, Seattle, 1943

During World War II, many women worked in Seattle's shipyards while the men fought overseas. Here, at Associated Shipbuilders, a part of the Seattle-based Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Company on Harbor Island, two well-dressed women show off their fashions. The woman on the left is wearing a new style of protective welding gear. She has tipped her mask up…
ID Number:1986.5.11800.1
Date:1943
Image of WPA workers vote to strike inside Eagles Hall, Seattle, 1937
Photograph

WPA workers vote to strike inside Eagles Hall, Seattle, 1937

At the Eagles Hall on Union Street, 800 hands rose in unison as Works Progress Administration workers voted to continue their month-long strike. Supported by the Workers' Alliance of Washington, the strikers voted two days later to end the strike after receiving guarantees of a six-hour day, a five-day week, and union-level hourly pay rates. The Fraternal Order of the…
ID Number:1986.5.16694.1
Date:1937
Image of WPA applicants in a Seattle office, 1937
Photograph

WPA applicants in a Seattle office, 1937

Handwritten on sleeve: W.P.A., Seattle, applicants. Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): February 8, 1937.
ID Number:1986.5.16697.1
Date:1937
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
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