• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

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.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

707 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

Share:
Image of Meadow Creek, Washington, circa 1917
Postcard

Meadow Creek, Washington, circa 1917

The Keechelus Dam, at the south end of Lake Keechelus, was completed in 1917. For several summers, dam construction workers lived at a camp called Meadow Creek. The temporary town had a post office, school, store, YMCA, and several other businesses. Almost everyone left during the winter, except for about 25 families who stayed on to take care of the…
ID Number:1981.7333.111
Date:Circa 1917
Image of H.L. Bennett Box Factory, circa 1898
Photograph

H.L. Bennett Box Factory, circa 1898

In 1898 or 1899, Harry L. Bennett opened a box factory on First Avenue South in Seattle. The factory produced wooden boxes and crates which were used by a number of local businesses for carrying and shipping goods. According to Seattle city directories, the H.L. Bennett Box Factory was in operation at various locations south of downtown Seattle until the…
ID Number:1981.7394.1
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Workers in yard across from the N and S Electric Company, Seattle, circa 1903
Photograph

Workers in yard across from the N and S Electric Company, Seattle, circa 1903

In the late 19th century, Smith Cove was being developed as an extension of Seattle’s port facilities. This continued into the new century with the construction of the Great Northern Railroad terminus in the Interbay area and other buildings nearby. On February 1, 1902, plans were filed with the Seattle Building Inspector for a two-story machine shop to be built…
ID Number:1982.65.5
Date:1903
Image of Workers in galley of steamship President Jackson, probably in Seattle, circa 1923
Photograph

Workers in galley of steamship President Jackson, probably in Seattle, circa 1923

The "President Jackson" carried passengers and freight between Seattle and Asian ports in the 1920s and 1930s. One of its most important cargoes was Japanese raw silk, headed for mills in the eastern United States. The workers in the galley shown in this photo are probably from the Philippines. Handwritten on sleeve: Admiral Oriental Line Co., President Jackson, storage quarters,…
ID Number:1983.10.123.2
Date:Circa 1923
Image of Longshoremen transferring cargo at dockside, circa 1925
Photograph

Longshoremen transferring cargo at dockside, circa 1925

Longshoremen load and unload ships in ports around the world. This photo was taken in Seattle, probably in the mid-1920s. The longshoremen are loading the steamship "Manukai" of San Francisco with barrels, crates, and lumber. Some of the crates are padded with straw to cushion them from bumps. Photographer's number: 103,989
ID Number:1983.10.209.1
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Workers shoveling snow at Snoqualmie Pass, circa 1923
Photograph

Workers shoveling snow at Snoqualmie Pass, circa 1923

Until 1931, the highway department closed the Sunset Highway through Snoqualmie Pass each winter. Work crews usually opened the road in late May, sometimes blasting through remaining drifts with dynamite. This photo from the 1920s shows workers clearing snow at the pass. Handwritten on sleeve: Snoqualmie Pass Snow.Webster & Stevens number: 104105
ID Number:1983.10.236.7
Date:Circa 1923
Image of Workers at the Lighthouse Broom Company, circa 1925
Photograph

Workers at the Lighthouse Broom Company, circa 1925

The Lighthouse for the Blind was one of Seattle's early community service organizations. It provided work for people with impaired vision so they could support themselves and their families. Employees made brooms, wove rags into rugs, and cane fiber into chair seats. In this photo, a woman weighs a finished broom. Bunches of broom straw sit on the floor in…
ID Number:1983.10.433.1
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Men in coveralls, probably in Seattle, circa 1925
Photograph

Men in coveralls, probably in Seattle, circa 1925

These unidentified workers are wearing well-used overalls. Handwritten on sleeve: Harthorne Hall.Webster & Stevens number: 113341
ID Number:1983.10.572
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Miner Ted Rousse at New Black Diamond Mine, circa 1927
Photograph

Miner Ted Rousse at New Black Diamond Mine, circa 1927

Coal miners at Black Diamond came from many different countries. The largest groups came from Wales and Italy, but miners also came from Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Yugoslavia, and other European countries. Some, like the Welsh, had done mining before, but many had not.In this photo, taken in the late 1920s, Black Diamond miner Ted Rousse stands outside the New Black…
ID Number:1983.10.647.4
Date:Circa 1927
Image of Pullman porters and women on the railroad platform, May 26, 1934
Photograph

Pullman porters and women on the railroad platform, May 26, 1934

Black pullman porters were as much part of long-distance train travel as flight attendants are today on planes. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, to which these men belonged, was the first successful union controlled by African Americans. When it was founded in 1925, Black workers were barred from membership in many trade unions.In this photo, taken in Seattle in…
ID Number:1983.10.903
Date:1934
Previous 1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 71 Next

Land Acknowledgement

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.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved