A 1970 federal court order established minority hiring percentages for construction unions. Two years later, the United Construction Workers Association (UCWA), a minority group, protested Seattle’s ongoing non-compliance with the order. In early June, they closed down a number of construction sites around Seattle. Despite a temporary restraining order from the King County Superior Court, UCWA members gathered June 7 at a construction site at Seattle Central Community College (now Seattle Central College) to protest.
In this photo, Seattle police handcuff Washington state legislator Mike Ross at the Seattle Central Community College protest.
Michael K. Ross (1941–2007) was a civil rights activist, politician, and contractor. Born and raised in the midwest, Ross served in the US Air Force from 1958 to 1960, and worked in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Get Out the Vote" campaign in 1964. Ross moved to Seattle in 1967, where he became involved in civil rights projects, including working with the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) and becoming its president in 1968. He was also vice president of the Seattle Central Area Registration Program and worked for the Model CIties Program. Ross served one term in the Washington state legislature from 1971-1973.
Caption information source: “UCWA Still Tough: Jobs or Shutdowns”, by Don Tewkesbury and Wayne Jacobi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 7, 1972, pages A1 and A3. Caption information source: " Ross, Michael (1941-2007)" by Mary T. Henry, HistoryLink.org Essay 8534
