The United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) was founded in 1970 by Tyree Scott (1940-2003), an electrician who had become a Seattle civil rights activist. The UCWA began with the goal of uniting minority construction workers to promote their employment in the construction industry and prevent discrimination. Because of union control over the local labor market, it was almost impossible for Black workers and Black contractors to benefit from government contracts. The UCWA negotiated on behalf of Black workers, led protests, initiated lawsuits, and organized worker support groups.

This image shows a group of UCWA activists being arrested for trespassing on a Seattle Central Community College construction site. UCWA members and sympathizers entered the site in the early morning, before work hours, in order to avoid confrontation with construction workers on the site. The protesters intended to provoke mass arrests in order to publicize their drive for more Black workers in the construction industry. The protest was successful, with 49 arrests and no violence or injuries.

Caption information source: “Court today for 52 arrested in protest,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 23, 1972, page 1