Finding aid to the Allan Brotsky Oral History

Title: Allan Brotsky oral history

Date (inclusive): 2005 November 4-22

Creator: Labor Archives and Research Center

Extent: Transcript: 1 folder; Tapes: 7 audio cassettes

Collection number: larc.oh.brotsky

Contributing Institution: Labor Archives and Research Center

Location: Collection is available onsite.

Language of Material: Languages represented in the collection: English.

Abstract: Sound recording of Allan Brotsky interview conducted by Harvey Schwartz. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney.

Collection is open for research.

Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Labor Archives and Research Center (LARC), J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco State University. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Allan Brotsky oral history. San Francisco State University. Labor Archives and Research Center

Interviewed by Harvey Schwartz for the Labor Archives and Research Center, 2005.

Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney.

Sound recording of Allan Brotsky interview conducted by Harvey Schwartz. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney. The interview covers many major labor and political issues from the 1940s to the present. Topics include Brotsky's involvement with: UCAPAWA (1948 Stockton Strike), student activism at Columbia University, the Young Communist League, the National Lawyers Guild, his service during World War II, and as counsel for such unions as the United Auto Workers, United Electrical, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the Marine Cooks and Stewards, and the Marine Engineers Beneficial. Sections dealing with the 1950s Grand Jury subpoenaing of Bay Area labor leaders, and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee Hearings in San Francisco show the impact of the McCarthy Era on the labor movement locally. Other sections deal with Brotsky's employment with several prominent Bay Area labor law firms including Gladstein, Andersen, Resner, and Sawyer. Brotsky also worked on behalf of Bay Area civil rights activists in the Palace Hotel sit-ins and Lucky Store picketing. He also argued on behalf of the Black Panthers in the 1960s. In addition, Brotsky recounts defending peace activists during the Vietnam War era. Finally, he discusses his job as a professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law and reflects on his career.