Finding Aid to the Selden Osborne Papers, 1933-1988
Finding Aid written by Crystal Miles
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Selden Osborne Papers, 1933-1988
Collection Number: BANC MSS 90/45 c
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Crystal Miles
- Date Completed:
-
April 2013
© 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Selden Osborne papers
Date (inclusive): 1933-1988
Collection Number: BANC MSS 90/45 c
Creators :
Osborne, Selden
Extent:
Number of containers: 1 carton, 1 box, 1 oversize box
Linear feet: 2
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The collection highlights Osborne's extensive involvement in labor organization and the attempt to reform and reveal what
he saw as an undemocratic union structure. The collection consists of three series. Series 1 consists of various materials
relating to labor organizations including meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, election materials, correspondence
and other miscellaneous items. The series also includes materials on the Socialist Party, Communist Party, and the Anti-War
Movement. Series 2 consists of personal writings by Osborne, including typed manuscript drafts, handwritten notes and correspondence.
The majority of Osborne's personal writings, located in focus on the history of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's
Union and its leader, Harry Bridges. Series 3 consists of materials pertaining specifically to Harry Bridges. These records
include newspaper clippings pertaining to various court trials that involved Bridges, including a scrapbook, as well as other
miscellaneous documents.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English and Spanish
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Selden Osborne Papers, BANC MSS 90/45 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Osborne, Selden--Archives
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Pacific Maritime Association
Bridges, Harry, 1901-1990
Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.)
International Longshoremen's Association
Labor unions--United States
Labor unions and communism--United States
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Selden Osborne Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Selden Osborne on January 10, 1990.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Crystal Miles in 2013.
Biographical Information
Selden Osborne was a long-time member of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU). He dedicated much
of his adult life to labor reform through leadership in various labor organizations and by trying to reveal what he saw as
hypocrisy in the upper ranks of union politics, particularly involving the co-founder and president of the ILWU for forty
years, Harry Bridges. Osborne was a resident of San Francisco, California from 1934 and worked as a longshoreman beginning
in 1943 until his retirement in the mid 1970s.
Born in Bisbee, Arizona in 1911 and raised in San Diego, California, Osborne excelled in academics and would eventually earn
a college degree from Stanford University. While still in college he became very active in social reform, leading him to union
organization. Shortly after graduation he became a union organizer of agricultural workers in the San Joaquin and Imperial
Valleys of California. He then became a member of the Socialist Party, becoming president of their local Palo Alto, California
chapter at the age of twenty-one in 1932. In 1935 Osborne left the Socialist Party with the Trotskyites and formed the Social
Worker's Party, which would drive him towards working for issues of union democracy. He would go on to fight for union rights
and against what he deemed injustices in the labor union system.
During World War II Osborne spent time in the army and worked as a merchant seaman. He went on to become a pacifist in the
1950s and protested against nuclear armament during the Cold War. Osborne also joined the War Resister's League in civil disobedience
and completed the first coast-to-coast disarmament walk across the United States in 1976.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection highlights Osborne's extensive involvement in labor organization and the attempt to reform and reveal what
he saw as an undemocratic union structure. The collection consists of three series. Series 1 consists of various materials
relating to labor organizations including meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, election materials, correspondence
and other miscellaneous items. The series also includes materials on the Socialist Party, Communist Party, and the Anti-War
Movement. Series 2 consists of personal writings by Osborne, including typed manuscript drafts, handwritten notes and correspondence.
The majority of Osborne's personal writings, located in focus on the history of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's
Union and its leader, Harry Bridges. Series 3 consists of materials pertaining specifically to Harry Bridges. These records
include newspaper clippings pertaining to various court trials that involved Bridges, including a scrapbook, as well as other
miscellaneous documents.
Series 1
Labor Organization Materials
1933 - 1988
Physical Description:
Carton 1; Box 1, folders 1 - 3; Oversize box, volume 1
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
Scope and Content Note
Miscellaneous materials regarding various labor unions, organizations, and committees, including newsletters, administrative
records, and correspondence. The bulk of materials relate to the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU).
The series also includes materials pertaining to the Anti-War Movement and various political parties.
Carton 1, Folder 1
ILWU Administrative Materials
1945 - 1963
Carton 1, Folder 2
ILWU Pension and Health Plans - Miscellaneous
1978 - 1979
Carton 1, Folder 3
ILWU Twelfth Biennial Convention - Reports and Pamphlets
1957
Carton 1, Folder 4
ILWU Election Materials and Letters of Recommendation [Pertaining to Osborne]
1943 - 1962
Carton 1, Folder 5
ILWU Elections - Miscellaneous Materials
1937 - 1978
Carton 1, Folder 6
ILWU Local 10 - Sample Voting Ballots
1966 - 1978
Carton 1, Folder 7
ILWU Local 10 - Miscellaneous Financial Documents
1962 - 1978
Carton 1, Folder 8
ILWU Local 10 "Longshore Bulletin"
1948 - 1979
Carton 1, Folder 9
ILWU Local 10 "Stewards Council" Bulletin
1970 - 1974
Carton 1, Folder 10
ILWU Local 10 - Miscellaneous Bulletins [Includes "Defend Your Union" and "Our Hiring Hall"]
1950 - 1964
Carton 1, Folder 11
ILWU Local 10 - Miscellaneous Bulletins
1949 - 1974
Carton 1, Folder 12
ILWU Local 6 and 8 - Miscellaneous Bulletins and Pamphlets
1947-1971
Carton 1, Folder 13
ILWU Local 34 "34 Digest" Bulletin
1970 - 1971
Carton 1, Folder 14
ILWU Houston Local 1273 - Notes and Correspondence Pertaining to Work Practices
1960
Carton 1, Folder 15
American Federation of Labor (AFL) Convention, San Diego - Miscellaneous Notes
1934
Carton 1, Folder 16 - 18
Bay Area Longshoremen's Memorial Association (BALMA) - Miscellaneous Documents
1954 - 1975
Carton 1, Folder 19 - 20
California State Industrial Union Convention - Pamphlets and Minutes
1941 - 1949
Carton 1, Folder 21
Committee for Maritime Unions - Correspondence, Pamphlets, and Bulletins
1946 - 1954
Carton 1, Folder 22
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) - Newspaper Clippings
circa 1949
Carton 1, Folder 23
International Hotel Strike, San Francisco - Bulletins
1977
Carton 1, Folder 24
International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) - Executive Announcements and Bulletins
1953 - 1954
Carton 1, Folder 25
Joint Maritime Committee - Unemployment Information
1950
Carton 1, Folder 26
Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (MEBA) - Newspaper Clippings and Bulletins
1946 - 1948
Carton 1, Folder 27
Masters, Mates and Pilots of America - Miscellaneous
1961
Carton 1, Folder 28
Miner's Union - Miscellaneous
1938 - 1948
Carton 1, Folder 29
Pacific Maritime Association - Miscellaneous Documents
1963 - 1972
Carton 1, Folder 30 - 31
Port of San Francisco Joint Action Committee - Miscellaneous
1948
Carton 1, Folder 32
Sailors Union of the Pacific - Correspondence and Bulletins
1946 - 1957
Carton 1, Folder 33
San Francisco CIO Council - Miscellaneous [Includes meeting minutes and a strike welfare guide]
1942 - 1950
Carton 1, Folder 34
San Francisco Port Labor Relations Committee - Rules and Regulations
1958
Carton 1, Folder 35
Teamsters Local 70 and 85 - Bulletins and Election Materials
1959 - 1962
Carton 1, Folder 36
Waterside Workers Federation [Australia] - Miscellaneous
1959 - 1963
Carton 1, Folder 37
Miscellaneous Labor Organizations - Clippings
1938 - 1981
Carton 1, Folder 38
Union Bulletins - Miscellaneous [Includes "Longshore Victory" and "Longshore Militant"
1936 - 1978
Carton 1, Folder 39
Imperial Valley Agricultural Strike - Clippings
1934
Carton 1, Folder 40
Communist and Socialist Parties - Miscellaneous
1933 - 1962
Carton 1, Folder 41
Anti-War Movement - Miscellaneous [Includes correspondence]
1950 - 1988
Carton 1, Folder 42
Miscellaneous Clippings [Global issues]
1947 - 1973
Box 1, Folder 1
Austin, Kenneth C. - Miscellaneous correspondence and editorials
1947-1960
Box 1, Folder 2
Hield, W. Wayne - Manuscript ["Democracy in the ILWU"]
circa 1949
Box 1, Folder 3
Kiernan, Owen (Jim) - Miscellaneous correspondence
1974-1981
Oversize Box 1, Volume 1
Scrapbook [Miscellaneous newspaper clippings pertaining to various unions]
circa 1938 - 1940
Series 2
Personal Writings
1937 - 1981
Physical Description:
Box 1, folders 4 - 10
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
Scope and Content Note
Includes miscellaneous manuscript drafts and notes, as well as correspondence and editorials.
Box 1, Folder 4
Manuscript Drafts [Includes "Survival on the Waterfront" and "The Rise of the Bridges' Government"]
circa 1952
Box 1, Folder 5
Unidentified Manuscript Notes and Outline
undated
Box 1, Folder 6 - 8
Miscellaneous Notes
undated
Box 1, Folder 9
Editorials - "The Torrance Industrial Worker"
1937 - 1938
Box 1, Folder 10
Personal Correspondence
1945 - 1973
Series 3
Harry Bridges
1938 - 1977
Physical Description:
Box 1, folders 11 - 15, Oversize box 1, volume 2
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
Scope and Content Note
Newspaper clippings pertaining to various court trials involving Bridges, as well as miscellaneous documents.
Box 1, Folder 11
Harry Bridges - Miscellaneous
1938 - 1977
Box 1, Folder 12
Harry Bridges' 'Lay-off Plan' - Miscellaneous
1949
Box 1, Folder 13
Harry Bridges [Pertaining to Jimmy Hoffa] - Clippings
1957 - 1959
Box 1, Folder 14
Harry Bridges [Pertaining to trial for perjury and fraud] - Clippings
1952 - 1953
Box 1, Folder 15
Harry Bridges [Pertaining to trial for Communist Party membership and perjury] - Clippings
1940 - 1942
Oversize Box 1, Volume 2
Scrapbook [Clippings pertaining to Harry Bridges]
circa 1939 - 1940
