Availability
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Related Material
Separated Material
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Arrangement
Organizational / Administrative History
Scope and Contents
Title: The Working Group records
Date (inclusive): 1979-2005
Date (bulk): 1991-1999
Creator:
California Working Group
Creator:
Working Group (Oakland, Calif.)
Extent:
37.5 Cubic Feet
(30 cartons)
Collection number: larc.ms.0064
Accession number: 2008/005 and 2009/007
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: The Working Group records consist of production, research, outreach, and financial materials generated by The Working Group
(TWG), an independent media production company based in Oakland, California. The bulk of the records span the years 1991 to
1999 and were created during the production of three television series related to working people:
California Working,
We Do the Work, and
Livelyhood. The records document the activities of the organization as it produced programs for broadcast on public television. Also
included are materials created in the production of documentaries for client organizations, in particular, the Public Broadcasting
Service (PBS) documentary
Test of Courage: The Making of a Firefighter.
Location: Materials are stored offsite; requires advance notice.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English.
Availability
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], The Working Group Records, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.
Related Material
The Labor Archives Film and Video Collection contains most of the VHS copies of
Livelyhood and
We Do the Work and some episodes of
California Working. Several of the Working Group's contract productions are also in the video collection. Photographs and negatives have been
transferred to the Labor Archives Photograph Collection.
Separated Material
Photographs and negatives were removed and integrated into the Labor Archives Photograph Collection. Videocassettes were integrated
into the Labor Archives Film and Videocassette Collection. Tape logs were photocopied and the originals were returned to The
Working Group. Photocopies of these files were then integrated into their original folders.
Acquisition Information
The Working Group Records were donated to the Labor Archives and Research Center by Rhian Miller, co-founder of The Working
Group, in September 2008 (accession number 2008/005). A second accession was donated by Rhian Miller in February 2009 (accession
number 2009/007).
Processing Information
Processed by Casey Conor in 2008-2009; with additional processing by Diana Wuerthner in 2015. Revised by Frances Kaplan in
2016.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series: Series 1: The Working Group Administrative Files, 1987-2005; Series 2:
Livelyhood, 1990-2001; Series 3:
We Do the Work, 1984-2002; Series 4: Contract Documentaries, 1979-2005.
Organizational / Administrative History
The Working Group (TWG) is an Oakland-based non-profit media company founded in late 1987 with the goal of producing media
focused on labor issues told from the perspective of the worker. TWG first created a local, half-hour news magazine format
show,
California Working, produced by Ed Herzog, Patrice O'Neill, and Rhian Miller. Later renamed
We Do the Work, the series featured several guest hosts, but eventually Will Durst, comedian and political commentator, became the regular
host. The series included occasional documentary specials and also featured the work of other independent filmmakers.
The Working Group focused outreach efforts on individual PBS stations all across the country, convincing programming directors
at each local affiliate to air the series. Such local distribution often resulted in irregular scheduling and broadcasts being
played in non-primetime slots. After gaining positive recognition with
We Do the Work, The Working Group approached PBS with a proposal to create a national primetime program, thus guaranteeing it a larger audience
and broader exposure in national media markets. With this in mind, The Working Group producers developed
Livelyhood, a series that differed in format, scope, frequency, and tone from
We Do the Work. The program, which ran for three seasons and was hosted by Will Durst, examined the impact of globalization and the "new
economy" on American workers.
In December 1995, The Working Group screened
Not in Our Town, a half-hour documentary focusing on the residents of Billings, Montana and the community's reaction to hate crimes in their
town. The documentary grew into a PBS series and sparked a national movement to combat hate and violence in communities all
over the world.
The Working Group also produced contract documentaries for PBS, unions, and other organizations.
Scope and Contents
The Working Group Collection comprises production, research, outreach, and financial records generated by The Working Group,
an independent media production company based in Oakland, California. The Working Group produces locally and nationally distributed
documentary television programs related to labor and work issues for broadcast on public television. The bulk of the collection
spans the years 1991-1999 and documents the activities of the organization during the production of the half-hour series,
California Working, later known as
We Do the Work, and the hour-long series,
Livelyhood, about the changing nature of work and its place in the lives of American workers.
The collection also contains materials created during the production of documentaries made for client organizations, including
Test of Courage: The Making of a Firefighter.
The records of Series I reflect the administrative activities of the organization, including press releases and clippings
related to the history of The Working Group, board meeting agendas, minutes, correspondence, financial statements, documents
related to the hiring of staff and interns, and notes of ideas and potential show topics.
Series 2 and 3 comprise records generated in the research, planning, production, and promotion of the television series
We Do the Work, and
Livelyhood. Includes scripts, budgets, schedules, correspondence, tape logs, planning notes, news clippings, press releases, and feedback
from viewers.
Series 4 contains records related to The Working Group's production of contract documentaries for PBS and other organizations.
The bulk of the records were created in the production of the hour-long documentary for PBS,
Test of Courage: The Making of a Firefighter.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documentary television programs.
Downsizing of organizations -- United States.
Employees -- Effect of technological innovations on.
Fire departments -- California -- Oakland.
Occupational retraining -- United States.
Night work -- United States.
Work and family -- United States.
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union -- History.
Women -- Employment -- United States.
Labor disputes -- Case studies.
Quality of work life -- United States.
Temporary employment -- United States.
Hate crimes -- United States.
Labor unions -- Organizing -- United States.
Woodard, Alfre, 1953-
Durst, Will
Miller, Rhian
Beatty, Ned
O'Neill, Patrice
Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.)