The files of IAM #68 are arranged into three series: Minutes, Membership and Treasury. Types of material in the collection include of bound volumes of minutes, financial ledgers and membership records. A detailed series list is attached.

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) Lodge #68 is one of the oldest of the Bay Area Metal working unions and has a long and interesting history. San Francisco IAM lodge #68 gained an early reputation for militancy and self autonomy and was frequently in conflict with the Grand Lodge. Serious conflict with the International during the 1930's and particularly during World War II eventually led to the suspension of Lodge # 68, the dismissal of its executive and the seizure of its funds. The independence of Lodge #68 and its willingness to do combat has been documented in several secondary sources including, Mark Perlman's The Machinists: A New Study in American Trade Unionism, (1962), which gives a good account of the battles between the local and the grand lodge during the depression and the 1940's. Richard Prime Boyden's unpublished manuscript, The San Francisco Machinists from Depression to Cold War, 1930-1950, (1988) explores the militancy of the both San Francisco Lodge #68 and Oakland Lodge #284.

Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives & 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 & 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.

Collection is open for research.