The collection consists of 280 photographs covering the decades 1930s-1960s; the bulk is from the 1940s. It represents a visual record of the leaders, meetings, strikes, World War II activities, Labor Day parades, and anti-Taft-Hartley demonstrations of major CIO unions in California.

The building of the California CIO, beginning in the mid-1930s, was a period of tremendous union activity and organizing. The Labor Herald, published weekly, recorded CIO activity from 1937 to 1953. The paper began as a voice for the CIO in Northern California; in 1941, it extended its coverage to all of California. A Southern California edition and a Southern California editor was added in 1945. Unions made per capita payments to support the newspaper and this provided a subscription to each member. The California CIO, under such leaders as Harry Bridges and Philip Connelly, reflected progressive, left-wing leadership. The photo collection records its activities, especially during the 1940s, the World War II years and the tumultuous period after the war which saw bitter strikes and a major political battle against the Taft-Hartley Bill.

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.