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Harry Bridges Legacy

The Harry Bridges Endowed Chair and Center for Labor Studies were created to be jointly housed in the departments of Political Science and History at the University of Washington. The Chair and Center honor the legacy of one of the preeminent labor leaders in the U.S., the late Harry Bridges, outstanding founder and leader of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for over 40 years. As a tribute to Harry Bridges' memory, over one thousand contributors, spearheaded by current and retired members of the ILWU, raised the funds necessary to endow a faculty chair in his name in 1992.

Harry Bridges' unique combination of pragmatic organizing ability, democratic unionism, commitment to racial desegregation, and outspoken engagement with issues of social justice continues to serve as the touchstone of the Center's mission.

Supporting research, teaching, and community outreach, The Center focuses on labor's contribution to society. The Center promotes the study of labor in all of its facets - locally, nationally, and worldwide. Our mission is to develop labor studies, broadly conceived to include working men and women everywhere, as a central concern in higher education.

The Center coordinates the efforts of faculty members throughout the University of Washington to develop and expand labor-related components of the University's curriculum. We also provide encouragement and assistance to young scholars studying work and workers.

The Center also provides a meeting place where people from the academic world, the labor movement, and the community can exchange ideas and insights. We sponsor activities in the community in order to bring issues of concern to the widest possible audience.

In September 2001, in honor of Harry Bridges' 100th birthday, the Center for Labor Studies was formally rededicated as the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. We continue to build upon Harry Bridges' legacy in our work.

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Bridges Center Staff

  • James Gregory - Harry Bridges Chair
  • Andrew Hedden - Program Coordinator
  • Mayra Rangel - Administrative/Program Assistant
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Bridges Center Standing Committee

The Standing Committee is comprised of faculty from the History and Political Science Departments. This group supervises the functions of the Bridges Center and helps to plan a program of activities in consultation with the Harry Bridges Chair and Bridges Center Coordinator. The Standing Committee also oversees the role of the Center within the University and community, and awards grants and prizes.

  • Mark Smith - Associate Professor, Political Science, (206) 616-3606
  • Lynn Thomas - Associate Professor, History, (206) 543-4499
  • Susan Whiting - Associate Professor, Political Science, (206) 543-9163
  • Glennys Young - Associate Professor, History/International Studies, (206) 685-8192
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Bridges Chair Emeriti

Former holders of the Bridges Chair remain actively involved in the Center, taking leadership roles in developing programming for the Center, and serving as ex officio members of the Standing Committee.

  • David Olson - Political Science, 1992-1994
  • Charles Bergquist - History, 1994-1996
  • Margaret Levi - Political Science, 1996-2000
  • Michael Honey - Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Tacoma, 2000-2004
  • Dan Jacoby - Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell, 2004-2008
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Bridges Center Faculty Associates

These University of Washington scholars are nominated by members of the Standing Committee, and invited to join the Bridges Center as faculty associates because they do outstanding work in an area related to Labor Studies. They come from all three of the UW campuses, and many different disciplines, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of Labor Studies. Previous definitions of this area as concerned primarily or exclusively with organized labor have been overtaken by the political and economic realities of our times. Given the low membership in unions and the constant attacks on organized labor, focusing exclusively on this area would ignore the reality for the vast majority of workers in the United States and abroad. Instead, we view Labor Studies to be a broad area of inquiry that considers many aspects of working peoples' lives -- economics, discrimination and identity issues, immigrant experience, gender and family structure, participation in political processes, health and safety -- to name only a few. The focus is on those who labor and the conditions under which they live and work. Our faculty associates do work that is appropriately situated within that broader vision.

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Bridges Center Visiting Committee

The Visiting Committee members are drawn from organized labor and related public organizations. They provide important support and counsel to the Harry Bridges Chair and the staff of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

  • Richard Austin - President, Pacific Coast Pensioner's Association of the ILWU
  • Rick Bender - President, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
  • Steve Conway - Washington State Representative, 29th District
  • Kim Cook - President, Service Employees International Union, Local 925
  • Robert Duggan - Attorney, Co-Chair of the Harry Bridges Endowment Committee
  • David Freiboth - Executive Secretary-Treasurer, M.L. King County Labor Council
  • Guadalupe Gamboa - Former President of the United Farm Workers of Washington State
  • Jean Gundlach - Former assistant to Harry Bridges
  • Richard Gurtiza - Inlandboatmen's Union, Regional Director
  • Jon Halgren - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 98
  • Larry Hansen - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 19
  • Ted Hansen - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 52
  • Bob Hasegawa - Washington State Representative, 11th District
  • Michael Herschensohn - Executive Director, Northwest Folklife Festival
  • Ken Jacobsen - Washington State Senator, 46th District
  • Verlene Jones - Union Cities Organizer, M.L. King County Labor Council
  • JoAnne Jugum - Seattle Public School Teacher
  • Ian Kennedy - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 52
  • Jeanne Kohl-Welles - Washington State Representative, 36th District
  • Ronald Magden - Historian Emeritus, Tacoma Community College
  • Rudy Martinez - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 19
  • Terri Mast - Inlandboatmen's Union, Secretary Treasurer
  • Ross Rieder - President, Pacific Northwest Labor History Association
  • Bob Rogers - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 19
  • Lila Smith - Inspector, International Transport Workers Federation
  • Diane Sosne - President, Service Employees International Union, Local 1199NW
  • Conrad Spell - President, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 23
  • Emily Van Bronkhorst - Vice President, Service Employees International Union, Local 1199NW
  • Eugene Vrana - Director of Education, International Longshore and Warehouse Union
  • Joseph Wenzl - International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 19
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