The Arthur K. Bierman Papers consist of the papers of San Francisco State University Professor Arthur K. Bierman for the years 1957 through 1984. The collection documents Bierman's early organizing for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), his involvement in the 1968-1969 strike at San Francisco State College, his work to abolish the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and his other efforts to defend civil liberties.

The bulk of the collection documents the organizing of San Francisco State College Federation of Teachers, Local 1352, and Bierman's organizing activity on the AFT State College Council. Additional materials in the collection pertain to the United Professors of California (UPC), the newly formed organization that was founded in 1970 as the result of an alliance between the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Association of California State College Professors (ACSCP) and of which Bierman served as one of the first presidents.

Series 1, Civil Liberties Campaigns, documents Bierman's campaigns against the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and is comprised of the records of an organization called San Franciscans for Academic Freedom in Education (SAFE), including correspondence, fund raising actions, bank statements, mailing lists, and a survey made of subpoenaed teachers. Also included in this series are correspondence, drafts of articles and reports, and other materials related to Bierman's activities with anti-HUAC groups, as well as printed materials from these groups. There are two additional folders on films: HUAC's "Operation Abolition," and a proposed video series for PBS titled "The Vocal Generation" (not produced). Additional materials in this series pertain to other civil liberties campaigns from the early 1960s, in which Bierman participated concurrently with his anti-HUAC activities.

Series 2, American Federation of Teachers, includes Bierman's papers on union organizing on California State University campuses. The papers document issues of collective bargaining and organizing, studies on teachers' salaries, and academic freedom. The focus of the series is on the organizing of Local 1352, the San Francisco State College Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, of which Bierman was college council member. Additional material reflects organizing activity throughout the state college system. It includes a draft constitution, correspondence, circular letters, and membership and faculty lists. There is also printed material and publications generated by the California Federation of Teachers and two files of newspaper clippings.

Series 3, United Professors of California (UPC), pertains to the newly formed organization that was founded in 1970 as the result of an alliance between the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Association of California State College Professors (ACSCP) and of which Bierman served as one of the first presidents. The series presents a number of UPC union activities from 1970 to 1984. Both basic academic concerns for this period and a wider union-oriented perspective emerge from these files. Grievance cases related to promotion and retention, matters of tenure, of academic freedom, of legal counsel services and of affirmative action and discrimination reveal the newly discovered support for a more labor-oriented approach within the academic community. Additional materials include correspondence on the San Francisco State College strike, documents on the Constitutional convention, on the California State University budget, on political activity, and on the organizing of San Francisco State College Federation of Teachers, Local 1352.

Series 4, Newspaper Clippings, contains articles from local newspapers on the 1968-1969 San Francisco State College strike of which Bierman was one of the faculty leaders.