Allan Brotsky oral history
Scope and Contents
Sound recording of Allan Brotsky interview conducted by Harvey Schwartz. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney. The interview covers many major labor and political issues from the 1940s to the present. Topics include Brotsky’s involvement with: UCAPAWA (1948 Stockton Strike), student activism at Columbia University, the Young Communist League, the National Lawyers Guild, his service during World War II, and as counsel for such unions as the United Auto Workers, United Electrical, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the Marine Cooks and Stewards, and the Marine Engineers Beneficial. Sections dealing with the 1950s Grand Jury subpoenaing of Bay Area labor leaders, and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee Hearings in San Francisco show the impact of the McCarthy Era on the labor movement locally. Other sections deal with Brotsky’s employment with several prominent Bay Area labor law firms including Gladstein, Andersen, Resner, and Sawyer. Brotsky also worked on behalf of Bay Area civil rights activists in the Palace Hotel sit-ins and Lucky Store picketing. He also argued on behalf of the Black Panthers in the 1960s. In addition, Brotsky recounts defending peace activists during the Vietnam War era. Finally, he discusses his job as a professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law and reflects on his career.
Dates
- 2005 November 4-22
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Labor Archives and Research Center (LARC), J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco State University. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biography
Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney.
Extent
7 audio cassettes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Sound recording of Allan Brotsky interview conducted by Harvey Schwartz. Brotsky recounts his life as a Bay Area labor and civil rights attorney.
Additional collection guides
Acquisition Information
Interviewed by Harvey Schwartz for the Labor Archives and Research Center, 2005.
- Title
- Finding aid to the Allan Brotsky Oral History
- Author
- Finding aid created by Labor Archives and Research Center staff.
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Labor Archives and Research Center Repository
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722 USA
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu