David Selvin was a prominent labor journalist, author and public relations consultant.

Joanne Euster served as the director of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University from 1980-1986.

Professor emeritus of history at San Francisco State University, Robert W. Cherny's research and teaching interests were in U.S. history 1865–1940, politics, labor, and the West, especially California and San Francisco.

Lawrence Ianni began his career in university administration at Indiana University, where he taught English, served as department head and associate dean of the Graduate School, and worked as a bargaining agent for the Administration in their negotiations with the faculty. Lawrence Ianni accepted a position as dean of faculty affairs at San Francisco State University in 1975. Under SFSU President Paul Romberg, Ianni served as interim provost from 1978-1987 and provost and vice president for academic affairs from 1979-1987.

A San Francisco State University English professor, Solomon served as as president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 1352, San Francisco State College, and was a leader in the faculty strike of 1969. Solomon worked as an assistant to SFSU President Paul Romberg and served as director of the J. Paul Leonard Library from 1979-1980.

Upon moving to San Francisco in 1983, Sandra Cate was hired in 1984 by the Labor Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity established to fund a labor archives in San Francisco. Cate and Cherny went to Sacramento in 1984 to ensure that funding to establish the Archives was allocated in the California State University budget.

A prominent labor educator and historian, ILWU leader David Jenkins served as director of the California Labor School from 1942-1949 and taught courses in Jewish history, labor economics, and black history. He helped to found the labor studies program at San Francisco City College in the 1970s, and served as a labor adviser to San Francisco mayors John F. Shelly (1964-1968), Joseph Alioto (1968-1976), George Moscone (1976-1978), Dianne Feinstein (1978-1988) and Art Agnos (1988-1992).

The Labor Archives and Research Center was formally established in 1985 as part of the library system at San Francisco State University. Lynn Bonfield served as the first director.