Title
Allan Brotsky Oral History
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
11-5-2005
Abstract
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.
Recommended Citation
Labor Archives and Research Center, J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco State University, "Allan Brotsky Oral History" (2005). Articles About Faculty. 27.
https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/aboutfaculty/27