Consists of material collected by Robert Durkin during his years in the Masters, Mates and Pilots. Durkin was extensively involved in union politics and as a result the bulk of the collection deals with administrative and election related topics; the material in the collection both implicitly and explicitly helps to detail the struggle for survival that labor has engaged in during the 20th century. In the case of the Masters, Mates and Pilots, it deals with how both automation and modernization have impacted the maritime industry. Materials include minutes, membership material, contracts and negotiations for Masters, Mates and Pilots, Local 90, files on the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, shipyard rules from 1863 and 1868, articles on maritime associations, pension and welfare funds and health and safety issues.

Robert Edward Durkin was born December 25, 1912 in Paterson, New Jersey. He enlisted in the Navy in November 1934 in New York and received an honorable discharge in December 1938 in Seattle. He married Helen Cleo Jones in Lakewood Village, Los Angeles on April 1, 1948. He did not have any children.

2.5 cubic ft. (2 cartons)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research.