Each year, the Bridges Center recognizes the best undergraduate and graduate papers written on a labor-related topic with a prize of $500.

The award is the result of a generous endowment established in 2018 by the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association (PNLHA) in honor of the organization's 50th anniversary. Since 1968, the PNLHA has worked to document and promote the unique and storied working history of the Pacific Northwest region, serving students, union members, academics and independent scholars across British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington State.

In addition to the cash prize, paper prize recipients will receive a complementary membership in the Association and an invitation to present their work at the annual PNLHA conference. Funding for travel to the conference may also be available.

• Both original written papers and other forms of media (e.g. videos, podcasts, visual art, etc.) are eligible for this competition.
• Submitted papers must have been written during the current academic year at one of the University of Washington campuses.
• Papers may focus on any dimension of United States or international labor, including class relations, social conditions, working-class culture or politics, work and gender, work and race/ethnicity, unions, and comparative labor relations.
• Students may submit their own papers, or faculty members may nominate outstanding papers they have read during the course of the year.
• Papers may be submitted at any time during the academic year up until the Monday following finals week of spring quarter. 

• freshman
• sophomore
• junior
• senior
• graduate

Please submit:

• An electronic copy of your paper (one paper allowed per student)
• Your summer and fall contact information (email, mailing addresses, and phone number)

A committee comprised of faculty members associated with the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies will judge the papers. The winners will be announced by early August and the prizes will be presented at the Bridges Center's annual awards celebration held each November.

Send submissions as attachments to hbcls@uw.edu 

Winners are expected to attend the Bridges Center's Annual Awards Celebration Banquet held each November, as well as prepare a poster showcasing their work for the Celebration.

Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies - University of Washington - Smith Hall, Rooms M266 & M268
UW Box 353530 - Seattle, WA 98195-3530
Phone: 206.543.7946 - Fax: 206.685.2146
Email: hbcls@u.washington.edu