2026-2028 LAS Labor Archives Section Election: Candidate Statements

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2026 Labor Archives Section election. Please take some time to review their candidate statements and get to know them so you can make an informed choice.

You will be voting for:

1. One (1) Co-chair (two-year term)

2. Two (2) Steering Committee members (three-year terms)

Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!

Steering Committee Nominees:

1. Emma Barton-Norris, Bowdoin College

2. Gavin Strassel, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University

Co-Chair Nominee:

1. Conor Casey,  Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

The following candidates are running for the Steering Committee positions:

Candidate Name: Emma Barton-Norris, Steering Committee Nominee Processing Archivist, Bowdoin College

Statement of Interest: Emma Barton-Norris (she/her) is the Processing Archivist at Bowdoin College Library in Brunswick, Maine, on the ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki. She earned her MLIS from the University of Iowa in 2023, where her work with the Iowa Women's Archives and the State Historical Society of Iowa included processing collections from the Iowa Labor Collection and the Iowa Labor History Oral Project, experiences that continue to shape her understanding of archives as sites of labor and power. Within SAA, Emma has served on the Steering Committee of SNAP (Students and New Archives Professionals), where she has worked to foreground labor in conversations about the profession. She also contributes to the Archival Worker Task Force, helping document labor conditions in the field and advocate for meaningful change. Although she does not currently work in a dedicated labor archive, Emma brings a fresh perspective grounded in the belief that the labor of archivists is inseparable from the stories of labor preserved in all our collections-and that both demand attention, care, and advocacy.

Candidate Name: Gavin Strassel, Steering Committee Nominee UAW Archivist, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University

Statement of Interest: Gavin Strassel is the UAW's official archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library, where he has helped establish the archives as a vital resource to the union's communications strategy and member education. Previously, he served as the Reuther's SEIU Archivist. He has been a chair of the programming committee of the Michigan Labor History Society, and head of the Metro Detroit Archivists League. He received his MSI from the University of Michigan in 2012. Archival professionals are eager for a place in SAA to find community and see their ethics and values reflected. Though this section is comparatively small, our members' level of engagement is strong. I believe there are additional archivists within SAA who are seeking a section this passionate, but might not perceive themselves as labor archivists. I am confident that continuing the section's commitment to outreach, while finding new avenues to grow our ranks, will attract archivists who are passionate about labor issues and the records of working-class people. In that process, it will communicate to the greater SAA community what those of us active in LAS already know: that labor archives and collections are a vital part of the archival world.

The following candidates are running for the Co-Chair position:

Conor M. Casey, MA, MLIS, CA, Co-Chair Nominee Head, Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

Statement of Interest: I began my archival career in 2000 as an assistant at the Labor Archives & Research Center at San Francisco State University, later serving as an archivist and visual materials curator (2001–2008). After a stint as a research archivist at Pixar Animation Studios (2008–2010), I became the founding archivist and curator of the Labor Archives of Washington (LAW) at the University of Washington, where I have worked since 2010. I hold BAs in anthropology and history, an MA in U.S. history, an MLIS (archives and reference), and I am a certified archivist. My research focuses on social, labor, immigration, and ethnic history; oral history curation; and EDI‑centered archival administration. Outside the archives, I helped unionize library and press employees at UW (2019–2023), serve as a shop steward with SEIU 925, and released a first album with my band (2024-2025).

LAS service & leadership – I have served as LAS co‑chair for six terms (between 2012–2026) and on the steering committee during other times. During those term, I led the adoption of new section bylaws, migrated the labor repository directory to an online interactive map, and organized LAS‑branded sessions at LAWCHA, NALHC, and SAA annual meetings. In 2017-2019, I also wrote a regular column for LAWCHA's Labor Online e‑newsletter to raise our section's profile. Currently I co‑host SAA's podcast, Archives in Context, and recently completed a term on SAA Council (2023–2024).

Commitment to labor & equity – My work at LAW has centered on "corrective collecting," a holistic, EDI‑driven strategy for community documentation. I believe paying interns, supporting labor organizing, and democratizing the workplace are essential to diversifying our profession. These values align directly with LAS's mission to preserve and promote the history of working people and their movements.

Vision for LAS, 2026–2028 If elected co‑chair, I will focus on three collaborative priorities:

1. Discovery & access – Explore a cross‑repository discovery portal for labor collections. Contribute to Encoded Archival Context (EAC) projects and facilitate the creation of a working group on linked data and archival name authority for labor records.

2. Member empowerment – Establish more standing committees or short‑term working groups so that projects continue to advance beyond our annual business meeting. I would seek to support the great ideas for new standing groups and working groups emphasized by my fellow section leaders such as communications, updating How to Keep Union Records, a working group on grievances and arbitrations, and others. These initiatives are not only worthy projects in themselves, but represent great opportunities for new members and leaders to be drawn into our Section. Our section can also mentor emerging labor archivists and encourage student / contingent worker participation in LAS as well as exploring a student scholarship for new professionals interested in labor archives.

3. Visibility & growth – Continue to propose LAS‑sponsored sessions at the SAA annual meeting and allied conferences (LAWCHA, NALHC, PNLHA). Recruit new members by showcasing the creative, justice‑oriented work happening in labor archives across North America. I would also continue to push for an organize tabling as a section at the various conferences listed above.

I am deeply grateful for your past support and fellowship and excited to continue serving and working with our leadership cohort and members to build a resilient, action‑oriented Labor Archives Section. Thank you for considering my nomination!