Albert H. (Bert) Farmer was a labor organizer and charter member of the International Longshoremen's Association Local 38-76 (Everett, Washington), formed in 1929. During the Pacific Coast maritime strike of 1934, Bert Farmer served as squad captain of the Everett Strike Committee and also on the Joint Northwest Strike Committee.
When union members voted to accept arbitration by the National Longshoremen's Board and began returning to work, Bert Farmer was appointed as a government supervisor of hiring halls. He was the only union member on the entire coast to be appointed to such a position. Farmer's role was to encourage both workers and employers to accept NLB guidelines and to defuse disputes.
In the spring following the strike, West Coast unions formed the Maritime Federation of the Pacific Coast. Bert Farmer was present at the organizational meeting on April 15, 1935, and became a trustee.
After his retirement in 1958, Farmer and his wife, Olga, lived in the Bow Lake Trailer Town near Sea-Tac Airport. Seeing a need to protect the rights of mobile home owners, Farmer founded the nationwide Mobile Home Owners of America in 1966. He served as its first president and was reelected four times as national president of the organization. In 1969 Bert Farmer was appointed to the newly-formed Governor's Advisory Board for the Mobile Home and Recreation Vehicle Industry. He was re-appointed once, serving until 1977.
From the guide to the Albert H. Farmer papers, 1926-1981, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)
