Utility workers: share your stories

Researchers gathering the oral histories of workers at local utility companies in decades past

SEATTLE, WA (July 30, 2024) – Did you work at Seattle City Light or Puget Sound Energy in the ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s? Researchers at Temple University are interested in your story for a project digging into the collective memory of local utility workers. 

The project seeks to gather many personal narratives of utility work at that time, with an emphasis on the services the utility companies provided to customers, and the intersection between equity and energy access during those decades. 

During much of this time period, redlining was common in the Puget Sound. Redlining refers to the systematic denial of financial services or resources to neighborhoods with majority POC residents, and to a series of practices both legal and cultural that confined POC, particularly Black Americans, to certain neighborhoods. This most commonly took the form of banks, mortgage lenders and insurance companies denying coverage to Black Americans, but redlining was a wide-spread practice, the impacts of which extended beyond housing for Black communities, and other communities of color. 

With this context, researchers are particularly interested in speaking with workers who interacted with customers in their role – as a clerk, customer service representative, meter reader, maintenance worker, in residential wiring, or in another role.

Additionally, researchers are interested in talking to customers of these two utility providers who remember interactions concerning billing, or accessing services.  

Worker stories and memories are vital historical records. Workers are the cornerstone of this country, which means worker stories hold incredibly rich opportunities to study and understand history in nearly every aspect of American life. 

Participation in this project is entirely voluntary. If you worked at Seattle City Light or Puget Sound Energy – including its predecessors Puget Sound Power & Light or Washington Energy Company – and are interested in sharing your story, or have questions about the project and process, please reach out to Temple University Researchers Salma Elmallah and Veronica Jacome by email at utilityhistories@gmail.com or by phone or text at 862-772-1754.

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