Biography

Bob Hasegawa is a lifelong resident of Beacon Hill in Seattle and is living in the house he grew up in.

Bob is a longtime labor and social justice activist. He led many workers struggles winning top wages and benefits for working families and retirees, and he collaborated in many social justice struggles to protect civil rights, democracy, the environment, and our constitutional rights.

For 32 years, Bob was a member of the Teamsters Union, where he rose through the ranks to become the elected leader of the largest Teamsters trucking local workers union in the Pacific Northwest (Teamsters Local 174) for three terms (9 yrs.), and was also a leader in the national Teamsters pro-union democracy reform movement, TDU (Teamsters for a Democratic Union).

As a union/community organizer, Bob has long sought to build bridges between social justice organizations, particularly those serving the labor, environmental, religious, and Asian Pacific Islander communities. He has served on the national executive board of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) as well as on the APALA Seattle Chapter Executive Board, King County Labor Council, and other boards of community based organizations. He continues to serve on the Boards of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington, the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Bob believes in lifelong learning. He graduated from Cleveland High School in 1970 and went on to the University of Washington where he studied physics. He later graduated from Antioch University Seattle with dual areas of concentration in Labor Relations, and Organizational and Social Change. He holds an AA degree in Labor Studies which he earned at Shoreline Community College, studied information technology at Seattle Central Community College, is a seasoned professional commercial truck driver, a certified transit operator, and a journey-level operating engineer (heavy construction equipment operator). Bob also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.

Since he began representing the 11th Legislative District in 2005, Bob’s priorities have centered around serving as a voice for working families, small businesses and disenfranchised communities.