This oral history interview with Ken Richins was conducted in four sessions, from May 24 to June 21, 2010, at the Amalgamated Transit Union Hall in Portland, Oregon. The interview was produced in cooperation with a Portland State University Public History class, taught by Professor Bill Lang, and sponsored by ATU Local 757. The interviewer, James R. Kelsheimer-Sevich, was a student in the class. The interview is part of the Oregon Labor Oral History Program, which collects oral histories of individuals who have advocated for working people of Oregon, including public figures, union members, and workers. Accompanying the interview audio recording is a color photograph of Richins taken at the time of the interview.

In this interview, Richins discusses his family background and early life in Sacramento, California, and in Loomis, California, and describes his experience growing up as a member of the United Pentecostal Church. He describes his work as a dorm counselor at a youth rehabilitation center in Martell, Nebraska, and how he came to live in Salem, Oregon, in 1974. He speaks about working as a bus driver for Cherriots Bus Company in Salem, Oregon, beginning in 1974, and about joining the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 24. He describes how Cherriots employees changed their union to Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1594 in 1982, with the help of ATU International Vice President Mel Schoppert. He discusses the offices he held in Local 1594, then describes the local's merger into Local 757 in 1993. He discusses Local 757’s internal politics, and talks about how Ron Heintzman and Mel Schoppert influenced him. He also speaks extensively about his personal journey from being raised in the Pentecostal church to becoming something similar to a Theist.