Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle by John C. Putman explores the alliances between feminist movements and labor politics, from Seattle’s founding in the 1850s through the General Strike of 1919. These alliances created powerful cross-class political actors that brought women’s suffrage to the state of Washington well before the 19th Amendment. Women’s organizations played a central role in the labor militancy that characterized Seattle in its infancy and changed its political, social and economic make-up.
How Many Machine Guns Does it Take to Cook One Meal? by Victoria Johnson tells the history of the Seattle 1919 General Strike as well as the 1934 San Francisco General Strike. The 1919 General Strike involved over 65,000 workers, and most of Seattle was shut down in protest of wage controls and ghastly working conditions. Johnson argues that the American labor movement’s vision of egalitarianism was quite different from Europe’s counterpart. The American movement was just as influenced by Jeffersonian Democracy and the artisan republicanism of Thomas Paine as it was by earlier labor unions that fought for worker ownership of industry. The common currents that run through these distinct philosophies are strict limits on government and respect for individual liberties.
Revolution in Seattle by Harvey O’Connor recalls the history of radical opposition to the United States involvement in World War I, which was followed by the labor militancy that led to the Seattle General Strike – the first strike of its kind in the United States. O’Connor saw important parallels between that time period and his own: the Civil Rights era and the beginning of Vietnam War opposition; but rather than seeing union leadership that backed workers in class-struggle, as in the 1910s, he saw union leadership that was overcome with Cold War ideology and that defended the wage system. First published in 1964, this is a fascinating work that views one extraordinary historical period through the lens of another.
A History of Seattle Waterfront Workers, 1884-1934 by Ronald E. Magden gives an in-depth look at the struggles courageous workers faced in the era prior to the National Labor Relations Act, which normalized collective bargaining. Seattle’s waterfront workers played a fundamental role in Seattle labor history with their participation in the 1919 General Strike as well as the 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike. Seattle’s meteoric rise from a small Wild West town to a major industrial center depended upon its port, and there is no better way to learn this history than through the stories of the waterfront workers.
The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era by Quintard Taylor offers insight into African-American involvement in Seattle’s labor movement amid discrimination from employers and many unions. Taylor describes the difficult process that forced unions hostile towards Black workers to integrate as those unions realized that racial hostility within the working class only benefited employers. Although discrimination was rampant in some unions well into the Civil Rights Era, Black workers remained vital players in Seattle’s labor history.
If you are interested in primary sources, the Seattle Public Library has access to some historical labor newspapers such as the Union Record (later the Seattle Union Record), and the Agitator (later the Syndicalist). Also, the Northwest Index, a card catalog index of historical newspapers, can be browsed during the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room’s open hours.
~Daniel, Capitol Hill
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