Organization

American Federation of Labor

Named in 41 stories. Back to all names

Jul 25, 1892Samuel Gompers Tells Seattle: Organize, and Dare Not Do OtherwiseThe president of the American Federation of Labor writes to Seattle organizer Abe Spring, lamenting the bloodshed of the era's labor wars, urging union solidarity, and declining a Western trip.Seattle, WA
Aug 22, 1892The Struggle to Organize Women in LaborPresident Joseph L. Murphy receives a commission from Samuel Gompers to establish a Workingwomen's Union in Seattle.Seattle, WA
Sep 10, 1892Salmon War on the WaterfrontSeattle fishermen organize a new union to challenge cannery owners over falling fish prices.Waterfront, Seattle, WA
Jul 12, 1894Seattle's Railroad Strike Goes Quiet—but the Unions Keep FightingAs the national railroad boycott convulses the country, Seattle's yards stay quiet under troops and deputies while local unions back Debs, condemn violence, and negotiate food and livestock passage through boycotted lines.Seattle, WA
Jul 15, 1894The Pullman Strike Collapses — and Seattle Quietly Comes Out CleanAs the great railroad strike of 1894 sputters to defeat nationwide, the Post-Intelligencer pauses to credit Seattle's police and strike leaders for keeping the city free of the violence that scarred the rest of the country.Seattle, WA
Jul 18, 1903The Rising Tide of Walla Walla LaborA weekly dispatch on the growth of new trade unions in Walla Walla, from teamsters to horseshoers.Walla Walla, WA
Jan 9, 1909The Corporate Strategy to Break Unions through LitigationA look at the early 20th-century legal offensive by manufacturers intended to bankrupt labor organizations through relentless courtroom battles.Tacoma, WA
Feb 18, 1909The Jailhouse Verdict on the BoycottWhen the Supreme Court targeted the leaders of the American Federation of Labor for organizing a boycott against the Buck Stove and Range Company, the Everett Labor Journal declared it a fundamental attack on free speech.Everett, WA
Mar 11, 1909The Labor Fight Against TuberculosisEverett’s organized labor movement joins a national campaign to combat the 'White Plague,' an occupational disease hitting mill and factory workers the hardest.Everett, WA
Mar 18, 1909Labor's Right to Speak OutA landmark court battle over whether workers can legally label businesses as 'unfair' in their own publications.Everett, WA
Jun 24, 1909The Manufacturer's TrapA labor paper exposes the duplicitous correspondence of a prominent industrialist plotting to break union agreements.Seattle, WA
Jun 24, 1909The Union Label as a Weapon for Economic JusticeEverett workers are urged to boycott 'sweatshop' products and prioritize union-made goods to protect their own livelihoods.Everett, WA
Sep 3, 1909The Case for Ending Local Option ProhibitionA 1909 editorial argues that 'local option' is an ineffective, demoralizing policy and suggests an elected board of excise commissioners as a better way to regulate the liquor trade.Everett, WA
Oct 22, 1909White River Valley Riders Boycott the Interurban Over a Fare HikeResidents between Seattle and Tacoma refuse to ride, picket stations, and invite the same 'conspiracy' charge that organized labor faced in the Buck's Stove boycott.White River Valley, Auburn, WA
Nov 5, 1909Labor Presses for Political IndependenceDelegates at the National Women's Trade Union League call for a new labor-based political party to challenge privileged interests.Everett, WA
Nov 12, 1909Unionists Call Out Local Church for Using Non-Union LaborThe Everett Trades Council wires the American Federation of Labor, protesting a local Presbyterian church’s choice of an 'unfair' contractor.Everett, WA
Nov 19, 1909Labor Editor Confronts Clergy Over Non-Union Church ContractAn Everett trade unionist reports on the AFL convention and a failed promise from the Presbyterian Department of Church and Labor regarding local construction contracts.First Presbyterian Church, Everett, WA
Dec 3, 1909Labor Leaders Defy Court PowerA fiery speech by John Mitchell of the United Mine Workers at the A. F. of L. convention sparks a debate on the constitutionality of the federal judiciary's power to silence activists.Everett, WA
Dec 10, 1909The Case for a Labor TempleGeneral Organizer M. Grant Hamilton argues that organized labor should build permanent headquarters to serve as meeting halls, reading rooms, and beacons of civic influence.Seattle, WA
Dec 17, 1909Switchmen's Strike Tightens Its Grip on Northwest FreightDespite railroad claims that operations are normal, the American Federation of Labor steps in to support the striking switchmen as shipping remains at a standstill.Everett, WA
Dec 17, 1909The False Doctrine of 'Supply and Demand'A labor manifesto argues that using the 'cheapest man' to set wage standards is a race to the bottom that threatens the integrity of community and family life.Everett, WA
Jan 7, 1910Labor Leader Takes the Stand Against Court InjunctionsErnest P. Marsh, representing Everett laborers at the national convention, details the fight to defend free speech and the right to boycott amidst the Buck Stove and Range case.Everett, WA
Jan 7, 1910The Right to Boycott: Everett Labor Leader Recounts National FightErnest P. Marsh details a high-stakes constitutional battle over free speech and the power of organized labor to influence trade.Everett, WA
Jan 14, 1910Everett Labor Joins Nationwide Rebellion Against U.S. SteelLocal union leaders rally to the national call to challenge the 'autocratic domination' of the steel industry as conflict over the open shop reaches a breaking point.Everett, WA
Mar 18, 1910Judicial Bias Against Organized LaborThe Labor Journal clashes with a federal judge over his interrogation of naturalization applicants regarding their union ties.Everett, WA
Jun 3, 1910Labor's Fight Against the InjunctionA stirring call to action from the American Federation of Labor regarding the use of courts to suppress workers' free speech.Everett, WA
Jun 10, 1910A United Front for LaborThe Western Federation of Miners moves to rejoin the American Federation of Labor, signaling a critical shift in the power of organized mining interests.Everett, WA
Aug 5, 1910The Ghost of the Seattle RiotsA labor organizer confronts senatorial candidate Thomas Burke over his role in the 1886 anti-Chinese expulsions, challenging the sanitized historical narratives of his political campaign.Commercial Street, Seattle, WA
Oct 14, 1910The Teamsters’ Fight for the Sunday OffA landmark report on how the International Brotherhood of Teamsters transformed the lives of workers by ending mandatory Sunday labor.Everett, WA
Oct 21, 1910A Labor Editor Called a Traitor for Backing the Wrong CandidateThe Miners' Magazine accused Everett's Labor Journal of betraying the working class by supporting Miles Poindexter. Editor E. P. Marsh answered with a defense of practical politics—and a few insults of his own.Everett, WA
Jan 27, 1911Everett's Delegate Takes the National Stage on Labor UnityE. P. Marsh reports back from the A.F. of L. convention on the heated struggle to bring the militant Western Federation of Miners into the national fold.Everett, WA
Feb 10, 1911The High Cost of EfficiencyLabor leader John Mitchell warns that the drive for corporate efficiency and bonus systems is pushing workers toward mental breakdown.Everett, WA
Feb 24, 1911The Lesson of the TribesA labor editorial invokes the history of Indigenous dispossession to argue that unions must unify or face the same fate as the tribes of North America.Everett, WA
Mar 10, 1911The Labor Movement's Hard-Won Victory Over the Buck's Stove Co.After a five-year boycott, the labor press calls for a truce with a once-hostile manufacturer now under new management.Everett, WA
May 19, 1911A Landmark Victory for Free Speech and LaborThe Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss contempt charges against three labor leaders marks a turning point for the rights of workers to boycott and organize.Everett, WA
Jun 9, 1911The Child Who Built Everett’s ProsperityA haunting, fictionalized account of the daily drudgery faced by child laborers in the early 20th century.Everett, WA
Sep 22, 1911The Struggle for One Big UnionLabor organizers weigh the merits of craft unions against the rising 'one big union' movement in the railroad industry.Everett, WA
Oct 13, 1911Everett Labor Council Mobilizes for McNamara DefenseLocal labor leaders coordinate benefit events and organize support for the McNamara brothers amid national union unrest.Everett, WA
Mar 15, 1912Ban on Prison-Made Goods Moves Toward LawA landmark federal bill championed by the American Federation of Labor aims to stop the interstate trade of convict-made products, protecting free workers from unfair competition.Everett, WA
Apr 12, 1912The Labor Journal's Strategy Against the I.W.W.A local labor leader argues that the best defense against the Industrial Workers of the World is not police violence, but better working conditions and education.Everett, WA
May 10, 1912The Labor Movement's Internal ConflictAn AFL organizer condemns 'direct action' agitators, arguing that evolutionary methods are the only path to lasting worker success.Everett, WA