A Labor Solidarity Pact in 1887 Seattle
When local shopkeepers were pressured by long hours and the threat of boycotts, the trades unionists of Seattle stepped in with a formal resolution to end their shopping by 6:00 p.m.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At a meeting of the Seattle Trades Assembly, held July 1, 1887, the following communication was read: 'To the Seattle Trades Assembly: For your kindly interest in your laudable efforts for shorter hours, so as to give you a chance to cultivate the acquaintances of your families, we read before this assembly, and by a unanimous vote we agreed to extend the hand of fellowship and to assist you in gaining your just demands. Our members will endeavor to make all their purchases before 6 o'clock p.m., so that, so far as we are concerned, proprietors will have no excuse for keeping their places of business open after that hour in order to seek our patronage or from fear of losing it by closing at 6. We wish you success, and we trust that you will be met with the same kindly interest and good feeling as we now tender you. Yours fraternally, H.P. Naxson, Secretary.'
“Our members will endeavor to make all their purchases before 6 o'clock p.m., so that, so far as we are concerned, proprietors will have no excuse for keeping their places of business open after that hour.”
This 1887 act of 'consumer solidarity' echoes modern-day efforts by labor unions and activists to pressure businesses to improve working conditions, proving that the struggle for work-life balance and fair retail hours has been a fixture of Seattle's labor history for over a century.
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