The Employer's Trap: Spokane Laborers Mock Plan to Union-Bust
As local merchants and manufacturers plot a new association to counter union power, Spokane’s labor leaders see through the scheme, citing stable wages and predicting failure.
The story, cleaned up
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LABOR UNIONS ON SITUATION Members of Various Organizations Discuss the Employers' Movement.
An article which appeared in yesterday's Press concerning the matter of an organization of employers in Spokane including merchants, manufacturers and contractors has created much comment, and it is the opinion of many prominent members of labor organizations in the city that the employers' association will fail flat when it comes to a point of opposing the labor unions.
It is claimed by union men the salaries paid here for work in any line are not as high as in many cities in the west and that in many instances employers are strongly in favor of unionism and are satisfied in every particular with the principles of the unions associated with their establishments.
The labor leaders state that in Spokane, as well as in nearly every town in the country, there are some business men who are not satisfied with the actions of their competitors and would devise any means to crowd some particular man to the wall if for no other reason than personal enmity.
"As to the matter of wages of the laboring men and women of the city," said a union man last evening, "it is better for the business man to pay a little more for his clerk hire and thus prevent the temptation of dishonesty which in some cases could be practiced to some extent without detection."
Delegate Burrows of the Federal Labor Union, when approached on the subject, said: "I don't believe that the organization of an employers' association would mean much to the labor unions even if the plans set forth are carried out."
J. A. Olson, a member of the American Labor Union, stated: "I am of the opinion that an association of this kind will not have much bearing with contractors in the city, as a wage scale has been established for city contract work and has existed for some time, fixing the salary at 25 cents per hour."
D. Hanlon of the plumbers' union, in discussing the subject, said: "An organization of this kind has existed in many cities and where the merchants and manufacturers are organized wages are in many instances higher than in Spokane and I am of the opinion that organized labor has no occasion to fear trouble from an employers' association here."
Unionism is steadily increasing in Spokane, said a plumber today, and it is thought that in the course of a year the entire field will be covered in the city. Each meeting of the latest organized unions brings new members to the front for admittance. Last evening a regular meeting was held of the American Labor Union and half a dozen new members were admitted. This union is yet in its infancy, as is the cooks and waiters' union, but they both have a good showing. There is some talk of organizing a bartenders' union in the city, but as yet nothing definite has been arrived at.
This 1908 report captures a pivotal moment in Spokane’s labor history: the rise of organized labor against coordinated employer resistance. The skepticism shown by local delegates toward the 'employers' association' mirrors modern debates over right-to-work laws and anti-union tactics, reminding us that the balance of power between capital and labor is rarely static.
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