The Fight for Cash Wages
A proposed Seattle ordinance to force contractors to pay laborers in 'lawful money' rather than time checks was struck down by the City Council.
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.
In the Board of Aldermen, a bill was introduced for the purpose of requiring payment by street grade contractors of their laborers in coin within five days after the expiration of any thirty days. President Sweeney took the floor to argue that if this bill carried, only wealthy contractors could risk putting in bids; the effect, he claimed, would be to put all the contracting in the hands of a few. He argued that the state law, which provides that all such labor shall be paid in lawful money, already governs that provision. Robert Bridges addressed the house, countering that there was a desperate need for new legislation, as most contractors were in the habit of paying workers in 'time checks'—scrip-offs that could not be easily cashed. Con Lynch also spoke, noting that unless the bill provided for strictly weekly payments, it was worthless. The bill was killed forthwith.
“Most contractors were in the habit of paying in time checks. The bill was of no use in its present shape.”
In 1892, Seattle's labor struggles centered on 'time checks'—corporate scrip that left workers unable to pay for rent or groceries. Today’s debates over the 'gig economy' and the reliability of payment platforms echo the same anxiety: who bears the risk of the delay between labor and living wage?
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