City Accused of Blacklisting Labor Organizers
A member of the Knights of Labor claims the city administration is refusing to hire members of the order for municipal work.
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.
To the Editor: The Democratic party have apparently placed a boycott on the Knights of Labor so far as public work is concerned, as no member known to belong to the order has been given employment, though many of them have applied for work on the streets, but are repeatedly told that there is no room 'just yet,' while at the same time new men are being put to work every day. Another evidence of the apparent hostility of the Democratic party towards the Knights of Labor is found in the recent appointments on the police force. Men who served under M. C. Sullivan as 'thugs' in the miners' troubles of one year ago have been appointed on the police force. Apparently, from present indications, any honest man who expresses his honest convictions against existing evils is not wanted by the party in power in this city, but evidently they are using their official position to confer as a premium on thugs appointments to public offices.
“Apparently, from present indications, any honest man who expresses his honest convictions against existing evils is not wanted by the party in power in this city.”
This letter highlights the persistent tension between municipal political machines and organized labor in Seattle. The claim that city jobs were used as political patronage to reward 'thugs' while excluding unionized labor reflects a recurring theme in Seattle's labor history that remains relevant to modern discussions of civic governance and accountability.
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