The Fight for a Living Wage on Seattle's Streetcars
Facing a massive consolidation of rail companies, Seattle transit workers organize to demand a guaranteed minimum wage.
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.
The gripmen and motormen of the six street railway lines in Seattle, which will soon be consolidated under one franchise, are circulating a petition which will be presented to the city council next Monday, asking that body to fix a minimum rate of 25 cents per hour. The petition is the result of a meeting held Wednesday night at the Chamber of Commerce, where over four hundred of the staff of the lines were present. They fear that should the new consolidated company be granted the franchise, the rights of the employees will be ignored. The petition states that throughout the United States, in the matter of street railways, it is a uniform custom that conductors and motormen are paid no less than 20 cents per hour. The men are anxious that this right be guaranteed by the persons or corporations buying the franchise. As one member stated: 'Some of the men are afraid of losing their jobs if they demand what they are due. No matter if all of the employees of the lines do not sign the petition, it will be presented to the council.'
“We are also desirous that your honorable body shall protect us and working men in such way as you feel we are entitled to.”
This 1899 struggle over streetcar worker wages during a period of transit consolidation mirrors modern-day debates over fair labor practices in Seattle’s rapidly evolving gig economy. Just as these motormen feared their rights would be sacrificed for the benefit of a massive, consolidated corporation, today’s transit and delivery workers continue to push for fixed pay standards amidst the influence of powerful corporate entities.
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