The Maid’s Rebellion: Servant Girls Organize in Seattle
Tired of long hours and poor working conditions, Seattle's domestic workers launch an early union movement, causing a stir among the city’s elite.
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 servant girls have formed a union, and hundreds of girls are attending the meetings to advance the movement. The socialists are seeking to control the union, and other enterprising men are talking of helping to start a newspaper for servants. The residence of Mrs. Morgan, who lives at 720 Thirteenth Avenue, was pelted with stones last night. The case was reported to police headquarters early this morning, and when Detective Wappenstein was sent out to investigate the matter, he found Mrs. Morgan railing at the girls from the rear of the house and the assistant using a hot reply. Mrs. Morgan stated that she was awakened about midnight by someone rattling her front doorknob. As she appeared at the window, stones began to come against the house. She stated that the pelting kept up until at least three dozen stones were thrown. Mrs. Morgan is of the opinion that boys in the neighborhood did the work, and she armed herself with two revolvers, and tonight she will have no pity for anyone intruding on her premises.
“The servant girls have formed a union, and hundreds of girls are attending the meetings to advance the movement.”
In 1899, domestic workers were already organizing to fight for basic rights and dignity in a city that relied on their invisible labor. Today, Seattle remains at the forefront of the labor movement, with modern efforts like the Domestic Workers Standards Board continuing the work of codifying the protections these early activists were seeking.
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