The Waterfront Cold War: Seattle's 1888 Seamen's Strike
Tensions boil over on the Puget Sound as sailors fight a planned wage reduction, leading to a massive standoff in Port Townsend.
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.
Port Townsend, W.T.—A general strike, it is said, has been ordered among all coasting sailors by the Coast Seamen's Union. The trouble this time is a reduction of wages ordered by the Ship Owners' Association from $40 to $30 a month. The strike will occur when the reduction goes into effect, which will be in a day or two. More rioting and trouble will very likely be the outcome of the agitation. There are eight sailors in jail here now awaiting the action of the grand jury over the troubles of three weeks ago, resulting from the opposition of the sailors against the ship owners. The situation is very bitter. The sailors will not submit to the proposed reduction without a struggle, and shipping will suffer meanwhile.
“The sailors will not submit to the proposed reduction without a struggle, and shipping will suffer meanwhile.”
The 1888 maritime labor conflict mirrors contemporary struggles for fair wages in Seattle's port and gig economy. Like the 19th-century sailors facing corporate wage cuts, today's workers continue to organize against concentrated ownership that prioritizes profit margins over labor stability.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.