The Tacoma Steamboat Walkout
Deckhands force a company hand-off, securing union labor on Pacific Navigation boats.
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 strike of the deckhands on the Pacific Navigation Company's boats was of short duration. The boats all left on time the evening previous without deckhands, having secured their baggage and personal freight. At Tacoma, the State picked up a non-union crew, but discharged them again yesterday upon orders from Superintendent Clancy that all the boats should employ union crews. The Fairhaven and Sehome also took back their union crews last evening on returning to this port, and the Bailey will discharge her non-union crew and employ union men today upon her arrival here. The uniform rate of $40 per month will be made.
“Superintendent Clancy [ordered] that all the boats should employ union crews.”
The quick resolution of this 1891 waterfront strike underscores the power of organized labor in the maritime industries that built the Puget Sound region. Today, the tension between contracted labor and operating costs remains a central pillar of Seattle's port and ferry operations.
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