The Tacoma Typographical Union Declares War
Local printers launch a total and rigorous boycott against the Tacoma Ledger, accusing it of undermining labor and importing 'scab' and contract labor.
Tacoma, April 12—At a meeting of the Tacoma typographical union, the trades council of this city tonight declared a total and rigorous boycott on the Ledger. The boycott has been under advisement for several months, in fact, ever since the importation of 'rat' machine printers from the Los Angeles Herald. All attempts at an adjustment of the lockout, and the return of the union printers to their old places in the Ledger composing room have failed. The trades union circular concludes: 'The effect of this circular is to get your opinion as to the proper steps necessary to combat that implacable foe of organized labor, the Ledger... With the aid of the strength of organized labor in Tacoma, the enemy of us all can be made to feel that Tacoma is not an open field for the importation of contract scab laborers and Chinese.' The trades council unanimously adopted resolutions condemning the Ledger as the enemy of and unworthy of the support of organized labor.
“Tacoma is not an open field for the importation of contract scab laborers and Chinese.”
This 1894 labor dispute highlights the era's volatile atmosphere, where unions were actively fighting for workplace control while simultaneously navigating the xenophobic political climate of the Pacific Northwest. Today, Seattle remains a hub of intense labor organization and debate, though the focus has shifted from printers' unions to the challenges of the gig economy and high-cost living.
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