The Price of a Life: Labor Fights Back Against Dangerous Legislation
Organized labor in Everett rallies against a proposed senate bill that would cap death and injury payouts for workers at $5,000.
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.
Senate bill No. 218, introduced by Senator Graves, has aroused a storm of protest from labor all over this state. It is the most vicious piece of legislation from the standpoint of the laboring man, be he union or non-union, ever introduced into a legislative body of this state. This bill settles the oft-asked question, 'what is the value of a man's life?' Answer: $5,000.00. The worker is asked to sign a 'voluntary contract'—by which he waives all right to sue for recovery of damages in case of accident or his dependents to sue for recovery in case of death. A money value is placed on your arm, your foot, your eye, etc., and an amount is deducted from your wages to create this fund. In case of accident, the manufacturer simply hands to you, if the court says he has to, a sum of money which his employees have contributed. It is a cold-blooded insurance proposition and you pay your own premium.
“This bill settles the oft asked question, 'what is the value of a man's life?' Answer: $5,000.00.”
This 1909 fight over 'voluntary' waiver contracts and the commodification of human injury reflects modern struggles over mandatory arbitration clauses in employment agreements. Just as workers in 1909 feared the stripping of their legal rights to seek justice for industrial accidents, contemporary laborers often find similar hurdles to accountability in corporate employment contracts.
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