Organized Labor Campaigns to Exclude Asian Workers
Everett labor delegates pass a resolution targeting Japanese businesses in a push to solidify the city as a 'white man's country.'
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 Trades Council met in regular session last Wednesday evening. The fact that there was a Japanese restaurant here and that Japanese were employed in the largest hotel in the city was brought forcibly to the attention of the delegates. They were requested to urge upon the members of the various unions that all Asiatic labor was obnoxious to organized labor, and it was their duty to use all lawful means towards making this a white man's country.
“They were requested to urge upon the members of the various unions that all Asiatic labor was obnoxious to organized labor, and it was their duty to use all lawful means towards making this a white man's country.”
This resolution reflects the pervasive anti-Asian sentiment in early 20th-century Everett, which was frequently institutionalized by trade unions. Today, this serves as a sober reminder of the history of exclusion that labor movements in the Pacific Northwest grappled with during their formation.
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