The Battle for the Great Northern Depot

Why will a man carrying a union card in his pocket deliberately walk onto a job that has been declared unfair by the building trades council? This is the question that is agitating the minds of union mechanics in this city who months ago placed the new Great Northern depot officially unfair to organized labor. All of the building trades locals in this city have refused to touch this work and have had to see card men from other cities go to work on the building. To make the pill more bitter to swallow is the fact that not a union in this city had a personal grievance against this job. When construction work first commenced, local bricklayers and carpenters were employed, but they walked off the job to protect the Seattle carpenters' union, which had expelled certain workers who crossed picket lines. In rapid succession, plumbers, electricians, painters, and lathers from Seattle—all carrying union cards—came onto the work despite protests. It is discouraging to stand for principle and sacrifice work, only to have fellow unionists grab the jobs you won't touch because they are scabby. It explains why the labor movement walks where it should run; it must stagger under the weight of fellow members who are a detriment to the cause.