The Price of a Union Ham
Everett labor organizers spar with the Carstens Packing Company, demanding a city-wide boycott of the firm's meat products.
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.
At the meeting of the Central Labor Council last Wednesday night, a communication was read from the Everett Central body asking if the fight is still on with the Carstens Packing Company. Secretary E. E. Staraka of the Everett body wrote: 'We have been informed on good authority that the boycott against this firm in your city is practically a thing of the past. It seems that Everett is the only city that is making any strong fight. We are still spending money to maintain the boycott, picketing shops and informing the public of the attitude of this unfair firm. This council wishes to get a list of your shops in the city that are using their stamp, which is No. 224.' The report highlighted the success of Tacoma unionists in pressuring local markets to drop Carstens products, noting that even a local restaurant had been pressured to stop feeding Carstens scraps to a union man's dog, who was reportedly 'too good to eat such unfair scraps.'
“It seems that Everett is the only city that is making any strong fight.”
The 1909 labor battle over Carstens Packing Company showcases the long history of consumer boycotts as a tool for collective bargaining in Everett. Today's labor activism in the region still leans heavily on 'union-made' certification and consumer pressure to influence corporate policy in an increasingly consolidated market.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.