The Case for a Labor Temple
General Organizer M. Grant Hamilton argues that organized labor should build permanent headquarters to serve as meeting halls, reading rooms, and beacons of civic influence.
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It should be the aim of union labor in every city of our country with more than a thousand union men to build a home, writes M. Grant Hamilton, general organizer of the American Federation of Labor. While chambers of commerce and boards of trade have their own buildings to represent business interests, organized labor lacks the same foundation. Seattle has already built a three-story temple that is paying 6 percent interest on the investment, and similar projects are underway in San Francisco and Kansas City. A dedicated temple brings members together, provides reading rooms for labor literature, and cements the bonds of fellowship. It also gives unions a firmer foothold in the community and ensures that their opinions on civic matters are given greater consideration.
“Buildings devoted to the exclusive use of organized labor have had a salutary effect in bringing closer together the members of our various organizations.”
Everett, like many industrial cities of its era, saw labor unions as central pillars of civic and social life. Today, as digital platforms replace physical meeting halls, this 1909 vision of a 'common meeting place' reflects an era where workers demanded a permanent physical footprint in their city's architecture.
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