The Union Boycott of Everett's Hotels
Traveling union members and state examiners inadvertently patronize hotels blacklisted by local labor organizers.
The Journal reporter was tipped off that the state examining board of barbers stopped at the Virginia hotel while in the city. It appears that they reached Everett in the evening and went to the Elk hotel, but being unable to get rooms at that hostelry, went to the unfair house. It seems they were unaware that this house was unfriendly to organized labor and were quite disturbed when told about it next day. The Virginia and Mitchell hotels have been in the bad books of organized labor of this city for many months, and if our sister publications throughout the state would make a note of that fact, it would save some of our traveling unionists much embarrassment as well as assist the fight carried on by union labor in Everett.
“The Virginia and Mitchell hotels have been in the bad books of organized labor of this city for many months.”
Labor disputes in the early 20th century were deeply embedded in the social fabric, turning everyday transactions like booking a hotel room into a civic loyalty test. Today, these tensions have shifted from physical storefront boycotts to digital platforms, yet the core struggle over labor rights and community solidarity remains a persistent feature of Everett's economic life.
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