Union Council Targets 'Greek Labor' in Local Mills
A meeting of the Everett Trades Council highlights rising nativist sentiment and exclusionary hiring practices in the local timber industry.
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 Everett Trades Council held at the Labor Temple on March 24, 1911, reports were made that Greek labor was crowding out white labor in the sawmills. It was the sense of the council that the employment of this class of labor, and the subsequent shipment of a bulk of their wages to foreign countries, had a tendency to cause a lull in all lines of business. It was also reported that many aliens were being employed on street work. The only solution offered was the election of men to city offices who would see that all city work should be done by American citizens.
“It was the sense of the council that the employment of this class of labor... had a tendency to cause a lull in all lines of business.”
This 1911 report illustrates the dark side of early labor organization in Everett, where 'union' status was frequently weaponized to enforce xenophobic hiring practices under the guise of protecting the local economy. It reflects a recurring historical tension where labor groups defined 'pro-worker' policies through the exclusionary lens of nativism rather than solidarity.
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