Everett Labor Unions Denounce Arrest of McNamara
Local labor councils pass scathing resolutions condemning the abduction of union officials in the Los Angeles Times bombing case.
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The following resolution was introduced by Delegate Marsh of the Shingle Weavers and was passed unanimously by the Everett Trades Council and Everett Building Trades Council last Friday evening: 'The organized labor movement of this country stands for industrial decency accomplished by sane, practical effort. In the philosophy of trade unionism there is no place for methods of brute force nor physical violence... It was with poignant feelings of regret we received the tidings of the loss of life in connection with the blowing up of the Los Angeles Times building. It was with feelings of resentment we read the immediate accusation that organized labor was responsible for the outrage... The arrest and abduction of men prominent in the organized labor movement is a logical happening in the program of men who will apparently stop at nothing to attain their ends. Be it resolved by the Everett Trades Council and Everett Building Trades Council that we do denounce in unmeasured terms the railroading of these men from Indiana to California without giving them opportunity to assert their civil rights.'
“In the philosophy of trade unionism there is no place for methods of brute force nor physical violence.”
The 1911 McNamara case was a flashpoint for labor tensions across America. Today, Everett remains a city defined by its labor history, and the anxieties about 'due process' versus state power mirror current debates surrounding political protests and police conduct.
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