Labor Council Pushes for City-Owned Employment Bureau
Advocates argue that municipalizing the labor exchange and regulating waterfront docks is essential to preparing Everett for the opening of the Panama Canal.
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 a meeting held at the Labor Temple on November 17, 1911, J.L. Clark addressed the Everett Trades Council on municipal projects. Clark argued for the installation of a public market to help farmers and consumers, and emphasized the need for an adequate water supply, citing the Sultan Basin. He further urged the city to take over the city dock upon the expiration of its lease in June, warning against further private investment in the facility. He noted that the opening of the Panama Canal would necessitate municipal docks to secure shipping trade. The Council unanimously endorsed a resolution by Delegate Riggins favoring a municipal free employment office and calling on the city to stop licensing private employment agencies, which were often viewed as exploitative.
“City owned docks mean cheap tonnage charges to ocean-going vessels and the value to the city of having a large volume of shipping with the consequent money spent here was inestimable.”
Everett's 1911 debate over private employment agencies—essentially middle-men skimming from workers' wages—parallels modern concerns about the 'gig economy' and the role of third-party platforms in labor exploitation. The city's focus on infrastructure like public markets and municipal docks highlights an era where civic leaders believed public ownership could directly insulate the working class from private monopoly greed.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.