Longshoremen Walk Out Over Government Dock Control
A labor dispute erupts at the government docks as union workers protest the quartermaster's direct handling of cargo.
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.
Longshoremen hired to load government supplies on board the steamship Lyra refused to go to work because O. F. Cosper, United States quartermaster's agent, insisted on handling the cargo in the warehouse and delivering it at the vessel's side with his own men. The longshoremen denied his right to handle any part of the cargo, and all union men working on the vessel were called out. At a meeting of the Longshoremen's union at noon today, it was decided not to return to work until their demands were complied with. Agent Cosper barricaded the government dock and ordered the union men to leave the premises. A representative of McCabe Hamilton & Renny, who have the contract for loading the Lyra, stated that they would attempt to load the vessel today with union men if possible, but if the union men stay out, non-union men will be employed. At 3 o'clock this afternoon, a crew of non-union men was being gathered.
“The longshoremen denied his right to handle any part of the cargo, and all union men working on the vessel were called out.”
This 1904 dispute over labor jurisdiction and the hiring of non-union strikebreakers at the Port of Tacoma highlights the enduring tension between organized labor and federal entities. Today, the Port of Tacoma remains a primary site of major labor negotiations, reflecting these same historical struggles for worker control over the docks.
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