Labor Presses Mayor for Public Jobs Bureau
Tacoma Trades Council calls for the establishment of a city-run employment bureau, nominating J.J. Hicks to lead the initiative.
There was a much larger attendance than usual at the regular meeting of the Tacoma Trades council last night. A dozen new delegates were seated and matters of importance to local unions were discussed. A prominent feature of the meeting was the presence of State Labor Commissioner William Blackman and J. Menzies, secretary of the Washington State Federation of Labor. The council took up the matter of the appointment of a member of the council on the commission to have charge of the free employment bureau, and instructed the secretary to communicate with Mayor Wright in regard to it. Secretary Upton addressed the following letter to the Mayor: 'Tacoma, Wn., April 26, 1904. Dear Sir: Pursuant to the privilege accorded the Tacoma Trades council by the plank in the Democratic platform treating on the subject of establishing a free employment bureau in this city, I have the honor, in behalf of the Tacoma Trades council, to present to Your Honor the name of J. J. Hicks, in whom we place the utmost confidence, believing that in him you will find the ability to meet all the requirements of a member of the free employment board.'
“Pursuant to the privilege accorded the Tacoma Trades council by the plank in the Democratic platform treating on the subject of establishing a free employment bureau.”
Early 20th-century labor councils in Tacoma frequently battled for institutionalized job placement to combat private, exploitative employment agencies. The push for a 'free employment bureau' reflects the perennial civic struggle to keep the labor market transparent and accountable.
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