The City Hall Pay Dispute
A Tacoma teamster takes on the city after being shorted on his daily wage, sparking a potential test case for labor rights.
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.
When J. B. Wright, a teamster, received his warrant at the city hall yesterday, he claimed that it was $6 less than the contract price. Although the city ordinances explicitly state that the wages of teamsters shall be $4 per day, Mr. Wright alleges that Foreman Owen Woods hired him for 12 days at the rate of $4.50 per day. Mr. Wright will ask the city to pay him the difference between the regular and the contract wages. At a recent council meeting, the city fathers voted down an ordinance the object of which was to raise the teamsters' wages to $4.50 per day, and J. B. Wright will probably have to settle the question with Foreman Woods. It is understood that this is a test case and that other teamsters will join a movement to enforce the payment of the price agreed upon.
“It is understood that this is a test case and that other teamsters will join a movement to enforce the payment of the price agreed upon.”
Public sector labor disputes remain a central pillar of Tacoma's civic narrative, as today's municipal employees and contractors still navigate the tension between agreed-upon market rates and city budget constraints.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.