The Eight-Hour Day Under Fire
A Spokane contractor sues to overturn state labor protections, sparking a landmark constitutional challenge to local public works contracts.
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.
James C. Broad is preparing to start suit to enjoin the city officials from inserting a provision requiring the observance of the eight-hour ordinance and the eight-hour state law in contracts for city work. F. M. Dudley is acting as attorney for Mr. Broad, and the papers are ready for service. A consultation between Mr. Dudley, the mayor, and Assistant Corporation Counsel Connor was held, and notice was given that the suit would begin at once, as the mayor refused to approve contracts without the provisions. The ground taken by Mr. Broad is that both the city ordinance and the state law are invalid. This is the first attack made on the state law which was passed by the legislature this year. This suit will directly involve the constitutionality of the measure.
“The ground taken by Mr. Broad is that both the city ordinance and the state law are invalid.”
Early 20th-century battles over labor protections like the eight-hour day mirror today's ongoing debates regarding the gig economy and the erosion of worker benefits. Broad's attempt to use the courts to dismantle newly passed state law shows that the struggle between municipal regulation and private enterprise is a perennial feature of Washington state politics.
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