The Right to Get Paid
A landmark Washington Supreme Court ruling secures the rights of loggers to file collective liens against timber companies.
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A very important decision on the subject of laborers' liens has just been handed down by the supreme court of this state. The case is entitled Felix Proulx et al, vs. Stetson Post Mill Company and A. J. Baker. Felix Proulx and other loggers were hired by J. V. Taylor to work in his logging camp during the winter of 1890. Something more than 300,000 feet of logs were cut and by Taylor sold to Stetson Post Mill Company. The laborers instituted a joint action against the mill company and Taylor. The supreme court affirmed the judgment in favor of the workers, rejecting the company's claim that a lien could only attach to specific logs worked on by specific men at specific times. The decision states: 'If this construction were upheld, it would be a harsh rule that would compel a laborer to ascertain exactly the amount of labor performed on each log. These lien statutes are remedial in their nature and should be liberally construed.'
“These lien statutes are remedial in their nature and should be liberally construed.”
This ruling was a foundational moment for labor rights in Washington's timber industry. It mirrors contemporary debates about the 'gig economy' and misclassification, where companies similarly try to use technicalities in contracting to avoid responsibility for wages.
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