Trades Council Denies Political Endorsement
Union leadership speaks out to clarify that labor organizations are not backing candidates in the city election.
To President George Ripple of the Walla Walla Trades Council: Is the Walla Walla Trades Council responsible for the utterances of the Daily Union regarding labor's position locally on the marshalship? Ans. It is not. Is the Walla Walla Trades Council responsible for the circular letter addressed to members of organized labor which is being distributed in the interests of A. F. Kees? Ans. It is not. Has the council taken any action whatsoever in this campaign? Ans. It has not. President Ripple emphasized that the council's bylaws strictly forbid political or religious matters in their deliberations.
“It is strictly provided in the constitution and bylaws of the Walla Walla Trades Council that matters political and religious shall not find their way into the deliberations of the Trades Council.”
The struggle for neutrality within labor organizations remains a common narrative today, as unions navigate the line between social advocacy and specific candidate endorsements. This reflects the 1903 conflict over whether local labor blocks were being manipulated by partisan presses.
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