State Labor Commissioner Targets Eight-Hour Law Violations
Commissioner William Blackman is gathering evidence against contractors in Tacoma and Seattle who have failed to comply with state labor mandates.
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.
OLYMPIA, May 30.—A practical test of the state eight-hour law is shortly to be instituted by Labor Commissioner William Blackman, who is now engaged in collecting evidence to institute prosecutions. Complaints have reached Mr. Blackman against three street contractors in Seattle, two in Tacoma and a road contractor in Snohomish county. The law in question commits the state to the policy of inserting an eight-hour clause in all contracts on works of a public character and further provides for the nullification of any contract on which a contractor violates the eight-hour law. It is made the duty of the authorities to declare the contract forfeited in event of a violation. It is not unlikely that the attempt to enforce the law will result in litigation to test its constitutionality.
“A practical test of the state eight-hour law is shortly to be instituted.”
This struggle over the enforcement of labor standards on public contracts mirrors contemporary debates in Washington regarding wage theft, prevailing wage laws, and the power of municipal authorities to hold contractors accountable.
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