Loggers Win Right to Collective Lien
A landmark state supreme court decision empowers loggers to file collective liens against companies for unpaid wages.
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.
The state supreme court a few days ago handed down a decision of vital interest to those engaged in the lumbering industry. The question involved was whether a number of loggers could join in a notice to file a lien upon saw logs, the property of a company for which they had been working. The universal custom has been to file the notices separately, involving heavy expense to the plaintiffs. In the case at issue, eleven loggers joined in the notice, which Judge Lichtenberg had initially decided against. An appeal was taken, and the supreme court decided in favor of the appellants, establishing that collective filing is valid.
“The universal custom has been to file the notices separately, involving a heavy expense to the plaintiffs.”
This ruling represents a significant labor victory for 1890s loggers who faced systemic barriers to wage recovery. It mirrors modern labor struggles concerning access to justice and legal fees in wage theft disputes.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.