Everett Laborites Rally for Grays Harbor Strikers
Protest meeting held at Liberty Hall condemns the treatment of workers and union organizers during the Grays Harbor shingle weaver struggle.
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The mass meeting in Liberty Hall last Friday evening was well attended, several hundred men and women being present to voice their protest at the high-handed methods of attempted strike-breaking adopted by the business interests and local authorities on Grays Harbor. The meeting was under the joint auspices of the Everett Trades Council and the city central committee of the socialist party and was presided over by H. J. Olinger. Mr. Jarvis and Mrs. Kate Sadler spoke for the socialists and International President Brown of the shingle weavers for the unionists. Brother Brown portrayed conditions as they exist and scathingly denounced the tactics of the employers and police officials, while noting the fair attitude of the mayor of Hoquiam and the sheriff.
“They had a common enemy to fight and it was no time for discussion among themselves.”
This meeting highlights the active solidarity between Everett's labor unions and socialist organizers during the intense labor strife of 1912. The historical tension between unionized workers and 'business interests' in Washington state's resource-driven economy remains a foundational aspect of the region's political identity.
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