Railroad Strike Paralyzes Grays Harbor Industry
As the Pullman strike spreads across the nation, 500 local workers are left jobless, and Ocosta residents joke about a diet of clams as shipping comes to a standstill.
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The terrible effects of the present railroad strike may be judged from the number of men thrown out of employment in this county alone, by the shutting down of mills for want of shipping facilities, and the consequent closing down of logging camps. A gentleman who is well posted in the logging and lumber business says that in the large saw mills, shingle mills and logging camps, at least 500 men have been thrown out of employment by the strike. In Ocosta, provisions are running short and if the siege is not soon raised, the town will be compelled to fall back on clams as a daily diet. Meanwhile, local workers are debating the crisis, with some noting that even if the mills remain open, wages are low, leaving laborers to choose between half a loaf or nothing at all.
“Ocosta is beginning to feel the effects of the strike. Provisions are running short and if the siege is not soon raised we will be compelled to fall back on clams as a daily diet.”
The 1894 Pullman Strike remains a landmark in American labor history. This report highlights how even distant labor battles had immediate, visceral impacts on the food security and livelihoods of small timber towns like Aberdeen and Ocosta.
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