The Restaurant Labor War
A local restaurant owner’s political ambitions are challenged by the White Cooks and Waiters' Union over allegations of wage-slashing and exploitation.
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 discussion at the meeting of the Western Central Labor Union on Wednesday evening regarding the charge that P. J. Concannon employed non-union help in his restaurant has called forth a strong rebuttal from the union. Concannon, who was an aspirant for the nomination of constable on the democratic ticket, is accused of discharging union help receiving $12 per week and substituting girls at $7 per week, requiring them to perform the same services and work one hour more per day. Furthermore, he allegedly opened an employment office in connection with his restaurant, requiring his help to pay a fee to secure a situation in his own house. William Allen and D. H. Prusty of the White Cooks and Waiters' Union write: 'Where were his own principles when he discharged union help? We don't owe him any.'
“Where were his own principles when he discharged union help who were receiving $12 per week and substituted girls at $7 per week?”
This 1892 dispute highlights the long history of Seattle's labor struggles, specifically concerning the tension between employer profit-seeking and the rights of service workers. The use of 'substituting girls' at lower wages echoes century-old debates about gendered labor and wage suppression that continue to surface in the city's hospitality industry today.
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