Shingle Weavers Choose Shutdown Over Pay Cuts
Workers in Tacoma and the Puget Sound area reject a proposed 25 percent wage reduction, preferring to see mills close entirely.
The shingle weavers in Tacoma seem inclined to allow the mills to shut down rather than accept a reduction in wages, as proposed by the shingle association. A proposition was made to the weavers in the Puget Sound Shingle Mill to accept a less severe reduction, but the weavers preferred to have the mill shut down. They argued that it would be better for the trade to have the mills closed for a time rather than go into a cut in wages.
“They argued that it would be better for the trade to have the mills closed for a time rather than go into a cut in wages.”
This 1893 labor struggle echoes modern debates over wage stagnation and inflation. The weavers' refusal to accept cuts as a 'race to the bottom' remains a central tenet of organized labor in the Pacific Northwest.
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