Organizing the First Labor Day
Seattle unions finalize the order of march and address the plight of the city's unemployed.
The Western Central Labor Union met yesterday to organize the upcoming Labor Day parade. To avoid conflict, the order of march for the various unions—including sailors, bakers, ship carpenters, and even the Theatrical Mechanics' Association—was decided by drawing names from a hat. A notable addition to the parade will be a division of unemployed workmen. The parade route will begin on Third Street, proceed through the city's main corridors, and conclude at Pioneer Place. The committee also resolved to address the influx of labor from the East, noting that the city does not have enough work for the new arrivals who were lured by false promises of employment.
“The committee on resolutions was instructed to draw up resolutions stating that there were men enough in Seattle for all the work to be had.”
Labor Day in Seattle was born out of intense economic instability and the need for collective bargaining. The 1891 struggle with 'false promises' of work for arrivals in Seattle rhymes perfectly with the city’s history of booms and busts, where growth always outpaces stability for the working class.
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