Seattle’s Labor Roots: Organizing for the State Constitution
In April 1889, as Washington prepared to become a state, Seattle trade unionists organized a convention to ensure the voice of the worker was enshrined in the new constitution.
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.
At a meeting of the Western Central Labor Union held on April 10, 1889, it was resolved that in view of the approaching election of delegates to the constitutional convention, the occasion is ripe for the calling together of members of the various labor organizations in this city, with a view of having proper representation in said convention, to the end that provisions of special interest to workingmen may be incorporated in the new constitution. It was therefore determined as the unanimous sense of this body that a convention of representatives of the several labor organizations be called to meet at Turner Hall, Wednesday evening, April 17, at 8 o'clock. The basis of representation will be at the rate of three delegates for every 50 members, and one delegate for every additional 25. The Western Central Labor Union earnestly desires to impress upon workingmen that in no sense is this a political move for the aggrandizement of any person or party, but is simply for the purpose of tending to the convention complete protection, pledged interests of the wage-worker and to secure the enactment of laws in their behalf. A cordial invitation to this convention is extended to all labor organizations in the city.
“The occasion is ripe for the calling together of members of the various labor organizations in this city... to the end that provisions of special interest to workingmen may be incorporated in the new constitution.”
This 1889 call to action predates Washington's statehood and reflects the foundational role unions played in shaping the state's civic identity. It echoes contemporary labor struggles in Seattle, where organizations continue to lobby for legal protections and representation in governance, proving that the 'labor question' remains as central to the city's character today as it was on the eve of statehood.
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