A Dollar and a Half a Day: Olympia's Capitol Strike
Work on Washington's capitol halts as laborers demand $1.50 for an eight-hour day—and bricklayers are left idle when the contractors refuse.
Olympia, April 4.—Special.—Laborers on the capitol struck today for a raise from $1.25 for a day of nine hours to $1.50 for a day of eight hours. The demand was refused by the contractors. While the striking laborers have been getting $1.25, ostensibly, they received in reality but $1.10, as they were given but eight hours’ work. The course of the men appears justifiable. The strike necessitates the suspension of work by the bricklayers, as they are left without help.
“The course of the men appears justifiable.”
The eight-hour day was still a live demand in 1895, and public works were a proving ground. Today's fights over public-sector pay and construction schedules echo the same question: who bears the cost of building the state?
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