The Baker’s War: Seattle’s Sweet Tooth Goes on Strike
As the city's bakers walk out for better wages, only four stubborn shops remain open, turning a labor dispute into a daily crisis for hungry locals.
THE BAKERS' STRIKE.
Journeymen Claim That They Have Been Successful.
It is evident now that the bakers' strike will soon be ended, as the different shops have been conceding one by one, until now, the journeymen say, only four shops refuse to yield—the Queen City bakery, the Star bakery, the California bakery and the Boston Steam bakery. These shops employ fifteen men in all, and this, it is claimed, is but a small per cent. of the whole number of journeymen bakers in the city.
The last shop to give in was the Lake Union bakery, which raised the white flag yesterday. This shop employs five men.
A boss in one of the above shops was interviewed by a reporter of the Post-Intelligencer last night, and in response to the request for information regarding the status of the strike, said things were just the same as they have been the past week; that there are still twelve shops that refuse to give in, and will continue to refuse. He did not name them, however.
This 1905 labor dispute highlights how essential workers in Seattle’s burgeoning food service industry fought for fair wages during a period of rapid urbanization. The tension between independent shop owners and organized journeymen mirrors modern debates over gig economy wages and the cost of living, showing that the struggle for equitable pay in local trades is hardly new.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.