Longshoremen Wage War on Stevedoring Monopoly
A newly formed stevedoring firm threatens the livelihoods of union workers, sparking a conflict on the Seattle waterfront.
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.
Trouble is impending between the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and the Longshoremen's Union. A new company has been organized to take control of the loading and discharge of vessels, called the Puget Sound Stevedoring Company. Previously, this work was under the sole control of the Longshoremen's Union. The union opposes this new organization because it takes contracts at low figures, threatening to cut wages. When the steamship 'Umatilla' arrived recently, the union refused to work with an agent of the new company. In retaliation, the company brought sixty-four men from Portland—mostly discharged railroad laborers—on the 'City of Topeka.' Union officials explained the situation to these men, who then complied with the union's request not to work. The union is currently feeding these laborers. As the 'City of Puebla' arrives, the union intends to decline recognizing the company's agents, setting the stage for a major struggle.
“The members of the Longshoremen's Union refused to work with him... the union is now feeding them.”
This 1891 struggle over contracted versus unionized labor on the Seattle waterfront foreshadows a century of disputes regarding the precarious nature of maritime work and the power of consolidated corporate shipping interests in the Puget Sound.
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