The Coastal Sailors’ Strike

The coasting sailors are out on a strike, the first demonstration being made yesterday forenoon, by a large body of them proceeding to the ship Shirley, at Mission wharf, and compelling, or persuading, all hands to leave the ship unless the wages were increased from the present rate, $35, to $40 a month. The owners of the vessel declined to do so, as the present low ebb in the coasting business would not permit of any increase in expenses. Later in the day the ship was placed in the stream, and a crew of outside men shipped at $35. From the Shirley the strikers started for the barkentine Skagit, at Third street, but her owners, getting wind of the trouble, sent a tug and whipped the craft out to sea before they could reach her. Later they proceeded to the ship Oriental, at Union street, and her entire crew left with the strikers. All coasting vessels will receive the same attention, the men claiming that the present rate of wages is too small for the labor performed, while the owners assert that the present time, when business is worse than it ever was, is about the worst time for men to make any increased demand for wages.