The Coal Wars of Newcastle
Facing declining profits and labor unrest, the Oregon Improvement Company declares war on its miners, threatening total shutdowns unless the union relents.
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.
Yesterday the Post-Intelligencer published a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of miners at Newcastle, condemning the action of Superintendent Watkins for discharging certain Knights of Labor and asking the company for relief. In these resolutions the grievances of the miners were set out at length. In order to give both sides a hearing, the writer called upon Mr. J. Milner and asked him for an explanation.
'Some time ago we realized that owing to the great competition in the coal trade it would be necessary for us to produce coal cheaper than we had been doing in order to keep our mines running. We chose to sink a shaft down to our largest vein, where two men can do as much work as four in the smaller veins. While this work was in progress, the Knights of Labor made a strong appeal to the company to discharge all the Chinese in the mine. The company acceded to the demands, notwithstanding that move increased the cost of the production of coal.
Finally, the slope was completed and the connection made with the big vein. The completion of this work enabled us to produce as much coal as formerly with less labor, and we found on our pay rolls about 50 men for whom we had no work. Mr. Watkins assured me that he made his selection of men to remain wholly on the ground of fitness. I telegraphed the situation to Mr. Howard in San Francisco, and he replied for me to remind the Knights of Labor that we had discharged the Chinese at their request, and to assure the miners that the Oregon Improvement Company would hereafter either operate the mines and employ whomsoever it pleases, or it will shut the mines down. The company is thoroughly in earnest. Rather than be constantly harassed and worried by the employees as to the policy of carrying on its business, it will shut down the mine until such time as the employees are willing that the company shall conduct its business as it sees fit.'
“The company is thoroughly in earnest... and rather than be constantly harassed... it will shut down the mine until such time as the employees are willing that the company shall conduct its business as it sees fit.”
The 1885 conflict at Newcastle (near modern-day Renton) highlights a recurring theme in Pacific Northwest labor history: the pitting of ethnic groups against one another—in this case, Chinese laborers against the Knights of Labor—to weaken collective bargaining. Today, the tension between corporate efficiency, automation, and worker autonomy remains a central challenge in Washington's evolving industrial landscape.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.