The Logger's Protective Association
After enduring wage cuts and rising costs, Washington's loggers begin organizing to push back against a legislature that seems determined to strip away their protections.
Not satisfied with knowing that the loggers have passed through a season of extreme depression, that they have had their wages cut to pieces, and who had been receiving from $40 to $45 per month regularly are now glad to get a chance to work for from $30 to $35—notwithstanding all this, the Legislature this morning reconsidered its vote by which the 'scaler law' had been indefinitely postponed. The result was the passage of the bill repealing the law. There were no petitions presented for any such action, and as far as your correspondent can learn, the loggers did not desire its repeal. But if the Council passes the bill—then 'goodbye,' Mr. Inspector. The loggers here designate it as a very 'oily' affair altogether, and on the suggestion of one of the legislators, it is thought they will soon organize as a 'Loggers' Protective Association.'
“The loggers here designate it as a very 'oily' affair altogether.”
In 1886, as today, the disconnect between state-level policy and the daily survival of the working class was stark. The birth of the Loggers' Protective Association mirrors the ongoing struggle of Seattle workers to organize for wage security and safety standards in a rapidly shifting economy.
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