1934 in Washington State Labor News

by Nick Hamblet

  Union organizing, boycotts, and strikes all came to a head in 1934. The most notable labor action in Washington was the Longshoremen’s strike, lasting nearly three months from early May through the end of July.  With workers heading back to work and the economy growing, 1934 was seen as a year to mobilize and organize unions.  The Washington State Labor News wrote, “The biggest thing in 1934 is organization of workers into unions.”[1]

This was the common theme for the first months of the year as the Labor News was full of calls to action in an attempt to influence men and women in all industries, urging them to join and create unions.  In early February, the AFL created a plan to attract workers in every industry into joining unions.  The plan consisted of frequent meetings of all affiliated unions and groups with an AFL council to assert their views all the while keeping in mind the ultimate goal, which consisted of a “nation wide organization of America’s working men and women.”[2]  Another aspect of this plan involved sending trained speakers around the nation to speak to workers and convince them to join unions.  The mobilization worried employers and proved a recipe for conflict, ultimately leading to strikes, boycotts and increases in wages and rights for workers.

Both restaurant and coal workers reached new standards for the average workweek.  In March of 1934, a 6-day week was achieved for restaurant workers, however the union was displeased with the stipulation that a maximum 54 hours could be worked by male workers and 48 by female,[3] for they feared employers would pressure workers into working hours passed their obligatory six days.  In April, coal workers reached a 7-day 35-hour workweek, which also saw a wage increase of $.40.[4] Later in the year, laundry driver’s persistence and hard work brought about change to an 8-hour day.[5]  Wage and work hours were a common theme of dispute among workers and their employers for obvious reasons as employees felt they working too much for too little. 

An issue over labor disputes, most notably low wages led the State Labor Federation to call for a statewide boycott of goods sold by the Whatcom County Dairymen’s Association.  The Dairymen’s Association had long been butting heads with the Sate Labor Union.  They had reduced the wages of their workers many times and any attempt on the part of the employees to organize a union had been thwarted by the association.  After the Dairymen turned down an arbitration agreement that the employees had agreed upon, the President of the Washington State Federation of Labor on March 30th, asked that all “organizations and members of Labor to refuse to buy products sold by the Whatcom County Dairymen’s Association.”[6]  As a result of their continual uncooperative actions in absolving the dispute between them and the Federation of Labor, there was no alternative but to call for a boycott of their goods.

The bulk of labor action began in April and spanned through the summer months.  On April 8th, employees of Plywood Corporation of Hoquiam formed an AFL union.  Just weeks later they organized a protest over “medical aid” and as a result 700 plus workers found themselves locked out of their worksite the next morning.[7]  This lockout that began on April 20th lasted until May 4th when men returned back to work with a small 2 ½ to 5 cent raise per worker.[8]  The most significant labor fight would come just four days later when longshoremen up and down the west coast walked off the job.

On May 9th, 1934 after rigorous failed attempts to compromise on a $1.00 per hour wage scale and the establishment of a 30-day workweek,  “longshoremen up and down the Coast went on strike…in all ports from Canada to San Diego, tying up shipping completely.”[9]  On the first day of the strike, three of Seattle’s 1500 dockworkers reported for work, which obviously left the ports at a standstill.  It was reported that on day one of the strike, some 150 men turned in applications to join the union.[10]  This strike was very important in mobilizing men that had not previously been apart of union and as a result the Longshoremen’s Union grew during that time period.  In terms of support, the longshoremen found much among the waterfront workers.  Unions such as Masters, Mates and Pilots and Seamen join in the strike effort and go on strike themselves.  As a result, “a coast wide arrangement was arrived at, whereby all teamsters and truck drivers would refuse to hall from, and deliver to docks any and all goods.”[11]  This as one could imagine left the ports completely empty of activity.

One main concern of this strike was the impact it would have on Alaskans, who relied on the Seattle port for their livelihood.  Seattle ports supplied Alaskans with food and with those ports closed for such a long period of time, getting food to Alaska was a concern.  To resolve this issue, striking longshoremen reported that the “Victoria” was “being loaded with the help of the strikers in a hundred per cent way.”[12]  However, this did not end the strike in any way, the workers did what was necessary for the men and women of Alaska and the strike rolled on.

The strike continued to gain speed despite efforts to end bring about a resolution.  Then Seattle Mayor John Dore attempted to force employers to send out cargo when he “ordered out extra police to make such action possible.”[13]  However, employers received much praise for refusing to cooperate with Dore’s police force.  Furthermore, the President of the International Longshoremen’s Association, Joseph Ryan and other officials traveled to Seattle with a settlement proposal in place, however, it was not well received and it was voted down at a May 29th conference in Tacoma.  This was before Ryan himself had the chance to personal introduce the proposal.[14]  The strike continued for another month until July 30th when workers up and down the west coast, including Seattle, returned to work upon a vote by the workers to accept full arbitration.  However, in the agreement they compromised to relinquish one of their most important issues, hiring halls, to the National Longshoremen’s board.[15]  Overall the strike lasted eighty-three days and was by far the biggest labor movement of 1934, though it would not be the last.

Another notable strike came in June of 1934 from the Ferryboatmen’s Union who decided to strike because their employers had failed to “recognize the rights of its employees to select representatives, of their own choosing.”[16]  The Ferryboatmen were also taking issue with the working hours as some boats required crews to work 17 hour days and in some cases seven day weeks.  They were calling for an 8-hour 6-day workweek, with a dollar per day raise.[17]  At this point of time in June of 1934 the waterways were stagnant, with cargo at a standstill and ferryboatmen on strike, it was a difficult time for Seattle’s waterfront.

An interesting turn of events occurred upon the strike of union teamsters from Northwest Brewing Company over stipulations of wages.  As a result of the strike the employer, Peter Marinoff, then hired members of the Brewery Worker’s Union to work as strikebreakers for the brewing company, which strictly violated contract stipulations.[18]  When a resolution was finally met, it “recognized the jurisdiction of the teamsters throughout the entire extent of operations,” and that “Marinoff agrees to deal exclusively with the Teamsters organization for all workers.”[19]  The Teamsters Union assured that Marinoff would not hire strikebreakers in the future.

The last big labor movement of the year came in October with the butcher’s strike in Oregon and Washington.  On October 5th the strike began as an attempt to organize against Swift and Company for a multiple of reasons, wages among the most important. They also were against Swift’s speed up “Bee System” in which the speed of the production came at the cost of the workers well being, as well as the “jungle tactics” he used against his employees.[20]  Swift made attempts to show the public that he was genuine and keeping within government regulations but the public didn’t buy it nor did many of his customers and as a result, Swift lost a lot of business.  Meat cutters unions went so far in showing their dedication to the butcher’s cause that they helped the butchers financially while they were striking against Swift.[21]  After nine weeks of striking, the butchers achieved an 8% wage increases and were assured every employees jobs and rights be reinstated.[22]

1934 was a very important year for labor.  The year was marked by numerous movements of mobilization of unions, boycotts, and strikes.  The Longshoremen, Ferryboatmen, Teamsters and Butcher’s Union strikes all made significant changes to their occupations in terms of working conditions, wages and workers rights.  A year that started with calls for all working men and women to unionize, continued with a strong push of union movements and ultimately labor accomplishments.   

1934 in Voice of Action

by Amanda Higgins

From the perspective of the Voice of Action, the labor movement in 1934 saw some accomplishments within the ever-present context of the struggles between the bureaucracy of large unions, business interests, and the desires of the rank and file unions to stand up first for the workers. The National Lumber Workers Union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, and the Marine Workers Industrial Union were three leftwing unions making headway in Washington State and other parts of the nation. The federal government closed the Civil Works Administration in the spring of this year, leaving many people without work and having to fight for any form of relief. Demands for unemployment insurance increased and became a catalyst for collective action in the form of union organization. The year culminated with a successful battle to overturn unfair riot charges against miners who struck for almost two months over the summer.

The year began with Civil Works Administration employees fighting for their right to work and lumber strikes throughout British Colombia. These events set the stage for many future labor struggles in the Northwest. Thousands of people at this time were employed by the CWA and organized swiftly when firings began and earnings withheld. In Tacoma, 1,000 people were laid off from CWA jobs because they were not properly registered.[1] It is suspected that the firings were part of a turnover plan, perhaps to keep the workers from organizing.[2] They did organize, however, and the Relief Workers Protective Association played a big role in securing the rights for these workers.  Formed in January and supported by the Unemployed Citizens League, it became a body that acted on behalf of all workers regardless if they were officially organized or currently employed.[3] Mass demonstrations occurred throughout the beginning of the year to fight for issues such as race and single status discrimination, the receipt of food vouchers and better wages.[4]

In this same period, the National Lumber Workers Union began to organize lumber workers who were facing long hours, low pay and poor working conditions. The NLWU organized workers in opposition to the American Federation of Labor affiliated West Coast Lumbermen’s Association.[5] These organizations were often seen as working too closely with the National Recovery Administration and not adequately standing up for workers’ rights. Logging strikes in BC were inspiring to the NLWU as they demonstrated solidarity along industry lines and in other trades.[6] In one case, the NLWU took direct action to aid the lumber strike in BC by demanding that Washington mills re-open when they were shut down so lumber could be shipped to the striking camps in BC.[7] Many lumber strikes occurred throughout the year with most ending when the workers’ demands were met.[8] [9]

In April, the International Longshoremen’s Association struck for union recognition, increased wages, overtime pay and no discrimination against workers for union activity. Before the strike began, tensions between ILA officials and the rank and file had already been coming to a head, demonstrated when some members organized a conference that excluded paid officials.[10] Some longshoremen went on strike without the support of ILA leadership before it officially began.[11] Once ILA officials Bjorkland and Morris were openly in favor of the strike, they were still seen by the Voice of Action as “sell-outs” because they moved towards discussing only union recognition and not all of the original demands made by the longshoremen.[12] Also, they delayed strike preparation and postponed the strike after an order from President Roosevelt.[13] The Voice of Action claimed this was a major betrayal of the membership. An example of the tension between members and officials can be seen when the outcome of a conference held by ILA leaders before the strike is discussed:

“The conference was so rank that each local obtained a different copy of jumbled up minutes. The rank and file of the majority of locals of the coast have since repudiated the decisions of the conference.”[14]

The Voice of Action was quick to criticize the actions of any union officials who seemed to not wholly represent the will of the majority.[15] [16]

The waterfront strike lasted for 83 days and was deemed a success after arbitration in favor of the longshoremen resulted in increased wages.[17] [18]The strike swelled to include all marine workers and a general strike was called in San Francisco.[19] Seamen under the MWIU and lumber workers affiliated with the NLWU were called out to join the longshoremen in a sympathy strike.[20] Teamsters also played a big role in the success of the strike, as shipments in and out were basically completely halted.[21] The precarious position of Alaska allowed the longshoremen to make big gains when President Roosevelt ordered shipments to go to Alaska.[22] The strike ended amid strong sentiment towards a general strike, even though AFL leaders advised against such action.[23] 

The Roslyn mine strike in May was just one event in a tumultuous history of the mining site. In the previous year, workers experienced wages cuts and mine closures. John L. Lewis, the leader of the United Mine Workers of America, supported the wage cuts rather than the workers and ordered them to accept the low wages and return to work after they struck in response. This led to the formation of the Western Miners Union, a rank and file union that the Voice of Action said was supported by the miners. The manager of the N.W. Improvement Company recognized the WMU as a bargaining body, but the contract with the UMWA was signed instead. Although 70% of the miners belonged to the WMU, neither the NRA nor the employers gave credence to this and declared the subsequent strike illegal, as it was not called or carried out by the UMWA. Protesting miners were arrested for riot charges in a high profile case, and the charges were dropped at the end of the year.[24] [25]

During this same year, agricultural workers and fishermen carried out strikes with some success. The Fishermen and Cannery Workers Industrial Union, a CP-controlled union, organized many workers when packers repeatedly cut the price of fish.  Some workers were inclined to join the FCWIU after dissatisfaction with an AFL union.[26] Cannery workers struck when they were told they would receive payment in only canned goods and won.[27] The Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union organized farm workers who had very little representation and received low pay. In June, 1,000 lettuce workers struck for higher wages and overtime pay and were joined in picketing by striking longshoremen in a show of solidarity.[28]

April also saw the expansion of the paper, when it increased from an average of four columns a page to about eight. Special sections were created to specifically address lumber workers and fishermen. A recurring piece called “Women’s World” was introduced, featuring articles written by women for women.[29] The paper as a whole continued to represent women as writers and subjects of articles.  An example of this is when women and children led part of the strike on the Roslyn mines.[30]

The paper’s coverage of the labor movement was clearly impacted by its radical view, as it displayed strong support of the Communist Party and quick derision of any move by union leaders or politicians toward conservatism. The paper also made clear its support of rank and file unions, in opposition to bureaucratic unions like those led by the AFL. The year was positive in the progress made by strong unions, but slightly tainted by what seemed to be rampant betrayal on the part of many union leaders.