Labor Events Yearbook: 1918

The meat packing houses were forced to use untrained labor to fill in for the strikers. Because their inexperience resulted in substandard cutting and mishandling of the meat, large amounts of meat were deemed unsuitable for sale and condemned. A testament to the unsatisfactory conditions in the meat packing houses, the strikebreakers themselves walked out on strike against the nine-hour days.[[3]] Many strikebreakers that left their jobs joined the butchers union and participated in the strike against the packing companies.

The butchers strike gained the attention of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America (AMCBWA). John F. Hart, president of the AMCBWA, arrived in Seattle in April to survey the strike and to provide assistance to the union butchers.^[[4]] The packing companies continuously refused agreement plans submitted by the butchers, as they did not agree on the butchers’ right to organize. The butchers voted to call off their strike in May for the duration of World War I, despite the packers refusal to compromise.^[[5]^]

Telegraphers across the country faced a similar battle with their employers in 1918. The large telegraph companies opposed its workers organizing and began to layoff employees seeking to unionize. The Commercial Telegraphers’ Union of America declared April 28^th to be “Organization Day.”^[[6] It was hoped that if workers all organized on one day, mass layoffs could be avoided. However, this did not stop the telegraph companies from firing or locking out their workers.

Telegraph companies became aggressive in their fight with the unions. Some companies hired detective agencies, which impersonated federal agents and harassed strikers. Both the Central Labor Council and the American Federation of Labor requested that the government take control of the telegraph lines.^[[7]] The troubles in the telegraph industry were brought to the attention of President Wilson, and in July he requested from Congress the power to take control of the telegraph lines.^[[8]] The federal government seized control of the telegraph lines on July 31^st, and it was promised to the locked out telegraphers of Western Union in Seattle that their jobs would be reinstated.^[[9]]

One cause united unions and labor groups across the country during 1918, the trial and conviction of Tom Mooney. Unions continuously protested the prosecution of Mooney and demanded his release. The Seattle Central Labor Council (SCLC) played a key role in organizing union support. In March, the SCLC held a large meeting where it demanded that the federal government stop the “’persecution’ of Mooney and others because of their activity in the labor movement.”^[[10] It was also stated at the meeting that the case against Warren Billings, Mooney’s co-defendant, was established on fabricated evidence.^[[11]]

After holding another meeting in April, the SCLC asked unions to strike on May 1^st in protest if Mooney and his co-defendants were not released. Unions that agreed to take part included Iron Workers' and Piledrivers' Locals, machinist unions, the Metal Trades Council, the Gas Workers Union, the Seattle Union Card and Label League, and many more. However, at the request of Mooney the strikes were called off.^[[12]] An additional large meeting was held in Seattle by the Seattle Central Labor Council, the Metal Trades Council and the Mooney Defense League in Seattle on July 28^th. Meetings were also held on that day in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and many other cities across the United States to protest Mooney’s trial.

The SCLC later declared December 9^th as a day for unions to come together in a general strike to protest Mooney’s prosecution.^[[13]] Once again, numerous unions supported the proposed general strike, and again it was called off. The SCLC instead requested that every union send representatives to a meeting to be held on January 14^th, with the purpose of organizing a nation-wide strike ^[[14]]

Smaller strikes erupted throughout 1918, although overshadowed by the larger ones. Leather workers, freight handlers, electricians, and car builders went on strike in favor of higher wages. Machinists, teamsters, miners, and street railway men fought for fewer hours in their work days, while candy and cracker workers fought for fair employment and the right to unionize. And while the federal government enacted provisions to prevent strikes from occurring in war industries, many workers elected to end strikes voluntarily to support the war effort, such as the butchers and steel mill workers.^[[15]^] These workers sacrificed their own demands for the greater good of the country in what were amongst the most patriotic acts during a time of war. Amongst the labor demonstrations of struggle, one strike was enacted out of jubilation. On November 11^th, workers all across Seattle set aside their tools and paraded through the streets to celebrate the end of the Great War.^[[16]^]

---