The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1914-05-29
COUNCIL FAVORS
$500 A SCALE
MEN WITH FAMILIES
TO BE GIVEN PREFERENCE
WILL KEEP MONEY IN
EVERETT - SEATTLE AND
SPOKANE HAVE SIMILAR
ORDINANCES.

The Everett Trades Council at its
last meeting unanimously adopted a
resolution favoring minimum wage
of $500 day of eight hours for ali
persons working directly or indirectly
for the city and another resolution was
adopted favoring the initiation of an
amendment to the city charter which
will provide that all day laborers en-
ployed by the city shall be citizens of
the United States and residents of Ev-
erett, and that qualified electors shall
be employed in preference to non
electors, and married men and men of
family in preference to unmarried men
and men without families.
This amendment is for the purpose
of preventing contractors from import
ing Greeks and other foreigners to the
city to work on big contracts, such as
street paving and putting in sewers,
while so many of the residents of the
city are out of work, explain those
back of the proposed amendments. At
the present time, they say, these out
side men are brought in and live in
shacks as cheaply as possible, so the
merchants get but little benefit of the
money paid them, and when the job
is completed they move on to some
other place, taking their boarded saw
ings with them. The advocates of the
passes, the city will be greatly bene-
fitted by it.
The proposed ordinance which is to
be brought before the voters under
the initiative law is modelled after sim
liar minimum wage laws now in force
in Seattle and Spokane. The Spokane
law provides SO a day for eight hours
and the Seattle law $2.75. The pro-
posed ordinance as laid before the
Trades Council Friday night was faith
cred by Senator j. E. Campbell, who
advocated that the minimum wage be
fixed at $2.75, the same as Seattle has.
but this met with objection on the
part of some of the members and the
ordinance was finally amended to read
SO for eight hours.
The proposed measure provides in
part as follows;
"All work done by contract or sub
h1,i1 INN
ments, or work on roads, bridges,
streets, alleys or buildings, or other
municipal work done for the city of
Everett shall be done under the pro-
visions of this ordinance; provided,
that in case of extraordinary emerg-
ency, such as danger to life and prop
erty, the hours for work may be ex-
tended, but in such cases the rate of
pay for the. time employed in excess
of eight hours of each calendar day
shall be one and one-half times the
rate of pay allowed for the same
amount of time during eight hours
service. This ordinance is made a
part of all contracts, subcontracts and
improvements, and said contractors or
sub-contractors shall promise and |
covenant in such contracts that they |
will pay such laborers at the said rates
per day, and they will not enter into
agreements with any laborers or 9TH
ers for a less wage"
A provision is made for a cause of
action against contractors violating the
ordinance and for the keeping open
Of pay rolls TO inspection at all times;
and that no contract shall be sub-let
save by the written consent of the city
commissioners
"Any contractor, sub-contractor or
agent of contractor, foreman or EN-
Dloyer, who shall violate the provls-
ons of this ordinance shall be deemed
guilty of misdemeanor, and upon con-
yiction thereof shall be fined in sum
lot less than $25 or more than 500,
,r by Imprisonment in the city jail for
, period of not less than ten days or
more than thirty days, or by both such
inc and Imprisonment, at the discre-
ion of the court
II is further provided that if any
contractor shall violate the proposed {
ordinance the violation shall be |
leemed sufficient for the revocation |
# his contract by the city commits t
ioners
II is the intention of those back of
he proposed minimum wage law to G
oo;r at once to secure signatures on