New-York tribune., 1919-03-01
The Truth About Seattle
Remarkable Cooperative Developments Made by the Labor
Unions
By Kenneth Macgowan
Article w

Butcher Workers Union. They thought
'hey might as we'll go into competition with
thelr employers. The matter was taken
up at the meetings of local unions and
seventy of them voted assessments for
stock Now it occupies S35 900 plant and
splits profits three ways-to the stock
holder, to the consumer and to the producer
who does business through it.
The grocery, similarly financed, is run on
the Rochedale cooperative plan, with re-
Dates TO customers out of surplus profits.
IL began on $4,000 capitalization and ac-
quired two or three extra stores as it went
along.
The daily newspaper, "The Union Record"
was trade union weekly, with $1,000 sub
scribers nine months ago. Then it became
a daily, through stock sold to the unions,
oil per cent owned by the Central Labor
Council. 1t began with about $4,000 read
ers. The shipyards strike gave it a boost
Its editor, typographical cardholder and
former Socialist party worker returned
from the Mooney convention in Chicago to
ma the paper advertising 10000 press run
on Its front page. The general strike ran
the circulation still higher. One dizzy dav
1T topped 100000. Then it fell back to
about 10000 copies. This, newspaper men
admit, is the largest in town-if the figures
are straight. "The Union Record" has
made profit of about $1,000 month.
The Mutual Laundry-capital, $4,000
was started in order to unionze the other
firms. strike soon brought business to
the new union laundry and unionism to it's
rivals For while the Mutual lost money:
now it claims to be making 40 per cent
on the investment.
The cooperative bakery has many union
men as stockholders, but it was financed
primarily by individual initiative.
The Union Savings and Trust Company
is on the way. 1t will have $4,000 capital
to begin with. The funds have begun to
collect :ough an assessment of 10 cents
a month.
Back of these ventures and back of the
solidarity which they show, Seattle labor
believes, lies the Labor Temple. 1t was the
iiAoI ioDoA -o"ieu gathering place and union
office building in an American city In
1908 1T represented an investment of $50 900.
Now the structure has grown old and has
deteriorated, but increase in land values
puts Its assessment nearer $75OOO 1t has
also grown too small for the 10 unions
of the city, many of which are lodged in
other city Office buildings. And so archi
tects are making charming elevations of
S1000,000 building to hold the market.
the paper the bank, great auditorium,
and all the rest.
These things are evidence enough of the
self-reliance and self-confdence of Seattle
labor. 1t happens also that the manage
ment of these various ventures gives an
interesting sidelight on the belief of the
men in themselves and their leaders The
grocery is the only one of these under
what might be called professional manage
ment. The meat market is run by a former
butcher who went on strike; the laundry
by laundry driver; the bakery By mem
ber of bakers union, and the Labor Tenn
pie by a member of the musicians union,
who helps the typographer in the manage
ment of the newspaper