The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-06-10
Girls Out
On Strike Against
Tacoma Wash Trust
CBy Worker CorresOndentl.


TACOMA, Wash, June 9.-Mem-
bers Of Laundry Workers Union Lo-
cal AZ, went on strike Friday at the
plants of the Home Service Co., and
three other laundries. The walkout
was a 100 percent success, even the
non-union girls at one laundry com
ing out. Three others of the large
laundries are still union and will re-
main so, including the largest and
most modern plant in the city.
The laundries are endeavoring to
obtain scab crews, but have so far
had no success. As they only ran
three days last week, they have been
unable to keep up with their work
and are rapidly losing customers to
union plants. The labor movement is
strong in Tacoma, and the girls on
strike are getting good support and
it will probably not be long until
the bosses learn that they must give
in.
About year ago six Of the lead
ing laundries, five union, one scab,
consolidated. They call themselves
the Home Service Co. Three plants
were abandoned. It was apparently
the intention of this company to build
up a scab organization. For some
time they have been laying off union
workers and hiring non-union ones.
Once they had built up their scab
crew they would have tried to force
out the union. But the girls did not
wait for this. When the agreement
expired on June first, they went out
at once to the great indignation Of
the manager. The drivers are not
yet out but are expected to quit in a
day or two unless the strike is set
tied.
Some workers in the Tacoma laun-
dries are receiving as low as SIS a
week. The Tacoma workers receive
less than is paid for the same work
in Seattle, Auburn, Kent, and other
towns in this district. But Tacoma
laundries are notorious for high pric-
es. Much Of the local laundry work
is done by japanese at low prices.
Their laundries are small family af-
fairs, long hours, primitive methods
and insanitary conditions prevailing.
The union wants the same scale in
Tacoma that is paid in Seattle.
As usual, the head of the local
laundry trust peddles out line Of
bunk in the local capitalist press. He
claims that the strike was entirely
unexpected, meaning that he wanted
the workers to wait until he had
scab screws ready to take their jobs.
He also claims that the workers did
not want to. go out, but were forced
to by the union officials. This is a
lie. Under the aggressive and mill
tant leadership of Miss Gertie Wetz-
ell, secretary of local AZ, the local
laundry workers have built up a
strong organization, and they will
stand by it, and win their fight.
Tacoma is a low wage town. While
it is a strong union town as compared
to many, organization is mostly
among the more skilled workers. The
lumber mills employ thousands of
unorganized workers who receive
$3.50 to S3.40 a day in most cases,
and are never sure Of a full weeks
work. Because of the tow wages, the
workers have little to spend, and the
result is that local merchants are al
ways complaining that business is
poor. It is the ambition Of the local
business interests TO make the $3.40
scale Of the lumber mills a maximum
wage. They can not do it. Over
year ago an attempt was made to
lock out the building trades when the
workers demanded the sama wage
scale that is paid in Seattle, Port
land, and Grays Harbor. This failed
and only one important building has
been built since by the low paid scab
labor, this being the Masonic Temple.
The attempt to defeat the lnundry
workers viii fail in the same way.