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| Title | Labor spy report by Agent #17 to Broussais Beck, January 8, 1920 |
| Author | Unknown |
| Date of Publication | 1920 |
| Notes | In this labor spy report given to Broussais Beck on January 8, 1920, "Agent #17" attends the regular weekly meeting of the Central Labor Council. The meeting opens with a letter from the Engravers Union, in which they voluntarily give up their charter. A delegate from the Joiners Union calls the Council's attention to an unauthorized reduction in pay, and evidence is presented that men "working for the Associated Industries instead of for Labor" negotiated the new pay scale with the Metal Trades. (In a marginal note next to these statements, Beck writes "Sue -- pls send me an extra copy of this. B.C.B.") The Central Labor Council follows the Metal Trades Council's lead in endorsing a raise in wages for local professors. #17 states that "the cases of the I.W.W.'s at Montesano", the men charged with murder in connection with the Centralia Massacre, "have been granted a Change of Venue to Tacoma". (In a marginal note next to this statement, Beck writes "Sue -- call Mr. Schultz (?) attention to this mistatement & remind him that we want facts only.") |
| Contextual Notes | Broussais Coman Beck (1886-1936) was a prominent Seattle businessman and rowing enthusiast. He was educated at the University of Washington and at Yale, graduating from the latter university in 1911. He returned to Seattle later in the 1910s to work as the store manager for the Bon Marche. In the wake of the Seattle general strike of 1919, Beck paid spies to infiltrate the labor movement in Seattle, and received frequent reports from his agents (often accompanied by clippings or ephemera relating to labor organizations) in 1919 and 1920. Due to the information acquired through these reports, the Bon Marche was centrally important to the alliance of Seattle employers who organized against labor, a group called the Associated Industries of Seattle -- and, consequently, the Bon Marche became the target of increased pressure and boycotts by organized labor in this time period. |
| Subjects (LCSH) | Beck, Broussais C., 1886-1936; Labor movement--Washington (State)--Seattle; Labor unions--Washington (State)--Seattle; Business intelligence--Washington (State)--Seattle; Union busting--Washington (State)--Seattle; Central Labor Council of Seattle and Vicinity; Industrial Workers of the World |
| Geographic Coverage | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital ID Number | PNW00950 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions contact: photos@u.washington.edu. |
| Digital Collection | Pacific Northwest Historical Documents
|
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Broussais C. Beck papers. Accession No. 0155-001. Box 2/2 |
| Object Type | Typescript
|
| Physical Description | 1 leaf; 28 x 22 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original text or image at 150 dpi saved in TIFF format, resized and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2011. |
| Restrictions | For information on permissions for use and reproductions please visit UW Libraries Special Collections Reproduction & Use page: http://content.lib.washington.edu/sc-use.html |
