The history labor relations in the Pacific Northwest is long and complex story. From a regional scale to the national state, the topic of labor in the northwest has consistently changed due to influences from external events and internal unrest intertwined with racial relations and social inequalities. The significance of the history of labor relations is the influence it had on the course of history for the region and played an important role in shaping the current state and quality of livelihoods within the area. The impact of changes that occurred in the timeline of Pacific Northwest settlement, from women entering the workforce at Boeing, to the movement and actions taken by the union groups such as, the Wobblies, provided a pathway to
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Labor conflicts arose latent with strong ties to changing racial relations in workforce. Opposition to the changing face of the common worker propagated great dissention throughout the white community. Race acted as the dominant factor in an individual’s work ethic. In the early 19th century, all minorities were marginalized into labor undesirable and considered to be “work repugnant to the white man.” However, some races were preferred over others. In a special report by the Washington State commissioner of Labor in 1915, it is stated that “… [The Japanese] are not nearly as trustworthy and reliable as the stoical Chinaman.” This written in response to the Chinese Exclusion Act changing the demographics of the labor force. This ideal of one race being superior or having better suitability for an undesirable job, to begin with, illustrates that in the early 19th century, even the international affairs of the national state would not inhibit the racial stratification with local industries. While the nation worked to exclude future Chinese immigrants, employers saw the reduction would force them into hiring people of other nationalities, which in turn may have provided greater tolerance toward the Japanese immigrants. It is noteworthy that in spite racial discrimination, the Chinese and Japanese workers were able to find stable work in the least desirable jobs, proving that …show more content…
The Unions of today still continue to fight for a better quality of life for all its members and represent a more diverse workforce. In the modern century, profound movements have taken place in order to remove the social inequalities within the region. From movements such as the Occupy movement in 2011, which addressed the increasing gap of income inequality, to the 2013 approval of a $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, Washington, the people of the Northwest make changes to the region to better the quality through finding adaptive solutions. As history of early 19th century has shown, the national state pushed the region to be more tolerant of diversity in the work force through means of legislation and international affairs. However, in the modern century the Pacific Northwest has reverted the influence back to the national state. With an increasing income divide in the nation, the Seattle area has reacted by enacting a higher minimum wage policy. The progressive approach illustrate that the region continually asserts to improve the quality of life for all residents. While changes may not be as rapid, such as the case with the incorporation of women in the work force in the 1940’s, the rate of change differed from period to
Labor conflicts arose latent with strong ties to changing racial relations in workforce. Opposition to the changing face of the common worker propagated great dissention throughout the white community. Race acted as the dominant factor in an individual’s work ethic. In the early 19th century, all minorities were marginalized into labor undesirable and considered to be “work repugnant to the white man.” However, some races were preferred over others. In a special report by the Washington State commissioner of Labor in 1915, it is stated that “… [The Japanese] are not nearly as trustworthy and reliable as the stoical Chinaman.” This written in response to the Chinese Exclusion Act changing the demographics of the labor force. This ideal of one race being superior or having better suitability for an undesirable job, to begin with, illustrates that in the early 19th century, even the international affairs of the national state would not inhibit the racial stratification with local industries. While the nation worked to exclude future Chinese immigrants, employers saw the reduction would force them into hiring people of other nationalities, which in turn may have provided greater tolerance toward the Japanese immigrants. It is noteworthy that in spite racial discrimination, the Chinese and Japanese workers were able to find stable work in the least desirable jobs, proving that …show more content…
The Unions of today still continue to fight for a better quality of life for all its members and represent a more diverse workforce. In the modern century, profound movements have taken place in order to remove the social inequalities within the region. From movements such as the Occupy movement in 2011, which addressed the increasing gap of income inequality, to the 2013 approval of a $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, Washington, the people of the Northwest make changes to the region to better the quality through finding adaptive solutions. As history of early 19th century has shown, the national state pushed the region to be more tolerant of diversity in the work force through means of legislation and international affairs. However, in the modern century the Pacific Northwest has reverted the influence back to the national state. With an increasing income divide in the nation, the Seattle area has reacted by enacting a higher minimum wage policy. The progressive approach illustrate that the region continually asserts to improve the quality of life for all residents. While changes may not be as rapid, such as the case with the incorporation of women in the work force in the 1940’s, the rate of change differed from period to