TODAY IN SEATTLE-AREA HISTORY, Feb 6

In 1919, a general strike begins in Seattle with 65,000 laborers walking off the job. Initially, the strike demonstrates the power of union solidarity, but it soon fizzles as the objectives remain unclear other than better shipyard wages. Some 40,000 other workers are idle either because their employer sees no use in opening, or because they depend on streetcars to get to work. The strike sputters along until Feb. 11, when only shipyard workers remain off the job.
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