2013/03/13 Council Agenda Packet

DW Meins 2431 Harrison Avenue Everett, WA 98201 (425) 315-6801 dwmeins@gmail.com January 22, 2013 Cultural Arts Commission Everett Historical Commission Dear Friends, My suggestion for naming the new plaza in Everett is "Wobblies Plaza." The reason that I am proposing a memorial to the Everett massacre of November 5, 1916, of the Wobblies, or the Industrial Workers of the World, is because it is an event of world renown, and I can find scare mention of it here in the city of Everett! It is appropriate that in these times of economic crises, "fiscal cliffs," recession, out -sourcing, immigration issues, and the changing face of Everett itself, that we do not forget the values that our citizens fought and died for. This greatest of countries, the USA, was built from a marriage of democracy and capitalism. If it were not for the rise of the unions, America would not know the rise of prosperity of the working middle class. But it was not an easy struggle. The original union, the AF of L, was a patchwork of smaller craft unions which actually worked against each other. Although it is valid to say that at this time in history, the IWW had fringe members of socialists, communists, and also "informants," the basic principles of free speech —literally on soapboxes on the comer of Hewitt and Wetmore, not far from said plaza— versus "the law," solidarity versus sabotage, labor versus capitalism, industrial unionism versus the open shop, and migrant workers' rights versus mill owners' rights —all these issues were part of a greater movement in a series of events with worldwide reverberations. Wobblies are read about in all the history books but it is hard to find mention of a plaque here in Everett today. As an aside, the word Wobblies is an acronym of how Chinese migrant laborers pronounced IWW. Everett is riddled with history, some of which the city is still perhaps grappling with in its collective psyche. Yet, the time has come for fruition, maturity, and closure. Now with the closure of a very visible Kimberly-Clark Mill on our waterfront, can we finally after one hundred years say honesty is resolution? That is to say, at the very core of this city, at Everett's downtown wharves, five men were killed, probably seven others were drowned, and scores more were severely wounded by a sheriff and his deputized vigilantes. The subsequent brutal jailing and acquittal of 78 prisoners in a sensational trial in Seattle was a powerful testament to the righteousness of the blue-collar workers in this milltown of Everett, and to the justice of the American legal system to prevail in general. That is worth remembering. This event, to paraphrase another other author, was perhaps the greatest trial in the history of labor unionism, representing age -long, world-wide class struggle. And it happened right here in Everett. Now is the time to stand up for, perhaps, a vanishing concept —the working middle class. This is why I propose the name "Wobblies Plaza." Thank you. Sincerely DW Meins