Table Topics questions are meant to stimulate family and classroom discussion.
Use the questions below after reading,"Labor pains, gains"
- Seattle had a reputation for radical politics based upon the General Strike of 1919. During the '30s, economic conditions kept union sympathies simmering just below the surface. Seattle again became a center of union activity when that sentiment erupted in the Dockworkers and the Newspaper Guild strikes. Is the Northwest still a force for union activism? Are regional giants Microsoft and Boeing unionized? How do their work forces differ from each other and from workers in the '30s? What concerns might they share? Can you think of any significant strikes in the Northwest in the last ten years?
- Seattle's Dave Beck came to power in the Teamsters Union when unions were gaining ground and
union leadership was highly influential. Beck was a clever negotiator and a conservative among
labor leaders (such as International Longshoremen's leader Joseph Ryan shown here with Beck).
This put him in prime position to broker deals between labor and management and he was a key player
in the dockworker and newspaper settlements. Do union leaders today have the same power,
influence and name recognition? Did centralized union leadership become too powerful and
corrupt? Are unions better off with strong individual leadership or de-centralized power
shared by the membership? Which offers more effective representation?
- The Newspaper Guild's strike against the P-I involved a small, fledgling union.
Would the strike have succeeded without the backing of the powerful Longshoremen and
Teamsters unions? Do you think the support of everyday citizens was (and is)
just as important? Do unions back each other up as strongly today? Have you ever
successfully gone on strike or supported strike action? If workers have a grievance today,
are they more likely to sue or organize?
- Seattle Times editor C.B. Blethen wrote a blistering front-page editorial
attacking Dave Beck over the P-I strike. Why do you think his sympathy for fellow management
was stronger than his need to compete with his arch rival? Did C.B. have a point about the "dictatorial"
methods of Beck or was he just feeling threatened?
- Beck ended up winning a libel suit against The Times for that editorial,
claiming he wasn't responsible for starting the strike. Do you think C.B. was right to
express his opinion as vehemently and prominently as he did? Celebrities today sometimes win
judgments against the sensational press and recently the libel issue arose in the matter of KVI
talk show host Mike Siegel and Mayor Rice. What is the proper balance between freedom of the press
and protection against rumor and slander? Is the press ever justified in printing the unproven? Does
fear of being sued hamper the media during legitimate investigations or is libel law a good safeguard
against abuse of media power?
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