Bellingham Central Labor Council Records, 1912-1976

The Bellingham Central Labor Council was established in 1891 as a representative body for members of organized trades in Whatcom County. The Council was granted an official charter by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in September 1891, and affiliated on a state level with the Washington State Federation of Labor. In its early years, the body represented labor interests in Skagit as well as Whatcom County. Through the nature of its genesis and interests in the local business community, the Bellingham Central Labor Council maintained an active involvement in political, economic, and social developments in Whatcom County. The Council's membership was composed of representatives elected from locally affiliated unions, each of which contributed delegates and dues on the basis of their per capita membership. Council members elected a President and Executive Board from within their own ranks, and also formed standing committees on issues of special interest.

From its inception, the Council sought to encourage unionization among local trades, and acted to facilitate communication and co-ordinate action among different groups of organized labor. Its members rejected the "radical" stance of the International Workers of the World (the "Wobblies") and its call for "One Big Union" and also opposed the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) until the unification of the AFL-CIO in 1955. Council members sought to mediate wherever possible in disputes between local unions and employers, and to improve economic and labor conditions through legislative reform. The Council worked to raise political awareness among its members, encouraging support of pro-labor parties or candidates on both a local and national level. It engaged in limited forms of direct action, however, through boycotting Whatcom County shops and businesses engaged in "unfair" treatment of workers, or the use of non-union labor.

The concerns and activities of Bellingham Central Labor Council mirrored those of many other Labor Councils in the region. The Council played an active social role in the Bellingham community, and was involved in organizing picnics, parades and social and educational events. On the political front, members sought to achieve social and economic reform through legislative means, supporting poor relief, regulation of female and child labor, the New Deal policies of the 1930s, and wage and price controls during the 1940s. Defense of skilled American labor, however, - particularly in periods of economic hardship – resulted sometimes in a backlash against the rights and interests of female and immigrant workers. Although female delegates were accorded full rights and responsibilities within the Council (Ida Parberry Peterson of the Culinary Workers' Union was elected head of the Executive Committee in 1925), its members passed resolutions during the 1930s opposing married women's presence in the workforce. Through to the 1950s, the Council also maintained its expressed opposition to migrant laborers from countries including Mexico and China.

From 1939, the Bellingham Central Labor Council issued a newspaper, Bellingham Labor News, covering labor-related issues and developments at the local and national level. In 1956, the Council was renamed as Whatcom County Central Labor Council.