Celebrate MLKCLC’s past, present at gala on Saturday

SEATTLE — Get dressed up and join the M.L. King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO for its 130th Anniversary Celebration Gala from 6:30 to 11 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Museum of History & Industry, 860 Terry Ave. N. on Lake Union in Seattle. The MLKCLC will celebrate its history by honoring today’s labor champions, presenting Labor “Oscar” awards or categories including Best Union, Best Rally, Most Innovative Labor Leader, and more.

Tickets are $50 per person and are available online here. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. The program begins at 8 p.m.

In 1888, a year before the Great Seattle Fire destroyed most of the city and before Washington even became a state, what is now known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Labor Council was born. First formed as the “West Central Labor Union,” it represented almost every trade and labor union in the area.

In 1905, the WCLU changed its name to the Central Labor Council of  Seattle and Vicinity (often called the Seattle Central Labor Council), and became a key supporter of the era’s Populist movement. In 1968, the SCLC changed its name to King County Labor Council and in 2005 became the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Labor Council.

From operating the Union Record newspaper to calling the Seattle General Strike of 1919, from helping defeat statewide “right-to-work” campaigns in the 1950s to publication of The Scanner (1968-1992), from helping organize the WTO protests in 1999 to passage of Seattle’s groundbreaking $15 minimum wage, the MLKCLC has a long and proud history of successful advocacy.

For 130 years, this organization has fought to improve working and living conditions in Seattle and King County communities. Join them as they celebrate this organization’s proud legacy in 2018.