Work and Wages
Elsie Parrish
Washington has long been a leader on issues of women's pay. In 1913, we became the fourth state in the union with a minimum wage for women. But it took the tenacity of Wenatchee chambermaid Elsie Parrish to convince the U.S. Supreme Court it was a good idea. The court had ruled several times by a 5-4 majority that state regulations of work conditions were unconstitutional. But Parrish, a grandma with gumption, was undaunted. She wanted what she was owed under state law for a 48-hour week of cleaning toilets and changing bedsheets.
Her case went all the way to the highest court in 1937. This time justices seemed more attuned to the Great Depression's hardships. A narrow majority swung in favor of Parrish. Her case cleared a legal path not only for minimum wages, but also Social Security and other New Deal policies.
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"When you've worked hard all your life, you can't just up and quit," Parrish said of her legal fight. Associated Press
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In the Parrish case, Justice Owen Roberts (left, standing) changed his position on minimum wages, creating a 5-4 majority for New Deal policies. National Archives
Top: In the Parrish case, Justice Owen Roberts (left, standing) changed his position on minimum wages, creating a 5-4 majority for New Deal policies. National Archives
Bottom left: The Cascadian hotel's owners didn't criticize Elsie's work. They just believed the state's minimum wage law was unconstitutional.
Bottom right: Great granddaughter Debbie Stewart (right) says Elsie (left) was sweet but had a toughness forged during the Depression. Parrish Family Collection
The Cascadian hotel's owners didn't criticize Elsie's work. They just believed the state's minimum wage law was unconstitutional.
Great granddaughter Debbie Stewart (right) says Elsie (left) was sweet but had a toughness forged during the Depression. Parrish Family Collection
Chris Gregoire and Comparable Worth
A half-century later, Chris Gregoire, the state's first female deputy attorney general, was wrestling with what proved the most unique case of her legal career. While the state was ahead of the curve with its 1943 equal pay-for-equal work law, rarely did men and women perform the same jobs. Women state workers, along with their union, pioneered a new concept—comparable worth.The idea was that the value of work by plumbers and librarians could be compared. And when jobs were determined to have similar value to an employer, their pay should be equal.
The workers' union sued the state for not enacting comparable worth. Gregoire, representing the state, lost in federal court and won on appeal. Then she played a key part in negotiating a $500 million settlement for women state workers in 1986. "So the fight moves on," Gregoire says of the stubborn gender gap in wages. "Because inherent, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg would say, is a bias sitting in there. All the time."
Read more about Chris Gregoire and Comparable Worth
Gregoire had "constant mixed emotions" about representing the state against women suing for pay equity. Washington Attorney General's Office
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On a snowy day in 1985, state employees and supporters held a rally for comparable worth at the state Capitol. AFSCME Council 28
Jennifer Belcher, who later became the state's first female lands commissioner, was an early advocate of comparable worth. AFSCME Council 28
Top left: On a snowy day in 1985, state employees and supporters held a rally for comparable worth at the state Capitol. AFSCME Council 28
Top right: Jennifer Belcher, who later became the state's first female lands commissioner, was an early advocate of comparable worth. AFSCME Council 28
Bottom: NOW's Seattle-King County chapter created a famous poster of Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir with a pay-equity punchline. National Organization for Women, Seattle-King County Chapter
NOW's Seattle-King County chapter created a famous poster of Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir with a pay-equity punchline. National Organization for Women, Seattle-King County Chapter
