Making Minimum Wage: Elsie Parrish versus the West Coast Hotel Company

The US Supreme Court's 1937 decision in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish upheld the constitutionality of Washington State's minimum wage law for women, which had monumental consequences for all American workers. Helen J. Knowles' book "Making Minimum Wage" tells the human story behind this historic case, revealing the courage and resolve of the former chambermaid Elsie Parrish and the impact of the case on local, state, and national levels.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 396 pages
Publication date: 05 August 2021
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

The United States Supreme Court's 1937 ruling in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, which upheld the constitutionality of Washington State's minimum wage law for women, had far-reaching implications for all American workers. This landmark decision also signaled a significant shift in the Court's approach to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal agenda. In her book, Helen J. Knowles delves into the human story behind this historic case.

West Coast Hotel v. Parrish pitted a Washington State hotel against a chambermaid, Elsie Parrish, who claimed that she was owed the state's minimum wage. The hotel argued that under the concept of "freedom of contract," the US Constitution allowed it to pay its female workers whatever low wages they were willing to accept. Knowles unravels the legal complexities of the case while sharing the personal narratives of the litigants. Drawing on archival and private materials, including the unpublished memoir of Elsie's lawyer, C. B. Conner, Knowles unveils the remarkable courage and determination of the former chambermaid. Her book sheds light on why Elsie, in her mid-thirties and already a grandmother, was fired from her job at the Cascadian Hotel in Wenatchee and why she took the audacious risk of suing the hotel for back wages.

Elinore Morehouse Herrick, the New York director of the National Labor Relations Board, stated in 1936 that minimum wage laws were not merely an academic or legal matter but rather a human problem. Making Minimum Wage serves as a pioneering analysis that delves into the life stories behind West Coast Hotel v. Parrish and its profound impact on local, state, and national levels. Through vivid storytelling, Knowles demonstrates the fundamental truth of Herrick's statement, highlighting the human dimension of these legal battles.

Weight: 608g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780806169385