25 | June | 2023 | Be a Seed for Change

Jack Johnson was a target of the Mann Act

Congress passes the Mann Act, which was ostensibly aimed at keeping young women from being lured into prostitution, but really offered a way to make a crime out of many kinds of consensual sexual activity.

The outrage over sex work began with a commission appointed in 1907 to investigate the problem of immigrant prostitutes. Allegedly, women were brought to America for the purpose of being forced into sexual slavery; likewise, immigrant men were allegedly luring American girls into prostitution.

The Congressional committees that debated the Mann Act did not believe that a woman would ever choose to be a prostitute unless she was drugged and held hostage. The law made it illegal to “transport any woman or girl” across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” In 1917, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of two married California men, Drew Caminetti and Maury Diggs, who had gone on a romantic weekend getaway with their girlfriends to Reno, Nevada, and had been arrested. Following this decision, the Mann Act was used in all types of cases: someone was charged with violating the Mann Act for bringing a woman from one state to another in order to work as a chorus girl in a theater; wives began using the Mann Act against girls who ran off with their husbands. The law was also used for racist purposes: Jack Johnson, heavyweight champion of the world, was prosecuted for bringing a prostitute from Pittsburgh to Chicago, but the motivation for his arrest was public outrage over his marriages to white women.

SEATTLE – Thousands of Puget Sound-area janitors could go on strike next month if negotiations on a new labor contract break down, says a spokesperson for the union that represents them.
The janitors, who are represented by Service Employees International Union Local 6, voted Saturday to authorize a strike if janitorial companies fail to reach a contract with the union. Labor negotiations have been under way since May 8.
Union spokesperson Tania María Rosario said the contract with Seattle-area janitorial companies expires June 30. Under terms of the strike authorization vote, janitors could strike 10 days after that if a new contract is not reached.
About 3,000 janitors are covered by the labor contract. A strike would affect offices, restaurants and retail outlets all over downtown Seattle and beyond. The Puget Sound-area contract negotiations also affect Spokane and Tacoma janitors, whose contracts expire at the same time.
Rosario said the janitors perform backbreaking labor often until the early morning hours, earning an average of about $12 an hour.
“We clean buildings owned by the wealthiest companies in the world,” said Jocelyn Eleccion, a janitor and member of the bargaining team. “People who work hard should make a decent living instead of treading water or falling behind. We need to ensure that all workers benefit from the economic progress they helped create.”
She said janitors fear cuts to their wages and medical benefits.