Members of the Knights of Labor were leaders of the organized movement against Chinese workers in Seattle. The Knights in Washington Territory were only loosely affiliated with the national organization. The chapter's organizer was Daniel Cronin, a 38-year-old carpenter who came to the Puget Sound area via California during the summer of 1885. Under Cronin's leadership, the Washington Knights of Labor went from a loose-knit band of workers to an organized and militant "brotherhood". In September 1885, Cronin warned Seattle's workers that riot and bloodshed would follow during the winter if the Chinese were not removed. It was Cronin and the leadership of the Knights of Labor who planned for the systematic expulsion of Seattle's Chinese; the group organized a territorial anti-Chinese congress and declared that all Chinese must leave Seattle by November 1, 1885. After forming local coordinating committees, Cronin stepped away from his post as Knights leader and left the Chinese expulsion, largely, to other individuals.