Spurred by "arbitrary" dismissals and assignment changes and other 'efficiency' moves" by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 35 newspaper writers went on strike from August 19 to November 29, 1936. This small group of strikers was able to force P-I owner William Randolph Hearst to recognize the union. Through the strike, the union was able to negotiate a 40-hour work week, originally by way of a six-day work week, but within a year this had been changed to the modern five-day week. The strike represents one of the earliest successful large-scale journalist strikes in the United States.
The flier pictured here presents the case for striking reporters and photographers of the P-I, stating that the workers were forced to strike because of the company's anti-union actions. It pleads with subscribers, "Please cancel your subscription to the P-I! Please do not patronize its Advertisers!"
Caption information source: "Seattle Post-Intelligencer Newspaper Guild Strike 1936", Ross Rieder, 6/06/2000, Historylink.org.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
