On July 18th, 1899, the New York Newsboys started striking because of the unfair cost raise of newspapers. In 2024, Amazon workers began striking for higher wages, better benefits, and safer work environments.
The New York Newsboys unionized against Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. During the Spanish-American War, people bought newspapers. Since more people were buying newspapers, Hearst and Pulitzer decided to raise the price of newspapers. Instead of raising the price for buyers, they raised the buying cost for the newsboys. The newsboys were already spending 50 cents ($19.01 in today’s money) to buy newspapers, but after the raise, they had to pay 60 cents ($22.81 today).
In total, there were 30 cities and 7 states. They included Yonkers, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Fall River, Massachusetts; Norwalk, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Lexington, Kentucky. The strike lasted for 2 weeks and ended when Hearst and Pulitzer finally conceded and offered to buy back any newspapers not sold. The Newsboys returned to work a few days later.
Amazon is in our everyday life. We use it to buy clothing, shoes, and jewelry and get it in two days. What happens if that all goes away? On April 20, 2021, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) was founded. Chris Smalls along with Derrick Palmer organized a walkout on the JFK8 facility to protest Amazon’s handling of the COVID 19 pandemic. Over 50 Amazon warehouses contacted the ALU in attempts to organize their own workplaces.
With facilities in places Canada, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom asking for help, it was clear they needed financial support. In early June 2024, Smalls decided to partner with the Teamsters union. On June 17, the members of the ALU decided to ratify this decision. The Teamsters Union helped Financially. Later in 2024, Teamsters declared a strike against Amazon locations in New York, Georgia, California, and Illinois. The strike began less than a week before Christmas, which is a very busy shopping season in the United States.
The Newsboy Strikes and the Amazon Labor Union had similarities. They both fought for higher wages. They fought against rich people who were wanting more money and not giving money to their workers. Even though they have similarities, they also have differences. While the Amazon Labor Union was pretty recent (2021-2024), the Newsboy strikes happened from 1898-1899. The Newsboys wanted the cost of the newspapers to go down. The Amazon workers wanted higher wages, better benefits, and safer working environments.
While they are both very similar and different, the Newsboys strikes and the Amazon Labor Union are important parts of our history. We need to remember our history or we will repeat it.
