The Typewriter Is Not a Typesetter

The 1919 Printing Strike That Wasn’t

In 1919, typesetters in New York wanted better working hours and better pay at job shops that handled much of the work for magazines. Their powerful union, the International Typographic Union (ITU), refused to authorize a general strike. Members of union locals took matters in their own hands, even though they risked the ire of publishers, being fired by employers, and getting labeled as socialists or worse.