Fight the Man!: 8 Defining Strikes in New York City History
- Not the actual newsboys of 1899. Christian Bale is not actually a time traveler. Though he is good at many other things. Like singing and dancing and wearing capes.
Newsboys Strike of 1899
Once upon a time, people read the news on pieces of paper, instead of on the Internet. And, unlike the way the Internet works, there was no magical space dust running through a series of tubes that could deliver the news to those who were interested in reading it. I’m pretty sure that this is how the Internet works, but if I’m wrong, don’t correct me. I don’t want to know the truth. Like with any religion, my blind faith in the powers of the Internet sustains me in a way that nothing else ever will.
Anyway. The way that the news was delivered was by little boys. That’s right. Not only was there no Internet, but there were also no child labor laws. Basically, the 19th century had its pros and cons. Although the New York Times reported on newsboy strikes throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the Newsboys Strike of 1899 was larger and more organized than the ones that preceded it.
According to our good and oh so reliable friends over at Wikipedia, this strike targeted the papers owned by WIlliam Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Hearst and Pulitzer had instituted an unfair payment structure for their papers, thus causing the newsboys’ profit margins to shrink. Over the course of the strike, thousands of newsboys joined in the protests and caused havoc on the Brooklyn Bridge, all under the leadership of someone called “Kid Blink” who was quoted as saying inspirational things like, “Dis is a time which tries de hearts of men. Dis is de time when we’se got to stick together like glue.” [sic, obviously]
The strike ended and the newsboys’ union disbanded when Pulitzer and Hearst, while not acceding to the newsboys’ demands, at least made it possible for the boys to earn a living. The historical repercussions of the strike include a reform in the city’s child welfare laws and the Disney movie “Newsies,” which allowed us to see a young Christian Bale dancing up a storm.