Telegraph Operators Walk Out Nationwide in 1883
Across the nation and deep into the Pacific Northwest, 22,000 workers have walked off the job in a massive clash against the Western Union monopoly.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
As has been threatened for a week past, the strike of the telegraph operatives of the country culminated yesterday. This strike was the widest, most general and furthest reaching of any in the history of the country. But few labor troubles, if any, have included so many men as this, the number being estimated at 22,000, including operators, line builders, repairers, book-keepers and clerks—all occupying subordinate positions in the service, and not only these but telephone operatives as well. The strike is also more general than was apprehended, taking in as it does all the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, every State and Territory, and for that matter every known office in the land. There are several companies concerned, but the grievance is principally against the Western Union, which is one of the most grinding monopolies and oppressive employers to be found anywhere. In consequence of its course, the company really has no friends, while its servants are its most bitter enemies, hating and denouncing it as no other men did. They have contemplated a clash with the company for some months, have been preparing for it, and on the opportunity offering have joined in it to a man. The strike virtually closed up the telegraph business of the country, only a few messages, as from here to Tacoma, passing over the wires during the day.
“The grievance is principally against the Western Union, which is one of the most grinding monopolies and oppressive employers to be found anywhere.”
This 1883 strike against the era's 'Big Tech' monopoly highlights a recurring theme in Seattle history: the tension between local workers and centralized, distant corporate power. Just as then, the fragility of our communication infrastructure—whether telegraph lines or modern fiber optics—remains a flashpoint for labor unrest.
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