On this day, 30 September 1919, compositors and pressmen working at The Daily Sketch newspaper in London refused to print the paper until an editorial criticising an ongoing railway strike was deleted. That same day, another newspaper had its publication delayed by its workers demanding that a government advert appealing to the public to resist the strike be thrown out. However they were persuaded by union leaders to withdraw their demand. Newspaper packers and delivery drivers also tried to delay and sabotage their distribution. Two days later, bosses at the far-right Daily Mail tabloid threatened to close the publication down rather than give in to a complaint from their print workers about their coverage of the railway strike.  More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10347/london-print-workers-black-anti-strike-editorial Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory. * See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today * Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date * Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com * Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com * If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 29 September 1909, the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union began the first of what became known as the free speech fights, in Missoula, Montana. Members would publicly speak on the streets of the town in open defiance of a law banning public speaking. When one speaker was arrested another took their place, including well known organisers Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who was pregnant at the time, and Frank Little. As a result, the local jail was filled with no end to the stream of workers coming in to speak. By 8 October the council declared the IWW could speak wherever they liked and dropped all charges against members who had been arrested for speaking. This campaign would be the first of many similar free speech fights throughout the United States. Learn more about the IWW and the free speech fights in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/05/23/wch-e6-the-industrial-workers-of-the-world-in-the-us-1905-1918/ Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory. * See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today * Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date * Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com * Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com * If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History