On this day, 7 February 1919, construction union activists representing 75,000 members in Essex, New Jersey voted to strike in the event of alcohol prohibition coming into force on 1 July.
Two days later it was reported that 200,000 workers in New York City also voted to strike, with a further 150,000 due to vote in the following fortnight. New York unions received letters from union branches in LA, Cincinnati, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Dayton, Ohio, St Louis, Kansas City, Milwaukee and elsewhere. Workers who supported the movement wore pins which declared “No beer, no work”.
However, union leaders called off the action the following month, stating it would have made them “look ridiculous”.
We have produced some merchandise commemorating the movement using their original artwork to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/no-beer-no-work https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1647239018794575/?type=3