A partial strike against The Day, Yiddish daily newspaper began today following a disagreement between the newspaper’s management and the Newspaper Guild of New York over the dismissal of some members of the editorial staff, reduction of salaries of others and discharge of one member of the commercial staff.
The strike is not supported by the Yiddish Writers’ Union of which the majority of the editorial staff of The Day are members. The editorial work in the newspaper therefore continued and The Day intends to continue publication while its building is picketed by the Guild.
The differences between the Yiddish Writers’ Union and the Guild regarding the strike arise from the fact that the writers affected by the dismissals and salary cuts are not protected by the Yiddish Writers’ Union. They were recently expelled from this union in reprisal for their joining the Guild, which is affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The Yiddish Writers’ Union is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and in expelling those who had joined the Guild it took the attitude that one could not be a member of two unions simultaneously.
The Guild unit of The Day plans to issue a Yiddish daily newspaper during the strike which will carry general news and some of the features previously written in The Day by striking writers. Among the discharged writers is B.Z. Goldberg, noted columnist and for many years the managing editor of The Day.
The strike was called by the Guild unit, which includes the 12 writers and 27 members of the business staff. The Guild demands include reinstatement of those discharged and restoration of the pay cuts.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
