1st Boycott in DC (1834)

Category: Labor Struggles

Columbia Typographical Society boycott against Gen. Duff Green, editor of the United States Telegraph, who brought in non-union printers and two-third apprentices. Boycotts are now a popular pressure tactic used by all sorts of groups and causes but they were first invented and widely used by labor unions in the 1800s. Washington's first boycott took place in 1834, declared by the Columbia Typographical Society against Gen. Duff Green, editor of the United States Telegraph. Green had brought in non-union printers and apprentices, precipitating not only the boycott but a 3-year strike.