About Nome industrial worker. [volume] (Nome, Alaska) 1907-19??
Nome, Alaska (1907-19??)

Nome Industrial Worker, The Daily Nome Industrial Worker, Tri-Weekly Nome Industrial Worker, and Weekly Nome Industrial Worker

The Nome Industrial Worker was a weekly newspaper owned and produced by the local 240 chapter of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in cooperation. It began on July 5, 1907 and was printed on the press of the Nome Daily Nugget. It became a daily beginning on March 1, 1911, with a corresponding title change to become the Daily Nome Industrial Worker.

The paper went through a string of editors from 1917 through 1918. John McGivney, editor for several years, left his position in October 1917 to winter in the lower 48. His replacement, Bruce Rogers, was charged by the government with publishing seditious statements in January 1918. The entire Nome Bar Association was tasked with defending him by the Commissioner, but he was found guilty later that month. The succeeding editor, Martin Kennelly, was also charged with violating the sedition act, as well as contempt of court, in April 1918. Kennelly was found innocent of the charges against him in August after a 15-minute deliberation, but had left his position in July, whereupon John McGivney, who had returned to Alaska, resumed his position as editor in late July.

The paper continued as a daily until 1918 when the increased cost of printing forced both the Daily Nome Industrial Worker and the Nome Daily Nugget to become tri-weekly publications. The Industrial Worker issue on April 29, 1918 explained that both papers arranged to print on alternating days so that combined there would still be a new issue published six days per week in Nome. The Industrial Worker became a weekly in November 1918 as its staff and much of Nome struggled with the outbreak of Spanish Flu, causing it to skip an issue on November 9, 1918 before it finally suspended publication in June 1919.

The paper wrote on many political topics and took a pro-labor and pro-union stance on issues. Mining conditions were of particular concern. It was an advocate for the eight-hour workday for miners and complained that "scabs" (strikebreakers) were the only thing preventing that.

Provided by: Alaska State Library Historical Collections