1 July 1919: Prohibition strike planned
Published: July 1, 2026
Duration: 1:13
On this day, 1 July 1919, prohibition of the sale of alcoholic drinks stronger than 2.75% in the United States was due to come into force. Hundreds of thousands of workers in New York and New Jersey had voted to strike on this day if the law was enforced. They wore pins declaring "No beer no work".
Strike action was called off by union leaders, and prohibition was eventually introduced the following year.
We have reproduced the workers' original artwork to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/no-beer-no-work
Our work is only possible because of support fr...
Strike action was called off by union leaders, and prohibition was eventually introduced the following year.
We have reproduced the workers' original artwork to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/no-beer-no-work
Our work is only possible because of support fr...