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When the Citizens Voice took off, they realized that they made the correct decision.Īlthough their strike was primarily about living wages, it turned into more of a human rights issue. To this day, Duesler, and the others who were involved with the strike, remember who crossed the picket line. He was a union man, like most of his other coworkers, so when the strike happened, he knew what he had to do. John Duesler was an employee for the Times Leader for 15 years before the strike occurred. ¨If we printed the paper in that building,¨ Duesler said ¨it would’ve taken a week to do so.¨ The building was so small and they didn’t have enough resources to print the paper. APPCV talked directly with the Chairman of the East KY Disaster Relief Committee and was informed there would be NO Central spot for distribution of these cards. When starting the Citizens Voice, they had a small building in Plymouth. Appalachian Citizens Voice in an effort to clear up rumors about Gift Cards that were to be distributed through the Pikeville Rotary. Capital City wanted to take away their medical, sick days and decrease their wage as well. ¨We pleaded with these people to just sit down and talk,¨ Duesler explained. Before the strike, the workers were negotiating for livable wages for 2 years. The strike had so much support that the Capital City group brought in the Wackenhut guards.ĭuesler said, ¨These guys were like their security blanket.¨ The guards were there to make sure that the buildings didn’t get ransacked.Īlthough that was never the intention of the strike. For non-life-threatening situations, please call 21. Emergencies: In case of emergencies which threaten human life or injury or property damage, please call 9-1-1. Since it became a nationwide event, they received many donations such as typewriters, printing necessities, and even monetary donations. The Urbana Public Works Department is open Monday - Friday from 7:30 a.m. ¨People from all over the country were contributing,¨ John Duesler, one of the founding members of the Citizens Voice, said. The strike did not end, however, it became a nationwide event. By Monday morning, October 9th, 1978, the first edition of the Citizens Voice was published. This strike started at 5 pm on Friday, October 6th, 1978. They were fighting for living wages and workers’ rights. This buyout did not benefit the union workers at all, so they decided to go on strike. In 1978, the Times Leader was bought out by a company called Capital Cities.
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The Times Leader has been around since 1879 and was not contested for about 100 years. The Citizens Voice began after Times Leader employees went on strike in 1978.
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