Harrison Gray Otis was the owner of the Los Angeles Times from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Otis was vehemently against unions, and was part of a local anti-union organization called the Merchants and Manufacturers Association.
The Los Angeles Iron Workers strike began in June, 1910 â?? California labor activists felt this was needed, as the open shop (a place of employment that does not require union membership) policies of many LA industries were threatening the high wages and working conditions in heavily unionized San Francisco. The strike resulted in an anti-picketing ordinance, and Otis used both the Merchants and Manufacturers Association and the LA Times to espouse his anti-union views.
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