Outraged after publisher Joseph Pulitzer increases the cost of newspapers for the delivery boys (“newsies”) by ten cents per hundred, head newsie Jack Kelly organizes a union and ultimately a strike among his fellow newsies. This strike is known in history as the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899.
The plot and lyrics of “The World Will Know” could serve as a starting point for discussing the definition of labor unions, how labor unions provide higher wages for their members, and the side-effects that can result from union workers receiving higher wages.