Following the example of fellow Pfaff’s visitor and labor activist John Swinton, Ottarson became interested in social issues. He also served as Secretary for the International Typographical Union, which was formed after the National Convention of Journeymen Printers that convened in New York City on December 2, 1850. The convention of “these pioneer organizers of the printing trade laid the foundation of a stable, well-disciplined and intelligent national craft organization” (“The Labor Movement” 183).
