You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
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Wednesday November 4, 1903
Teller County, Colorado - Labor's Candidate Wins County Assessor's Seat
Teller County, Colorado, includes the city of Cripple Creek as well as the city of Victor, and is at the heart of the strike zone. Here, the Western Federation of Miners is conducting a strike against the Mine Owners Association which is supported, not only by the Citizen's Alliance, but by the full might of the Colorado state militia.
Nevertheless, in the midst of this uneven struggle, organized labor has scored a victory at the polls in the Cripple Creek District. We have received this report from Mrs. Emma F. Langdon, a member of the Typographical Union who lives in Victor:
Through inability to "get together" on some of the candidates, Mr. [P. J.] Devault, a union musician and ex-secretary of the Colorado State Federation of Labor, was placed on an Independent Citizen's ticket by the organized labor element of the district as their recognized candidate, and although both the Democratic and Republican conventions had placed in the field strong tickets and worked hard for them, Mr. Devault was elected by an astounding majority, being supported by the unions of the entire district.
Organized labor joined forces and put their shoulder to the wheel to elect a union man, regardless of party politics.
Mrs. Langdon reports there is much jubilation among the union men of the district. This victory show clearly that "they still have fight in them."
The Women's Auxiliaries were also handed some enthusiastic praise for their efforts on behalf of Mr. Devault.
SOURCE
The Cripple Creek Strike
-by Emma F Langdon
(Part I, 1st pub 1904)
NY, 1969
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Tuesday November 4, 1913
Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan - Calumet and Hecla Mining Company Importing Scabs
As the largest copper mining company, by far, in the strike zone, C&H is also the largest importer of scabs. Once in the strike zone, the scabs find that they were not being given a ride on the gravy train, as they had been led to believe when recruited. The newly arrived scabs often know nothing about the dangerous work of mining, and they receive only hasty training from foremen and shift bosses before being sent down into the mines. The work is often more difficult than they had anticipated, and close to one-third quit (escape) as quickly as possible. An estimated 1,500, comprising some 30 different nationalities, have been imported so far in spite of the widely-distributed flier put out by the Western Federation of Miners regarding the ongoing strike in the area. C&H has been able to resume production through the use of imported scabs, but production remains limited at this time.
SOURCE
Rebels on the Range
-by Arthur W Thurner
MI, 1984
Photo: Search with "Western Federation of Miners"
http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/
H/T to Kossack 1913 Strike for the above link.
And check out this fine website: Copper Country History
http://coppercountry.wordpress.com/
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Monday November 4, 2013
An interesting take on an old story:
Did Jack London write "What is a scab?" The following video gives a different account. I find this video interesting, but cannot vouch for its accuracy. More research needed.
What is a scab?
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Casey Jones, The Union Scab-Mark Ross
The angels got together and they said it wasn't fair
For Casey Jones to go around a-scabbing everywhere.
The Angel Union No. 23, they sure were there,
And they promptly fired Casey down the Golden Stair.
-Joe Hill, 1911