You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
Tuesday August 11, 1903
Cripple Creek, Colorado - The Official Strike Call by the Western Federation of Miners
This is a copy of the official strike notice issued by the Western Federation of Miners which called the miners out on strike yesterday:
The Call
All members of the Western Federation of Miners and all employees in and about the mines of the Cripple Creek district are hereby requested not to report for wok Monday morning, August 10, 1903, except on properties shipping ore to the Economic mill, the Dorcas mill at Florence and the Cyanide mills of the district.
BY ORDER OF DISTRICT UNION NO. 1.
The W.F. of M. issued the following statement regarding the necessity of calling the miners out on strike:
Manger MacNeil's refusal to treat with us left us nothing to do but to order a strike and in so doing we adopted the only plan which promises certain success. In our proposals to him no mention was made of his failure to re-employ men who went out in the former strike, as he had agreed. we confined ourselves strictly to the question as to whether he was willing to pay the union wages demanded by his striking employees, and when he absolutely refused to do so or to recognize us in any way, our mission was ended.
SOURCE
The Cripple Creek Strike
-by Emma F Langdon
(1st pub, 1904)
NY, 1969
Monday August 11, 1913
Marysville, California - Some causes of the trouble at Durst Ranch in Wheatland
Looking to employ only about 1500 hop-pickers, the millionaire Durst Brothers, nevertheless, advertised in California, Oregon and Nevada that they had work for twice that many. About 2,800 workers showed up at the ranch. They were men, women, and children, of many different nationalities: Syrian, Mexican, Hawaiian, Japanese, Lithuanian , Italian, Greek, Polish, Hindu, Cuban, and Puerto Rican. In all, about 27 different languages were spoken.
Most of them were out of luck. There was no work to be had, and, therefore, no housing, no food, and the money spent on transportation gone for naught.
For those who did find work, the wages offered turned out to be a lie. 10% of wages are held back until the end of the season, but forfeited if they can not finish the season for any reason. Most hop ranches pay an average of $3.00 per day. The Durst Ranch rarely pays more than $1.50 per day, for a 12-hour day.
Tomorrow we will cover camp conditions.
And in Calumet, Michigan, Mother Jones marched yesterday with local leaders of the Western Federations of Miners and striking copper miners:
SOURCE
History of the Labor Movement in the United States
The Industrial Workers of the World 1905-1917
-by Philip S Foner
International Pub, 1965
Hellraisers Journal on vacation!
Hellraisers will appear in abbreviated form until Sept 2nd for a vacation of sorts. A total vacation is not possible since the capitalist never took any time off in their suppression of the U.S.labor movement.
Solidarity,
JayRaye