You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Wednesday September 23, 1903
Cripple Creek District, Colorado - All Finns Imported as Strikebreakers Have Escaped
All of the Finns who were imported as strikebreakers last week have now managed to escape from the clutches of the military and the mine owners' gunthugs. They worked under the bayonets of the soldiers, and were forced to scab, but, to their credit, these imported strike breakers were not born to be scabs. They have been provided transportation out of the strike zone by the Western Federation of Miners.
Another rebellious worker, however, was not so lucky. Near the Strong Mine a sentry saw movement in the dark and hollered, "halt." When the the movement did not cease as commanded, the sentry opened fire. Soon all hell broke loose as other sentries joined in, firing off twenty-five shots in all. The movement in the dark turned out to be a burro, now quite dead. Bullets also came flying into two nearby houses, but we are relieved to report that none of the occupants were injured. We cannot say whether the burro was trying to make his escape, or only lost and wandering about. But the incident does point to the risks taken by those attempting to escape from the mining camps of the Cripple Creek District.
SOURCE
The Cripple Creek Strike
-by Emma F Langdon
(Part I, 1st pub 1904)
NY, 1969
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Tuesday September 23, 1913
The Southern Coalfield, Colorado - Mass Evictions from Company Towns Now Underway
The strike call went out from the Special Convention of District 15 of the United Mine Workers of America last week and today the miners are answering that call. Mass evictions from the company towns are now under way. It is expect that, by nightfall there will be more than 12,000 miners ousted from the shacks which the coal companies provide as homes. The wives and children of the miners could bring the total number of people evicted to about 20,000.
There are reports of company gunthugs kicking in doors, and throwing the furniture and other belongs of the families into the muddy streets. A cold rain has been falling, and threatens to turn into snow later on today. Some of the miners have secured wagons; others do the best they can with push carts to make their way down the canyons to their new homes, the tent cities erected by the UMW on the plains below.
The union has established tent colonies at various location such as Walsenburg, Aguilar, Forbes, and Ludlow. The tents have wooden flooring and stoves for cooking and heating. The miners and their families are arriving cold and wet with frightened little children in tow.
Ludlow Tent Coloney
Meanwhile, Rockefeller's Colorado Fuel and Iron Company has opened an office in Denver where Detective Reno is busy hiring gunmen. We have reports that fifty were recently hired, and Reno brags that:
We'll hire 200 more at least to supplement the men we have.
Reno has ordered an armored automobile which will be built in the company's steel plant in Pueblo. It will be equipped with a machine gun and is intended for use in the strike zone.
SOURCE
Out of the Depths
Barron B. Beshoar
(1st ed 1942)
CO, 1980
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Monday September 23, 2013
From Aljazeera.com "Factories ablaze as Bangladesh workers rally."
Workers clash with police and put factories on fire as thousands go on strike, demanding increase in minimum wage.
Thousands of workers in Bangladesh have protested to demand a $100-a-month minimum wage, forcing hundreds of garment factories to shut down for the day.
Workers took to the streets for a third day on Monday, blocking major roads and attacking vehicles in the Gazipur and Savar industrial zones, on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka.
Abdul Baten, police chief of the Gazipur industrial district, which is home to hundreds of factories, told the AFP news agency that "up to 200,000 workers" had joined the latest demonstrations.
Read full article here:
http://www.aljazeera.com/...
"Our backs are against the wall, so we don't have any alternative unless we raise our voice strongly," Nazma Akter, president of the United Garments Workers' Federation.
Please note: attempting to link to Unions in Bangladesh is difficult. The report below does give some information on Unions for Garment Workers in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Country Study 2013
-by Fair Wear Foundation
pdf! http://www.fairwear.org/...
Fair Wear Foundation
http://www.fairwear.org/...
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The Workers Song-Dropkick Murphys
And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
Who's given a gun and then pushed to the fore
And expected to die for the land of our birth
Though we've never owned one lousy handful of earth?