“Bury me with my boys in Mt. Olive, and let no traitor draw breath over my grave.”
Such was the last wish of labor leader Mother Jones.
She wanted her final resting to place to be alongside the coal miners who gave their lives in the struggle to bring fair wages and a safe working environment to Virden, Illinois.
On this day in Labor History, the year was 1898.
Members of the newly formed United Mine Workers of America were out on strike against the Chicago-Virden Coal Company Mine.
They demanded the company pay the new mining wage scale of 40 cents per ton of coal mined.
The company refused.
Worried that management would try to sneak in replacement workers, the striking men patrolled the train tracks leading to the mine.
Both black and white strikers joined the lookout parties.
Just a little after noon that fateful day, the men spotted a train coming toward them.
It was loaded with strike breakers, African American workers recruited from Alabama.
Looking to escape the oppression of the South, the black workers had not been told about the labor unrest in Virden.
Many refused to work for the company once they learned the truth.
The train was also packed with armed guards hired by the company.
Determined not to let the replacement workers through, armed strikers met the train at a depot.
A gun battle ensued. Eight miners were killed. Four armed guards also died.
A month later the union won its wage demands.
Three of the union men who lost their lives, were laid to rest at the Mt. Olive Union Miners Cemetery.
It was these men who Mother Jones loved as her “her boys.”
Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show