1894 Bituminous coal miners' strike

Labor dispute in the United States September 2011 Bituminous coal miners' strike 180,000 United States 1894 ~5 The bituminous coal miners' strike was an unsuccesfull national eight-week strike by miners of bituminous coal in the United States, which began on April 21, 1894.1894-04-12 GIGANTIC MINERS' STRIKE ORDERED.; Over 200,000 Men in Eleven States May Quit Work April 21. https://www.nytimes.com/1894/04/12/archives/gigantic-miners-strike-ordered-over-200000-men-in-eleven-states-may.html 2024-05-04 The New York Times 8 en-US 0362-4331 The panic of 1893 hit the coal mining industry particularly hard. Wage cuts in the industry began immediately, and wages were slashed again in early 1894. By the late spring of 1894, the United Mine Workers, which had a mere $2,600 in its treasury and a paid membership of 13,000, called a general strike in the bituminous coal mining industry. The demand was for wages to return to the level they were at on May 1, 1893. Initially, the strike was a major success. More than 180,000 miners in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia struck. In Illinois, 25,207 miners went on strike, while only 610 continued to work through the strike, with the average Illinois miner out of work for 72 days because of the strike.https://books.google.com/books?id=mhYAAAAAMAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA5&pg=RA1-PA5 The Coal Miners Strike – 1894, Coal in Illinois, 13th Annual Report of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1894 1895 The Bureau Springfield, Illinois 1895 Appendix pages 5–26, see particularly Table III. en But the mine owners were unwilling and/or unable to restore wages. Some owners adjusted wages slightly upward, but most refused to budge. In some areas of the country, violence erupted between strikers and mine operators or between striking and non-striking miners. On May 23 near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 15 guards armed with carbines and machine guns maliciously attacked a group of 1500 strikers, killing 5 and wounding 8.Stead W. T. https://books.google.com/books?id=jpHQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA69 Incidents of Labor War in America, The Contemporary Review July 1894 A. Strahan 65–74 en On May 24 and 25 in LaSalle, Illinois, a firefight erupted between strikers and 40 sheriff's deputies. The deputies eventually ran out of ammunition and were forced to flee, most of them wounded.Plumbe George Edward https://books.google.com/books?id=fRR_mxkNlsgC&pg=PA78 The Great Coal Strike, The Daily News Almanac and Political Register for 1895 Langland James Pike Claude Othello Chicago Daily News Company 1895 77–78 en The situation in LaSalle remained tense into early July, when a posse of 60 well-armed men was raised to fend off a force of 2000 miners.1894-07-09 TROUBLE WITH COAL STRIKERS.; Dynamite and Fire in Pennsylvania -- Bad Situation at La Salle, Ill. https://www.nytimes.com/1894/07/09/archives/trouble-with-coal-strikers-dynamite-and-fire-in-pennsylvania-bad.html 2024-05-04 The New York Times 8 en-US 0362-4331 On June 13 in McLainesville, Ohio (west of Bellaire), strikers armed with stones and clubs clashed with National Guard troops.1894-06-14 COAL STRIKE MAY CONTINUE.; But Few Miners Willing to Accept Lower Wages. https://www.nytimes.com/1894/06/14/archives/coal-strike-may-continue-but-few-miners-willing-to-accept-lower.html 2024-05-04 The New York Times 4 en-US 0362-4331 In Iowa, the National Guard was mobilized to protect miners in Givens and Muchakinock who had not joined the strike.Goodspeed Weston Arthur https://books.google.com/books?id=VRgVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA170 The Province and the States: A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, and of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom: Iowa Chapter VIII, Events from Jackson to Cummins, The Province and the States, Vol. V. Western Historical Association 1904 170 enhttps://books.google.com/books?id=GG1JAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA419 The National Guard – Iowa's Splendid Militia, The Midland Monthly, Vol. II, No. 5 1894 J. Birgham November 1894 419 enAssembly Iowa General https://books.google.com/books?id=xDbOAkGni7IC&pg=RA4-PA18 Service at Muchakinock and Evans, in Mahaska County, During the Coal Miners' Strike, Report of the Adjutant-General to the Governor of the State of Iowa for Biennial Period Ending Nov. 30, 1895, Conway. 1896 Des Moines 1895 18 en As the depression deepened, the miners were unable to hold out. By late June, almost all the miners had returned to work. The strike shattered the United Mine Workers. A year after the strike, the union's secretary-treasurer wrote to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), declaring, 'The National is busted...' The union almost ceased to exist. It suspended publication of its newsletter and ceased paying per capita dues to the AFL. It would be a quarter of a century before John L. Lewis would turn the Mine Workers into a successful union again. References Further reading Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement in the United States: From the Founding of the A.F. of L. to the Emergence of American Imperialism. 2nd ed. New York: International Publishers, Co., 1975. 0-7178-0388-0 Jensen, Richard. The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896 (1971) online Organized labour Category:Coal Wars Category:Labor disputes led by the United Mine Workers of America Category:1894 labor disputes and strikes Category:1894 in the United States Category:Coal mining in Appalachia Category:Labor disputes in Pennsylvania Category:Labor disputes in Illinois Category:Miners' labor disputes in the United States Category:Labor disputes in Ohio Category:Labor relations in Ohio Category:Riots and civil disorder in Pennsylvania Category:Riots and civil disorder in Illinois Category:Riots and civil disorder in Ohio Category:1890s strikes in the United States