Today in Labor History April 20, 1914: National Guards opened fire on a mining camp during a strike in Ludlow, Colorado, killing five miners, two women, and twelve children. By the end of the strike, they had killed more than 75 people. The strike involved 10,000 members of the united Mine Workers of America (UMW), 1,200 of whom had been living in the Ludlow tent colony. Many of the “Guards” were actually goons and vigilantes hired by the Ludlow Mine Field owner, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. During the assault, they opened fire on strikers and their families with machine guns and set fire to the camp.

Mining was (and still is) a dangerous job. At the time, Colorado miners were dying on the job at a rate of more than 7 deaths per 1,000 employees. The working conditions were not only unsafe, but terribly unfair, too. Workers were paid by the ton for coal that they extracted, but weren’t paid for so-called “dead work” like shoring up unstable roofs and tunnels. This system encouraged miners to risk their lives by ignoring safety precautions and preparations so that they would have more time to extract and deliver coal. Miners also lived in “company towns” where the boss not only owned their housing and the stores that supplied their food and clothing, but charged inflated prices for these services. Furthermore, the workers were paid in “scrip,” a currency that was valid only in the company towns. So even if workers had a way to get to another store, they had no money to purchase anything. Therefore, much of what the miners earned went back into the pockets of their bosses.

In the wake of the Ludlow Massacre, bands of armed miners attacked mine guards and anti-union establishments. In nearby Trinidad, they openly distributed arms from the UMWA headquarters. Over the next ten days, miners attacked mines, killing or driving off guards and scabs, and setting building on fire. They also fought sporadic skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard. In June of 1914, a number of anarchists decided to seek revenge on Rockefeller. Alexander Berkman (a friend, and former lover, of Emma Goldman) helped plan the assassination at the New York Ferrer Center. This was also the home to the anarchist Modern School, which Berkman helped create. However, the bomb exploded prematurely, killing three anarchists. These events led to infiltration of the school and center by undercover cops.

You can read my complete article on Ludlow and the Colorado Labor Wars here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/04/20/the-ludlow-massacre/

And my complete article on the Modern School Movement here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2022/04/30/the-modern-school-movement/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #ludlow #massacre #mining #vigilantes #rockefeller #anarchism #martiallaw #police #policebrutality #bomb #colorado #emmagoldman #alexanderberkman #umw #women #children

Today in Labor History April 3, 1891: Deputized members of the National Guard fired on immigrant strikers in the Morewood massacre, in Pennsylvania. They killed at least ten workers and injured dozens more. The workers were organized with the new United Mine Workers, and were fighting Henry Clay Frick, the same industrialist responsible for the massacre at Homestead the following year, and the man who anarchist Alexander Berkman attempted to assassinate, also in 1892.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #massacre #anarchism #alexanderberkman #HenryClayFrick #strike #umw #nationalguard #pennsylvania #mining #coal

Today In Labor History March 26, 1918: American anarchist Philip Grosser wrote about being tortured in the prison on Alcatraz Island, while serving time there for refusing to serve in World War I. By 1920, he was the only draft resistor still serving time at Alcatraz. Alexander Berkman referred to him as "one of [my] finest comrades."

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #philipgrosser #alexanderberkman #alcatraz #prison #torture #WarResistance #wwi #antiwar #writer #author #books #biography @bookstadon

RE: https://mastodon.social/@libertame_/116294983676634237

#Anarquismo #Leyendo #AlexanderBerkman #EmmaGoldman

Down With the Anarchists!

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alexander-berkman-and-emma-goldman-down-with-the-anarchists?v=1774387884
#EmmaGoldman #alexanderberkman #anarchism

Today in Labor History January 7, 1939: The authorities finally freed Tom Mooney, a labor activist who they wrongly convicted of murder in the San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing in July 1916, along with fellow labor organizer Warren Billings. They had been convicted based on the false testimony of Martin Swanson, a detective with a long history of interfering in San Francisco strikes. On this day in 1939, the governor granted Mooney an unconditional pardon after 22.5 years of incarceration. As a result of the bombing, 10 people died and 40 were injured. Not surprisingly, only anarchists were suspected in the bombing. A few days after the bombing, they searched and seized materials from the offices of “The Blast,” Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman’s local paper. Mooney and Billings were also members of the IWW.

You can read my full article on Tom Mooney here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/05/19/tom-mooney-and-warren-billings/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #TomMooney #anarchism #SanFrancisco #bombing #prison #IWW #EmmaGoldman #AlexanderBerkman #wwi

Today in Labor History October 26, 1889: The Ukrainian anarchist general Nestor Makhno was born in Huliaipole,. Makhno led a large insurrectionary army of peasants and helped defeat the reactionary White armies. His Black Army ultimately liberated and held onto the Free Territory within Ukraine, known as Makhnovia, from 1918 to 1921. It was a stateless, anarchist society that was defended by the Black Army. Roughly 7 million people lived in the area. The peasants who lived there refused to pay rent to the landowners and seized the estates and livestock of the church, state and private landowners, setting up local committees to manage them and share them among the various villages and communes of the Free State. His uprising was eventually crushed by Trotsky. Makhno died in exile in Paris, July 25, 1934.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #MestorMakhno #anarchism #ukraine #russia #communism #trotsky #alexanderberkman #Makhnovia #Revolution #insurrection

Today in Labor History October 17, 1939: Warren Billings, labor activist, and falsely imprisoned for the 1016 San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing, was finally released from Folsom Prison. As a result of the bombing, 10 people died and 40 were injured. Not surprisingly, only anarchists were suspected in the bombing. Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were both anarchists, and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). A few days after the bombing, they searched and seized materials from the offices of “The Blast,” Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman’s local paper. Billings and his codefendant Tom Mooney were wrongly convicted. They served 23 years in prison and were released in 1939. Governor Edmund G. Brown pardoned them in 1961. During the Spanish war against fascism (AKA the Spanish Civil War), many Americans volunteered to join the antifascist cause as part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigades. One of the battalions was named the Tom Mooney Machine-Gun Company. It was led by Oliver Law, a communist, and the first black man known to have commanded white U.S. troops.

Read my full article on Billings and Mooney here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/05/19/tom-mooney-and-warren-billings/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #prison #anarchism #tommooney #warrenbillings #sanfrancisco #emmagoldman #alexanderberkman #IWW #fascism #antifa #antifascism