Mining in Idaho - Coeur D'Alene, Idaho Labor Strike of 1892, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho Labor Confrontation of 1899, Coeur D'Alene Miners' Dispute (Paperback)

Chapters: Coeur D'alene, Idaho Labor Strike of 1892, Coeur D'alene, Idaho Labor Confrontation of 1899, Coeur D'alene Miners' Dispute, Burke-Canyon. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 30. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: There were two related incidents between miners and mine owners in Coeur d'Alene: the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892, and the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899. The strike of 1892 erupted in violence when union miners discovered they had been infiltrated by a Pinkerton agent who had routinely provided union information to the mine owners. The response to that violence, disastrous for the local miners' union, became the primary motivation for the formation of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) the following year. The confrontation of 1899 resulted from the miners' frustrations with mine operators that paid lower wages; hired Pinkerton or Thiel operatives to infiltrate the union; and routinely fired any miner who held a union card. Shoshone County, Idaho area miners organized into several local unions during the 1880s. Mine owners responded by forming a Mine Owners' Association. In 1891, silver/lead ore worth nine million dollars had been shipped out of the Coeur d'Alene mining district, plus a quarter million dollars worth of gold bullion. Mine owners were making fortunes, but hardrock miners and common laborers were not. Then mine operators got into a dispute with the railroads which had raised rates for hauling ore. Mine operators also introduced hole-boring machines into the mines. The new machines displaced single-jack and double-jack miners, forcing the men into new, lower-paid jobs as trammers or muckers. Mine operators found a reduction in wages the easiest way to mitigate increased costs. After the machines were installed, the mi...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=2198947