Dramatic, Dark Moments in US Labor History
American labor history has had some dark moments, most notably the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911 that claimed 146 lives, and the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado in 1914.
During a labor strike by 8000 coal miners angry about low pay, long and unregulated hours, and management practices they felt were corrupt, the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel and Iron Company guards attacked a tent colony of 1,200 strikers and their families with machine guns. At least 21 people, including miners’ wives and children, were killed, at least 66 people total, including the riot that followed.
By modern standards, the workers’ demands were modest: a 10 percent pay raise, the enforcement of an eight-hour working day, and
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