On this day in labor history, the year was 1907.
That was the day troops from the 22ndInfantry arrived in Goldfield, Nevada on orders from President Teddy Roosevelt
1,900 gold miners organized by the Western Federation of Miners were on strike.
They walked out in late November when cash-strapped mining operators began paying them in scrip.
Local 77 held considerable power in the mines and the town for two years.
They had won the eight-hour day both for their members and established it as an industrial standard throughout Goldfield.
By 1907, the mine operators and Nevada Governor John T. Sparks had had enough.
Wobblies were on trial elsewhere, falsely accused of murdering Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg for his role in the 1899 miners strike in Coeur D’Alene.
Many miners in Goldfield had been active in that strike.
Sparks feared that with no force capable of protecting the operators, another mine war was inevitable.
The mine owners convinced Sparks that miners were heavily armed and capable of dynamiting mine property.
At the same time, the operators tried to provoke Local 77 miners to engage in illegal activity for which they could then be arrested.
They also used the Financial Panic of 1907 to pay workers in scrip and as a pretext to smash the union, even though the gold standard remained relatively stable.
The owners made their moves.
They reduced wages and threatened workers with mass firings and strikebreakers.
But the union remained disciplined and peaceful during the strike.
It was clear by the following March, that the presence of federal troops gave the mine owners the impetus they needed to drive Local 77 members out of the mines and out of Goldfield.
March 20 - Another Deadly Explosion
March 19 - Wartime President Pushes for Labor Peace
March 18 - Wartime Workers Betrayed
March 17 - The Hoggs Hollow Tragedy
March 16 - Big Bill Haywood Talks General Strike
March 15 - The Grapes of Wrath Opens in Theaters
March 14 - Remembering Walter Crane
March 13 - Ending Jim Crow on the Job
March 12 - OSHA Safety Incentives
March 11 - Raising Conditions for an Industry
March 10 - Radium Girls
March 9 - Striking the Mines
March 8 - IBEW Strikes to Win
March 7 - Work Faster! Work Faster!
March 6 - International Unemployed Day
March 5 -Lordstown Syndrome
March 4 - Mismanagement Kills an Airline
March 3 - Wildcat Strikes Hit Chrysler and Briggs
March 2 - Greyhound Bus Strike Begins
March 1 - The Hoover Dam Goes Public
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