Western Federation of Miners

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B>Western Federation of Miners</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id227.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michigan National Guard"><U>Michigan National Guard</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id228.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Italian Hall Tragedy"><U>Italian Hall Tragedy</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>Copper Country Reflections</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Copper Country Reflections"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id224.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Miners strike of 191314"><U><B>Miner's strike of 1913-14</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B><U>The Western Federation of Miners</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="55490560.jpg" border=0 width="144" height="86" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="5587e560.jpg" border=0 width="382" height="86" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>Shown above is the banner of the publication initiated by the WFM to keep it's members informed of the daily news (or propaganda) of the strike.</I></div> <bR> <div> The strike officially began July 23, 1913.  Represented by the Western Federation of Miners, the strikers were seeking shorter work days, improved wages for both miners and trammers, better working conditions, primarily the elimination of the one-man drill, and improved respect through the recognition of their union.</div> <bR> <div> There were a total of 5 locals established by the WFM: Hancock No.200, Calumet No.203, South Range No.196, Mass City No.215 and Keweenaw No.129.  By the beginning of the strike, the Union was recording total membership at just over 7,000 men.</div> <bR> <div> The first action of the strikers was to try and close the mines, and force the various companies to sit down and bargain.  They were successfully able to organize and apply some pressure, but with no great results.  Most of the photographs in this section deal with the great number of parades that took place by the miners and their families, and offer a view into some of the events of the summer of 1913.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Georgia Ref" >(See bottom of page)</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>This is the WFM union card of William Kolehmainen, initiated into the Hancock Copper Union No. 200, February 5, 1913</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="55cc08a0.jpg" border=0 width="192" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    <IMG SRC="55ebe8a0.jpg" border=0 width="190" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Here you can see some of the dues and strike assessment stamps that William paid for and had registered...</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="56091a70.jpg" border=0 width="401" height="423" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id230.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Strike parade"><U><IMG SRC="5e4c8770.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="119" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="5" VSPACE="5"></U></A> </FONT>Click <A HREF="id230.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Strike parade"><U><B>here</B></U></A> or on the image to the right to take a tour through a variety of exciting photographs that show the activities of the strikers throughout Calumet and the Copper Country. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Click on image...</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>