Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Western Federation of Miners



The Western Federation of Miners




History:

            The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was founded in 1893.  This organization was comprised of a labor union of hard rock and smelter miners based in the Western United States.  Some of the reasons that this Union was formed mainly lie in the worker’s frustrations and hardships they faced under employment of the mine owners.  On top of low pay, these workers faced dangerous working conditions, and minimal food rations.    To counteract these struggles, they knew that forming one unified voice was necessary for their demands to be heard both by the government and mine owners. 
Just as the saying goes, drastic times call for drastic measures, and radical measures were surely taken in the 1894 strike at Cripple Creek.  This five month strike was caused by the price of silver crashing and gold prices sky rocketing at the time. As a consequence, mine owners recruited more and more miners to compensate for the transition in work demand.  Working wages were lowered from $3 to $2.50, ten-twelve hour work days were implemented, and the danger in the mines inevitably increased.  Fed up with a situation that was already out of control, the Western Federation of Miners retaliated with firefights and dynamite in a strike at Cripple Creek.  The strike was only broken up after the State Militia was called in to the aid of the workers.  With that said, this strike is most known for being the only point in history where the government was at the defense of the workers and not the owners. 
Two years later, the strike of Leadville proved not so successful for the WFM.  With the overflowing of unattended pumps, the mine owners called in scabs to do the work that union miners wouldn’t.  As a result, the mines were back on track, and the labor union was abolished at the mines for the time being.  As history progressed, and working conditions worsened, a series of labor wars ensued.  These battles are referred to as the Colorado Labor Wars of 1904.  Later on, in 1916, the WFM changed its name to the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, AKA: Mine Mill.  With this in mind Mine Mill was on its way to rejuvenation in the New Deal.  The government was making an effort to work more closely with unions to gain their cooperation for the benefit of labor production and economic stability.  Though they were penalized during the Red Scare for communist leadership qualities, in 1967, the Mine Mill merged with the United Steel Workers of America to build a stronger organization. 



Relevance to Against the Day:
            As we know, the Western Federation of Miner’s involvement with the text is primarily represented by Webb Traverse and his associations.  Webb is first introduced on page 76 of the book, when he meets Merle Rideout.  Merle and Webb share an interest in alchemy, though Merle is paranoid about Webb’s intentions concerning the explosive properties of fulminating silver.  This introduction to explosives depicts Webb’s main goals as a radical union miner and Anarchist.  With that said, Webb refers to July 4th as “Dynamite’s National Holiday.”  Pynchon leads with this thought as he introduces another Anarchist: Veikko.  This man is described as a veteran of the Cripple Creek strike, well-known by the state militia, and quite a trouble seeker. When referring to mine owners, Veikko says, “We are their strength, without us they are impotent” (83).  In Veikko and Webb’s meeting, the two blow up a railroad bridge.  There is danger in blowing up a train itself or mine, the owner’s properties, because although it would be satisfying to kill some owners, they risk also killing workers or children as well.
Later in the text, Webb advocates the significance of the Western Federation of Miners to his children.  In pager 93 of the book, he pulls out his union card and reads a portion of its inscription: “Labor produces all wealth. Wealth belongs to the producer thereof.”  Webb stresses the importance of involving oneself in a cause that fights for your own liberation from a controlling force such as Capitalism.  He insists that it is necessary to take violent measures to fight this force when it comes to saving innocent lives from murder and robbery. 
In the second section of the text, a different take on the WFM is portrayed.  This is represented through characters like Lew Basnight.  This man is employed by a detective agency that works to investigate suspicious persons guilty of radical Anarchism.  It is interesting how Pynchon humanizes Lew to the plights of union miners when Lew fantasizes about attacking “the next silk hat he sees.”  With that said, Lew points out the constantly changing loyalties of men supportive of the “Powers.”  Deuce Kindred thus represents the deception the miners faced when getting caught by the other side.  Deuce was described as an informant for the Owners Association, a sort of hired thug.  In the text, he leads Webb to believe that he is a miner just like him, learns his secrets, and then brings him down.  Thugs like Deuce were known to violently beat and murder strikers just as he does with Webb.


Sources: