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:
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