November 1897 proclamation
Encyclopedia
The November 1897 proclamation of the State Trades and Labor Council of Montana was a reflection of western labor's assessment of the struggle between labor and capital after the failed Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike
. The proclamation, and the impetus behind it had a significant impact on the labor movement in the United States, Canada, and other countries for a period of several decades.
(WFM), declared a strike over wage cuts in the Leadville mining district
in 1896. The CCMU wasn't adequately prepared for the opposition that it faced from the Mine Owners' Association
and its allies. The defeat prompted the WFM to rethink its goals, its methods, and its ideology.
By 1895, the BMU and other labor affiliates had formed the statewide State Trades and Labor Council in Montana. Butte's labor-management harmony lasted through much of the 1890s, but did not survive the industrial consolidations that arrived with the turn of the century.
were described as having an "incapacity" to assist labor organizations in the West. The proclamation described "an absolute rejection" of the American Federation of Labor
, of its conservative philosophy and its complacent demeanor. The proclamation proposed organizing western laborers and western unions into a new federation. The new federation was necessary to reflect the growing class consciousness
of many Western labor organizations and their members.
in 1898, the Western Federation of Miners
and other labor organizations founded the Western Labor Union
and subsequently, in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World
.
Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike
Silver was discovered in Leadville, Colorado in the 1870s, initiating the Colorado Silver Boom. The Leadville miners' strike in 1896-97 occurred during, and as a result of, rapid industrialization and consolidation of the mining industry. Mine owners had become more powerful, and they resolved not...
. The proclamation, and the impetus behind it had a significant impact on the labor movement in the United States, Canada, and other countries for a period of several decades.
The Leadville miners' strike
The Cloud City Miners' Union (CCMU), Local 33 of the Western Federation of MinersWestern Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
(WFM), declared a strike over wage cuts in the Leadville mining district
Leadville mining district
The Leadville mining district was the most productive silver-mining district in the US state of Colorado. It is located immediately east of the town of Leadville....
in 1896. The CCMU wasn't adequately prepared for the opposition that it faced from the Mine Owners' Association
Mine Owners' Association
In the United States a Mine Owners' Association, also sometimes referred to as a Mine Operators' Association or a Mine Owners' Protective Association, is the combination of individual mining companies, or groups of mining companies, into an association, established for the purpose of promoting the...
and its allies. The defeat prompted the WFM to rethink its goals, its methods, and its ideology.
History
The Butte Miners' Union (BMU) was Local Number One of the Western Federation of Miners. The BMU dominated the WFM in its early days, but control later passed to Colorado. While the WFM developed a reputation for radical politics and militancy in Idaho and Colorado, labor relations in Montana were more amicable.By 1895, the BMU and other labor affiliates had formed the statewide State Trades and Labor Council in Montana. Butte's labor-management harmony lasted through much of the 1890s, but did not survive the industrial consolidations that arrived with the turn of the century.
The proclamation
The 1897 proclamation argued that the old form of labor organization could not compete with "plutocracy". It declared that employers' interests were "always antagonizing" toward organized labor. Labor organizations in the eastern part of North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
were described as having an "incapacity" to assist labor organizations in the West. The proclamation described "an absolute rejection" of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
, of its conservative philosophy and its complacent demeanor. The proclamation proposed organizing western laborers and western unions into a new federation. The new federation was necessary to reflect the growing class consciousness
Class consciousness
Class consciousness is consciousness of one's social class or economic rank in society. From the perspective of Marxist theory, it refers to the self-awareness, or lack thereof, of a particular class; its capacity to act in its own rational interests; or its awareness of the historical tasks...
of many Western labor organizations and their members.
Text of the proclamation
To: Organized Labor Throughout the West:
Greeting—Believing that the time has arrived when an epoch will be marked in the history of labor, and believing that the necessities of the times as evidenced in recent developments emphasizes the fact that the old form of organization is unable to cope with the recent aggressions of plutocracy . . . ; and feeling the incapacity of organized labor of the east to aid us any in resisting these threatened encroachments . . . therefore the State Trades and Labor Council of Montana . . . would urge the necesity of concentrating and consolidating our forces, and would urge the organization under one head, of all unions west of . . . the Mississippi river . . . as at present our force and our means is dissipated, availing us but little. By combining our expense and our efforts to the support of one organization we concentrate our strength and strengthen our resources; furthermore we dissociate ourselves from . . . the older organizations and insure a unity and harmony of purpose among ourselves.
In the west nature has located its great mine of wealth, here are unlimited and varied natural resources. In the east society has located a class who subsist upon our revenues, and a class not alone who have no interest in, but rather one always antagonizing our interests, successful too often in defeating our purposes through their influence exerted at the ballot over the unorganized, uneducated labor they employ. . . .
Endorsed and referred to executive committee with instructions to forward the idea with all possible speed.
—State Trades and Labor Council of Montana, "Proposition to Organize a Western Federation for the Benefit of Western Unions," November 27, 1897
The new federations
In Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
in 1898, the Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
and other labor organizations founded the Western Labor Union
Western Labor Union
The Western Labor Union was a labor federation created by the Western Federation of Miners after the disastrous Leadville strike of 1896-97. The WLU was conceived in November, 1897 in a proclamation of the State Trades and Labor Council of Montana, and gained support from the WFM's executive...
and subsequently, in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
.