Today in labor history April 29, 1899: Members of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) seized a train, loaded it with 3,000 pounds of dynamite, and drove it into the Bunker Hill mine in Wardner, Idaho because the mine owners refused to respect their demand to hire only union men. They completely destroyed the $250,000 colliery. President McKinley responded by sending in black soldiers from Brownsville, Texas. He ordered them to round up the miners and imprison them in specially built "bullpens." From 1899 to 1901, the U.S. Army occupied most of the Coeur d'Alene mining region in Idaho. The WFM was led by Big Bill Haywood, who would go on to cofound the more radical IWW, in 1905, along with Mother Jones, Lucy Parsons, Eugene Debs, and others.
The queen of chaos returns!
Captain Planet (Dynamite Entertainment)
