Labor history Sept 10 oldest union on record in Minneapolis, deputies gunned down 19 striking miners

[Omaha Steve]

September 10

September 10, 1859 - The oldest union on record in Minneapolis, the Minneapolis and St. Anthony Typographical Union No. 42, was chartered. Read more about the union label at http://www.docspopuli.org/articles/UnionBug.html

Polish, Lithuanian and Slovak miners are gunned down—19 dead, more than 50 wounded—by the Lattimer Mine's sheriff deputies in Hazelton, Pa. Most were shot in the back. The miners were marching peacefully and without weapons for collective bargaining and civil liberty - 1897

And this: September 10, 1897 - A sheriff and deputies in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, gunned down 19 striking miners and wounded 40 others during a peaceful protest. Mining was difficult, dangerous work. Hundreds were killed in accidents each year because mine owners refused to spend the money to install sound scaffolding, pumps, ventilation or emergency exits. Men labored from dawn to dusk in the mines for only a few dollars a week. Thousands of children also were employed. These "breaker boys" separated slate from the coal as it poured down the chutes in the breakers. Their lives were often shortened by accidents and exposure to coal dust.

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_09_10_2011