- (no title)Richard Bensinger, another former AFL-CIO organizing director, said: “Win or lose they [the RWDSU] already won. The good thing is they jumped in feet first. They took on the most powerful, richest guy in...
- Letter from the ManagerUnion Brothers and Sisters, Welcome to our first digital newsletter! We want to provide access to our information and our stories in a more practical way, and we feel that distributing this out electronically...
- About Union OrganizingThe power of the union comes from the workers themselves banding together with co-workers to collectively represent the interests and needs of the workforce. The other power comes from the fact that the right...
- Crystal Lee, 2020 Abraham Chatman Scholarship WinnerWe are happy to announce that Crystal Lee, daughter Elijah Lee of Xerox, is the winner of the 2020 Abraham Chatman Scholarship. Crystal is attending RIT where she is majoring in Biotechnology and Molecular...
- COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATEDon’t let your guard down yet!By Dr. Joseph Nicholas Right now Western NY is entering a most difficult phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, with record numbers of people getting infected and getting hospitalized. Right...
- Union Staff at WorkThe union staff and members are at at work, serving the union community as always. They take masking and social distancing rules seriously and surfaces are wiped down. Thank you for all you do!
- Some Union History from Joyce Lindley
- Meet The CandidatesOn Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 9:30 On a brisk Autumn morning. A Meet and Greet the Candidates was held for Sarah Clark as your representative in New York State Assembly and Samra Brouk...
- An Opportunity to Meet the CandidatesFrom the WRO President, Ed Laughlin, This coming weekend Meet the Candidates on October 24 starting at 9:30 AM197 Willowen Drive Rochester, NY 14609Sarah Clark for Assembly and Samra Brouk for state Senate.Over 300...
- From Protest in Rochester, NYWorkers United Upstate’s Gary Bonadonna Jr. and Monika Shelton. #DanielPrude #BlackLivesMatter #WhichSideAreYouOn
- Photos from Rally at Vernon Downs and Tioga DownsTioga Downs and Vernon Downs workers are asking Governor Cuomo to re-open the casinos so that they can get back to work. Theses photos are from the rallies held simultaneously by the five state...
- Video Speeches from Black Lives Matter to UnionsSome speeches from the Black Lives Matter to Unions Rally hosted by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Facebook Feed
“Remember Ludlow!”![]()
![]()
In 1913, mine workers organized with the United Mine Workers went on strike against Rockefeller in the Colorado mountains. They fought for the eight-hour day, for safe working conditions, for an end to the company store system and better compensation, and, above all, for union recognition. They were met with brutal repression. Forced out of the company-owned houses they lived in, they set up tent colonies; union-busters mounted machine guns on cars and randomly fired into their tents at night. Many miners dug pits under their tents to attempt to protect themselves. This went on for some time, as the strikers tried to prevent the National Guard and hired gunmen from bringing in scabs and murdering their families.![]()
![]()
107 years ago today, the National Guard attacked the tent colony. In her autobiography, Mother Jones wrote that the miners “defended their home with their guns. All day long the firing continued. Men fell dead, their faces to the ground. Women dropped. The little Snyder boy was shot through the head, trying to save his kitten. A child carrying water to his dying mother was killed.”![]()
![]()
When night fell, the union-busters drenched the tents in kerosene and set fire to them; they prevented rescuers from entering to try to save the dying strikers and their families. Thirteen children burned to death in one of the pits dug under the tents.![]()
![]()
All this to prevent recognizing workers’ power and giving in to their demands.![]()
![]()
In the aftermath of Ludlow, one writer wrote of the National Guard presence in Colorado, “Peace can never be built on the foundation of Greed and Oppression. And the federal troops cannot change the system -- only the strikers can do that. And though they may lay down their arms for a time -- they will ‘Remember Ludlow!’”![]()
![]()
And so will we.