On this day in 1898, the Battle of Virden began when armed members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) surrounded a train full of strikebreakers and exchanged fire with company guards. 13 people were killed, dozens more wounded.
After a local chapter of the UMW began striking at a mine in Virden, Illinois, the Chicago-Virden Coal Company hired black strikebreakers from Birmingham, Alabama and shipped them to Virden by train.
The company hired armed detectives or security guards to accompany the strikebreakers, and an armed conflict broke out when armed miners surrounded the train as it arrived in town. A total of four detectives and seven striking mine workers were killed, with five guards, thirty miners, and an unrecorded number of strikebreakers wounded.
After this incident, Illinois Governor John Tanner ordered the National Guard to prevent any more strikebreakers from coming into the state by force. The next month, the Chicago-Virden Coal Company relented and allowed the unionization of its workers.
"When the last call comes for me to take my final rest, will the miners see that I get a resting place in the same clay that shelters the miners who gave up their lives on the hills of Virden, Illinois...They are responsible for Illinois being the best organized labor state in America."
Mother Jones
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
- 📀 Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube
- 🔥 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread
- ⚔ Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread
- ✨ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread
- 👊 Share your gains and goals with your comrades in the New Weekly Improvement thread
reminders:
- 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
- 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
Do insurance payouts require building/buying home in same place? Maybe some small agitation that this would only get worse will drive some people out of there, taking with them some part of the retiree economy (although old people can be stubborn)
I'm not sure.
I was groggy and it took me a few minutes to figure out your second sentence lol
I think agitation is probably a good idea, but those who don't have the means to move would still be unable to move. And I worry that if rich people are provoked into moving too soon, it could decimate what little savings disadvantaged people currently have tied up in real estate, making the situation that much more difficult for them.
Maybe i have slightly perverted view of florida, but i thought substantial part of florida is retirees (who, in insurance scheme, will get lump sum to move) and young people caring for them (thus renting). I mean if your real estate is gone, you aren't exactly tied up by it
Florida has a lot of retirees but they don't own most of the real estate value or act as the basis of the economy afaik. Many service workers rent but not all of them do, plus there's things like potential inheritances (like family homes) to consider for those who have been in the area for more than one generation. There's a lot of complicating factors that could cause things to take a turn for the worse imo.
Which is just to say, I'm not willing to put money on it all working out so simply and efficiently. But maybe it would. And maybe I'm over-thinking it.