On This Day In Alabama History: Mine Workers Went On Strike

Alabama News Center | July 8, 2018 @ 5:00 am

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff

July 8, 1908

After years of escalating tensions over pay, miners in the greater Birmingham area took a stand. United Mine Workers District 20 had more than 20,000 members, and on July 8, 1908 declared a strike against U.S. Steel, which had just purchased the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail Company (TCI). TCI led other operators in a sharp pay cut, and on that first day more than 4,000 miners stayed off the job and protested visibly. Evicted from company housing, thousands were staying in tent cities. The strike garnered national attention, but Gov. Braxton Bragg Comer called on the military to cut down the tents, and the strike ended unsuccessfully at the end of August.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.

Please visit Alabama News Center for the Full Article

Tags: exp8

Category: ALL POSTS, Partner News Stories

About the Author (Author Profile)

Alabama News Center tels the stories of the people and businesses powering the states of Alabama, striving to make Alabama a wonderful place to live and work.