minewar.org documenting the 1930's Illinois Mine War
Posts Tagged ‘Wilsonville’
Sit-Down In Wilsonville ~ Part II
One might wonder, why don’t workers use sit-down strikes today? As I pointed out in an earlier post, sit-down strikes were an extremely effective way for workers to gain leverage at the point of production and win concessions. Yet today strikes are quite rare and sit-downs are nearly non-existent in the U.S. The reason for […]
Sit-Down In Wilsonville
The 74th anniversary of the 1937 Wilsonville Sit-Down Strike is quickly approaching and merits attention. While many labor actions are spurred by the struggle for better wages or working conditions, this strike was set in motion for a different reason. In his memoirs Jack Battuello recalls: “Whenever they mechanized a mine with one type of […]
Mine War Site ~ Superior No. 4
Former site of Superior Mine No. 4 in Wilsonville, IL. On May 21, 1937, 540 PMA miners called an underground sit-down strike. The week-long strike was called to protect “share of time” provisions. The striking miners demanded the right to protect one another from the loss of jobs caused by mechanization. If full-time workers could […]