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Hellraisers Journal – Thursday July 29, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Conditions No Longer Endurable
From the Duluth Labor World of July 24, 1909:
STEEL STRIKERS ARE DETERMINED TO WIN
—–
Hideous Brutality of Pressed Steel Car Company
Almost Surpasses Belief.
—–CONDITION OF EMPLOYES NO LONGER ENDURABLE
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Startling Revelations Made by
Ex-Coroner Armstrong of Pittsburg.
—–In spite of the fact that news dispatches from the Pittsburg strike district all emanate from prejudicial sources, enough has leaked out to reveal the exceptionally villainous character of the management of the Pressed Steel Car Company.
By Coroner Armstrong.
Some of the facts stated by Mr. Armstrong are as follows:
Sufficient care has not always been exercised by those running the plant. The Pressed Steel Car Company kills at its works one man per cay on an average. Those running the plant didn’t care much whether they killed a few “hunkies ” or not. The company had a sort of insurance that was very dangerous to human life, since it let the company out of all damages for deaths from injuries and permitted it to become very careless. Soon after becoming coroner he was compelled to place six or seven men high in the company under arrest in order to compel them to give him information regarding deaths in the plant. He made it so hot for the company that it was compelled to take some precautions, and its death roll was, in consequence, reduced about 65 per cent.
According to the Pittsburg evening papers one of the mills has long been known as the “slaughter house” because so many men were killed there. Another plant bears the inviting name of the “last chance,” for no man ever seeks work in that mill if he has a chance on earth outside-a magnificent illustration, by the way, of the bountiful opportunities which this marvelously rich country holds out to all men.
Statement by Strikers.
The strikers have issued a statement of their grievances setting forth their pay checks in extenso and calling upon the American people to investigate their charges and see how they are being treated. These checks show a strange situation-in some instances the workmen are paid as low as two cents an hour for their work, the check being numbered, say, 8014, and the pay for forty-five hours work being 90 cents. The average pay seems to be about 11½ cents an hour, but there are many instances where it goes below 10 cents.
The Strikers Appeal.
Referring to this system the strikers’ statement says:
Is it possible to live on such wages in a decent manner and provide for a family?
Under the present conditions this is impossible, and if any person can show us how a man and family can exist on such wages, we are willing to obey all the rules of the company and return to work.
The methods of paying are scandalous, and every one familiar with the proceedings feels only contempt for the men who direct the affairs of the company.
We shall fight to a finish, as it is our right.
We shall not make concessions, and fear no threats of the company. We promise that during this fight between labor and capital we shall conduce ourselves peacefully, and we beg all the workingmen and citizens to help us in our victory,.
Do not listen to false and lying reports.
Help the workers in this struggle, for this is not a fight only for ourselves, but also to save our wives and children from starvation.
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[First photograph and emphasis added.]
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SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III
https://www.iww.org/history/library/MotherJones/autobiography/3
The Labor World
(Duluth, Minnesota)
-July 24, 1909
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78000395/1909-07-24/ed-1/seq-1/
Note: Sadly, the photos that came with the article could not be much improved from online source.
IMAGES
McKees Rocks Strike, Armed Deps, State Troops, Albq Ctz p1, July 19, 1909
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020616/1909-07-19/ed-1/seq-1/
McKees Rocks Strike, Pressed Steel Car Co v Strikers, LW p1, July 24, 1909
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78000395/1909-07-24/ed-1/seq-1/
See also:
Tag: McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike of 1909
https://weneverforget.org/tag/mckees-rocks-pressed-steel-car-strike-of-1909/
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There Is Power in a Union – Billy Bragg
“Money speaks for money, the devil for his own
But who comes to speak for the skin and the bone?”