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
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I dunno entirely about Amerikkka and you guys have really lax pharmaceutical laws it seems but at least in KKKlanada, the bran names HAVE to be the exact same as the generics. My mom worked in a pharmacy as her only job ever, from 18 to 59 when she retired (she got a pretty sweet deal) so I always knew drugs by their real names cause we’d get generics at a huge discount compared to buying branded otc meds. When people use the brand names it always confuses me and also it’s not specific. Like wtf do you mean when you say an Advil cause there’s 2 typed of advice and one is acetaminophen and if I recall the other is naproxen. That can make a huge difference for a guy who should never take acetaminophen