When the mine owners decided to extend the miners’ work day from 8 to 10 hours, without an increase in wages the miners became disgruntled. Mine owners retaliated against the miners by offering them to maintain their 8 hour day but decrease compensation from $3.00 a day to $2.50.
On February 7, 1894, a miners’ strike led by the Western Federation of Miners began in Cripple Creek. The strike escalated between February to April. In May, the mine owners raised a private army, and in response, the miners armed and organized themselves under the direction of Junius J. Johnson. They built a fort at Bull Hill, and further attacks were characterized by firefights and dynamite explosions. …show more content…
The Cripple Creek strike proved a major victory for the labor movement as a result the Western Federation of Miners gained considerable power and influence in the following years. It is the only strike to ever have the state militia to fight on the side of the