208
208 ON
208 ON THIS LABOR DAY, A DAY DEDICATED TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
AMERICAN WORKER.
OUR NEXT DOOR
NEIGHBOR, OREGON --
WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST
STATE IN THE UNION TO
PASS A LAW RECOGNIZING
LABOR DAY.
THAT WAS IN 1887.
FOUR MORE STATES
FOLLOWED SUIT THAT
YEAR.
BY 1894, 23 MORE STATES
HAD ADOPTED THE
HOLIDAY.
AND ON JUNE 28, 1894 -
CONGRESS PASSED AN
ACT MAKING THE FIRST
MONDAY IN SEPTEMBER A
LEGAL HOLIDAY.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME
WHEN AMERICA WAS
BEGINNING TO FORMALLY
CELEBRATE
CELEBRATE THE WORKER -- IDAHO WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A LABOR
UPRISING IN NORTH
IDAHO.
BETWEEN 1892 AND 1902
-- IDAHO EXPERIENCED
SOME OF ITS MOST
VIOLENT LABOR
STRUGGLES IN ITS
HISTORY.
AND WE WERE IN THE
MIDDLE OF AN ECONOMIC
RECESSION.
THEY REFERRED TO IT AS
'THE INSURRECTION IN
SHOSHONE
SHOSHONE COUNTY.' BRIAN HAS A LOOK BACK...
"THE STATE OF IDAHO
WASN'T NECESSARILY
KNOWN FOR ITS LABOR
DISPUTES BUT THIS IS
MOST DEFINITELY ITS
BIGGEST ONE."
AND IT HAD TO DO WITH
IDAHO'S BIGGEST AND
OLDEST INDUSTRY.
"SOME OF THE EARLIEST
ORGANIZED LABOR
EFFORST STARTED IN
OWYHEE COUNTY IN THE
1860S AND WE HAD SOME
WORK IN THAT ERA
LEADING UP TO THE 1890S
IN THE RAILROADS, TIMBER
BUT MINING WAS REALLY
THE SPECIFIC INDUSTRY
THAT ORGANIZED LABOR
EMERGED."
BETWEEN 1863 AND 1866
IDAHO PRODUCED AS
MUCH AS 19 PERCENT OF
US GOLD
BY THE 1880S...THE
MINING OF METAL
CONCENTRATED IN THE
COEUR D'ALENE
REGION...WITH LEAD-
SILVER YIELDS TOTALLING
$4-MILLION BY 1890.
LABOR UNIONS, ALREADY
IN PLACE ...WERE ABOUT
TO BE TESTED.
THEY HAD HELPED
ESTABLISH A UNIFORM PAY
RATE OF $3.50 FOR A 10-
HOUR WORK DAY...BUT BY
MARCH OF 1892 THE
RAILROADS RAISED THEIR
RATES TO HAUL PRODUCT.
SO MINEOWNERS
DECIDED TO THEY WERE
GOING TO LOWER THE
RATE FOR SOME WORKERS
BY 50-CENTS A DAY
"AND THE MINERS SAID
WHAT?"
"THE MINERS WERE NOT
HAPPY WITH THIS THERE
HAD BEEN EFFORTS TO
ORGANIZE BEFORE THIS
...AND SO IN TH ESPRING
OF THAT YEAR SEVERAL
UNION MINE WORKERS
COMMANDEERED A TRAIN
IN GEM IDHAO."
THEY TOOK THAT TRAIN
TO WARDNER
THEY TOOK THAT TRAIN
TO WARDNER
"BASICALLY A SHOOT OUT
OCCURED AND THE
SHOOTOUT ULTIMATELY
LED TO A DISASTER AT THE
FRISCO MILL IN
WARDNER."
FORCING GOVERNOR N.B
WILLEY
WILLEY TO
WILLEY TO DECLARE MARTIAL LAW. THE ORGANIZERS OF THE
TRAIN HEIST...WERE
BROUGHT TO BOISE TO
AWAIT TRIAL.
"AND WHILE THEY WERE
AWAITING TRIAL MANY OF
THEM ENDED UP
FORMULATING IDEAS TO
CREATE KIND OF AN EVEN
LARGER UNION AND THAT
WAS THE WESTERN
FEDERATION OF MINERS
AND THEY ENDED UP
DEVELOPING A CHAPTER
IN THE SHOSHONE
DISTRICT."
DISTRICT."
"AND
"AND IT
"AND IT ENDED UP BEING ONE OF THE LARGEST UNIONS IN THE CDA,
SHOSHONE COUNTY
AREA."
MEANWHILE...OPERATIONS
AREA." MEANWHILE...OPERATIONS RETURNED TO SOMEWHAT
NORMAL UP NORTH...AND
MINE OWNERS
MINE OWNERS
CONTINUED
CONTINUED TO CURTAIL ORGANIZED LABOR EFFORTS FOR PAY AND
PROTECTIONS.
EVEN AFTER THE
POPULIST, PRO-LABOR
CANDIDATE FRANK
STEUNENBERG WAS
ELECTED GOVERNOR IN
1896.
BUT BY THE END OF THE
DECADE...EVEN HE...HAD
HAD ENOUGH.
"AND SO BY 1899 THERE
IS AGAIN ANOTHER
INSTANCE OF VIOLNCE
THAT ERUPTED IN THIS
REGION AND THIS
BROUGHT IN WHAT I
GUESS YOU COULD CALL A
HARD-FISTED
SUPPRESSION."
HARD-FISTED SUPPRESSION." THE BUNKER HILL AND
SULLIVAN MINE OWNERS
WOULDN'T PAY A UNION
WAGE...SO THE UNION
MINERS DECIDED TO
UNDERMINE THE MINES'
PRODUCTION...BY
BLOWING UP ONE OF
THEIR MAJOR PIECES OF
EQUIPMENT.
"SO THEY PACKED IT WITH
DYNAMITE AND THEY
CAUSED UTTER
DEVESTATTION AND
PEOPLE DIED IN THIS
INSTANCE AS WELL ...AND
IN THE AFTERMATH OF
THIS PARTICULAR BOUGHT
OF VIOLENCE GOV
STEUNENBERG AGAIN FELT
THAT HE KIND OF HAD TO
FOLLOW THE PATH AND
HE ALSO DECLARED
MARTILA LAW."
AND BEING SMACK IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE
SPANISH-AMERICAN
WAR...IDAHO'S NATIONAL
GUARD TROOPS WERE
NOT AVAILABLE TO
RESPOND
"SO THAT IS WHY HE HAD
TO REACH OUT TO
PRESIDNET MCKINLEY TO
BRING IN FEDERAL TROOPS
TO HELP CALM THESE
LABOR DISPUTES."
LABOR DISPUTES."
MARTIAL
MARTIAL LAW LASTED UNTIL 1901. THE RIPPLE EFFECT... A
LITTLE LONGER.
"YOU KNOW IF YOU KIND
OF WANT TO LOOK LONG
TERM ABOUT WHAT THIS
IMPACT OF THIS LABOR
DISPUTE WERE YOU END
UP WITH GOV FRANK
STUENENBURG GETTIN
ASSASINATED IN 1905."
TO THIS DAY IDHAO
REMAINS A RIGHT TO
WORK STATE...SO OTHER
THAN THE DESTRUCTION
AND DEATH...ONE COULD
ARGUE THIS LABOR
DISPUTE DIDN'T LEAVE
MUCH OF A LASTING
IMPRESSION
"FROMT HE RESEARCH I'VE
DONE ON THIS TOPIC IT
SEEMS AS THOUGH IT JUST
FADED...BUT IT DOESN'T
SEEM TO HAVE HAD THE
IMPACT OF OTHER
EFFORTS IN THAT TIME
SUCH AS THE WORK OF
SUFFRAGISTS IN THE
STATE."
STATE."
IN
IN 1907
IN 1907 GOVERNOR FRANK GOODING DECLARED LABOR DAY A
STATE HOLIDAY IN IDAHO.
GOVERNOR
STEUNENBERG WAS KILLED
IN
IN 1905
IN 1905 -- FOUR YEARS AFTER LEAVING OFFICE -- BY A BOMB THAT WAS
RIGGED TO HIS GATE AT
HIS HOME IN CALDWELL.
ALBERT HORSLEY -- OR
HENRY ORCHARD -- AS HE
WAS KNOWN TO MOST --
WAS THE ONLY ONE
FOUND GUILTY OF
GOVERNOR
STEUNENBERG'S DEATH IN
1908.
HE DIED AT THE AGE OF
88 IN 1954 -- AT THE
IDAHO STATE PEN
YOU SAW HOW
IMPORTANT MINING WAS
TO
TO IDAHO.
TO IDAHO. IT IS ARGUABLY OUR FIRST INDUSTRY.
BUT TODAY, MINING
EMPLOYS ONLY ABOUT
26-HUNDRED IDAHOANS.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE
CHOICES WHEN IT COMES
TO THE WORK WE DO TO
MAKE OUR LIVING.
TODAY, THERE ARE
ROUGHLY 730-THOUSAND
DIFFERENT KINDS OF JOBS
IN IDAHO.
SURE, THERE ARE LOTS OF
JOBS IN IDAHO.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO
THE MOST ABUNDANT,
FASTEST-GROWING,
HIGHEST-PAID JOBS.
IDAHO'S LABOR
DEPARTMENT SAYS THESE
PROFESSIONS MAKE THE
TOP 5 LIST.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS
LAWYERS
MANAGEMENT ANALYSTS
ACCOUNTANTS AND
AUDITORS
FOLLOWED BY CIVIL
ENGINEERS.
IF YOU WANT ONE OF THE
HIGHEST-PAYING JOBS IN
IDAHO, YOU NEED TO
WORK AS --
A SURGEON
.
THEIR AVERAGE MEAN
SALARY IS ABOUT
$250,000.
FAMILY MEDICINE
PHYSICANS
--
PHYSICANS -- DENTISTS
-- DENTISTS --
DENTISTS -- PEDIATRICIANS
-- PEDIATRICIANS --
PEDIATRICIANS -- AND GENERAL INTERNAL
MEDICINE PHYSICIANS
ROUND OUT THE TOP
FIVE HIGHEST-PAID JOBS
IN IDAHO
THE LOWEST-PAID JOBS?
A PARKING ATTENDANT
FAST FOOD COOKS
DISHWASHERS
DINING ROOM &
CAFETERIA ATTENDANTS
AND BARTENDER HELPERS
LIFEGUARDS, SKI PATROL &
OTHER RECREATIONAL
PROTECTIVE SERVICE
WORKERS
WORKERS
AND
AND HERE'S ONE MORE LABOR DAY LIST THAT I THOUGHT YOU'D FIND
INTERESTING.
A LOOK AT A FEW OF THE
RANDOM PROFESSIONS
RANDOM PROFESSIONS
FROM
FROM THE
FROM THE 20TH CENTURY THAT NO LONGER EXIST BECAUSE OF TODAY'S
TECHNOLOGIES.
A SWITCHBOARD
OPERATOR.
YOU COULDN'T MAKE A
CALL BACK IN THE OLD
DAYS WITHOUT SOMEONE
MANUALLY PLUGGING
YOU IN TO THE CALL.
THESE DAYS, WE DON'T
EVEN HARDLY CALL EACH
OTHER... IT'S MOSTLY
TEXTING.
A PINSETTER.
CAN YOU IMAGINE
HAVING TO WAIT FOR A
PINSETTER TO MANUALLY
CLEAR AND REPLACE THE
BOWLING PINS -- AND
WAIT FOR THEM TO BRING
YOUR BALL BACK TO YOU!
AND WHO NEEDS A
VIDEO STORE CLERK
WHEN YOU HAVE NETFLIX?
THERE IS ONE
BLOCKBUSTER STORE STILL
STANDING AND THAT'S IN
BEND, OREGON.
SO I GUESS THE VIDEO
STORE CLERK ISN'T
TOTALLY OBSOLETE.
THERE ARE STILL A
COUPLE IN BEND.
OTHER
OTHER 20TH CENTURY JOBS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED:
AN ELEVATOR OPERATOR.
A KNOCKER-UPPER --
BEFORE
BEFORE THE DAYS OF ALARM CLOCKS, YOU
A
A KNOCKER-UPPER -- BEFORE THE DAYS OF ALARM CLOCKS, YOU
COULD PAY SOMEONE TO
WAKE YOU UP BY
KNOCKING ON YOUR
DOOR OR WINDOW.
A LAMPLIGHTER.
AND A GAS STATION