In the 4th (AND FINAL!!!!) part of our West Virginia Mine Wars coverage, we're diving into the most tumultuous period of the mine wars, the absolute batshit crazy summer of 1921, the murder of Sit Hatfield, the armed miner's march, and the Battle of Blair Mountain.

Need I say more?

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

In the 3rd part of our West Virginia Mine War coverage, we're diving into the Matewan Massacre, the infamous confrontation when Matewan Chief of Police and unexpected union ally Sid Hatfield and Mayor Testerman confronted prominent Baldwin Felts agents in the middle of an illegal eviction. We also cover the importance of Mingo and Logan counties that found themselves in the middle of a heated tug of war match between the union and operators and we explore the wild, continuous violence that the region saw in the aftermath of the Matewan Massacre as a heavily publicized trial drew national attention to the region, the new strike dragged on, and tensions reached critical mass. Let's get into it!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

In the 2nd part of our West Virginia Mine War coverage, we're diving into the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike, when coal companies in Paint Creek refused to recognize union negotiations for a simple wage adjustment and lit the metaphorical match on a bed of gasoline-doused straw. We cover more Baldwin Felts shenanigans including the Bull Moose Special, along with the Dirty Eleven and the guerrilla tactics used by strikers in retaliation. We cover the state intervention that included threatening workers with deportation if they didn't accept a bare bones settlement to go back to work. And we also learn more about the schism between rank and file strikers like Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney and union leadership that saw strikers continue to fight back, with or without union support, until they got what they wanted. Let's get into it!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

Before we talk about major events like the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike, the Matewan Massacre, and the Battle of Blair Mountain, we need to understand how a full-blown worker insurrection comes to be. In this episode we contextualize the violence that was inherent in West Virginia's company coal towns. They really had it all: stolen wages, police in the pockets of coal companies, freedoms of speech and assembly non-existent, forced evictions, intimidation, beatings, and murders. There's a reason that workers felt they had no other option than to fight back. We also learn about labor leaders Frank Keeney, Fred Mooney, Sarah Blizzard, and Mother Jones and discuss the UMWA's prior activity and challenges in the region. Buckle up, because this is the start of a wild ride.

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

***Warning: this one's got some fruity language and touches on some darker themes very applicable to the present day.****

With increasing boldness from ICE and CBP, it felt right for a timely reminder that the U.S. security apparatus has always had a problem with exerting violent and sometimes deadly force against workers, but especially BIPOC and immigrant workers. In 1913, not for the first time, Colorado sent in its National Guard to quell a strike of miners against their company Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I). Working with deputized militia, company mine guards, and Baldwin Felts agents, the results of this was one of the deadliest strike breakings we've seen in U.S. history. Let's get into it.

Know Your Rights Trainings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0iF8mWgjrs - Video training led by AOC and The Immigration Defense Project (IDP)

https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/know-your-rights-with-ice/

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights

Reporting Hotlines, and Legal and Advocacy Services for Immigrants:

https://nnirr.org/education-resources/community-resources-legal-assistance-recursos-comunitarios-asistencia-legal/immigration-hotlines-lineas-directas-de-inmigracion/ - Multiple reporting hotlines listed by state

https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/hotline - If you are detained, dial 9233# from within a facility to reach the National Immigration Detention Hotline (free and unmonitored)

https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/

Yay it's our first listener recommended strike! Today we're learning about the 1973 wildcat strike that broke out at a Ford plant in Cologne, Germany when predominantly Turkish guest workers stood up for their unjustly fired colleagues and walked out. There are a lot of interesting parallels to US migrant worker policy to talk about. While this one got shut down violently by police, it gained a lot of national attention, changed the way management engaged with its workforce going forward, and forced German industry and society to reckon with its problematic attitudes toward guest workers. Let's dive in!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler monthly bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

This one has another cool labor song! Also weirdly nepo babies doing good? In this episode, we're covering the 1909 Shirtwaist Strike or the Uprising of the 20,000, when predominantly Jewish and Italian women launched a general strike in the garment industry in New York City, winning better pay and strengthening their union, not to mention inspiring a whole lot of other workers to demand better for themselves too! Let's dive in!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler monthly bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders

In this episode we're talking about the Bread and Roses or the Singing Strike of 1912, when an insanely diverse and incredibly organized group of mill workers, many of them women, working in the industrial town of Lawrence, MA went on a successful strike to protest a wage cut. This strike was another dramatic one, with a sabotage plot orchestrated by the mill owners and women strikers duking it out with cops. Even though several strikers died over the course of the strike, their sacrifice wasn't in vain, with eventual pay raises and changes to working conditions being seen not just in Lawrence but across all of New England. Let's get into it!

Find Boot Biters - A Labor History Podcast online:

• Website and Transcripts: https://rss.com/podcasts/boot-biters/
• You can also listen to the pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts!

• Instagram and TikTok: @bootbiterspod

• BlueSky: @bootbiterspod.bsky.social

Support the podcast, get access to the Water Cooler monthly bonus episodes, and check out resources used in episodes for further reading (resources are publicly available): patreon.com/BootBiters

Credits: Creator, Host, Social Media, Art, Music, General Chaos Sower: Dakota Saunders