>In 1901, union president A. Edward Boyce addressed the 9th annual
>convention of the Western Federation of Miners. He called on the
>union to alter its constitution to add socialism to its goals
When I was up in Sudbury, Ontario (nickel-mining country) in March, I was told about how the WFM's heir, the militant Mine Mill Workers union was targeted for destruction during the 1950s. The agents of destruction were the United Steelworkers of America, the Catholic Church, and probably the CIA. Mine Mill was redbaited, and the USWA raided their membership. The campaign wasn't fully successful; one of the two major mining companies is still organized by Mine Mill, and it's still fairly militant. But it was partly successful, dividing the town sharply and taking the wind out of MM's sails.
Doug