>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
Doug,
Mine, Mill is perhaps best remembered as the union featured in "Salt of the Earth."
Rather than CIA, I suspect the FBI played a larger role, along with various other Congressional Subversive-hunting committees and sundry other government witch-hunters, who worked in league with the leadership of the USWA, CIO and later the AFL-CIO.
Not only the USWA, but the UAW also had a hand in cannibalizing the Mine, Mill after the CIO expelled it for "communist domination." In 1967, what was left of the union finally succumbed. It merged with the Steelworkers. Mine, Mill no longer exists as an autonomous organization.
In solidarity, Michael E.