Occupy Scranton PA

A blog about the bigger picture of Central PA life, where the Coal Crackers mix with the PA Dutch. Follow our friends at Coal, Corn & Country!

The Bootleg Coal Rebellion A book about bootleg coal miners, who stood their ground against the power of the police, coal companies, courts, and even JP Morgan during the Great Depression.

This weekend we remember those who died while fighting for our freedom.

Yesterday, members of the Northeast Pennsylvania IWW participated in a ceremony remembering the Scranton rail, coal, and iron workers who were gunned down during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

In the summer of that year, four men were shot dead on Lackawanna Avenue by company police and a posse of deputized vigilantes led by Mayor McKune and mine boss W.W. Scranton. The workers were on strike to demand a 25 percent pay increase after post-Civil War depression, pay cuts, and layoffs had left them destitute and mine owners thrived.

Throughout northeast Pennsylvania history, over 30,000 miners died in mine accidents, union leaders were routinely assassinated, and federal troops were called in to support the Coal and Iron Police in their ruthless enforcement of the mine owners' interests.

After the deaths on Lackawanna Avenue, martial law was imposed and federal troops were sent in to occupy the Hill Section with Gatling guns. The company thugs that shot the striking miners were later organized to become the National Guard Thirteenth Regiment Infantry, Third Brigade from Scranton.

That same summer, eleven leaders of the Molly Maguires, a northeast Pennsylvania secret society of Irish miners, were hung in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe), Wilkes-Barre, and Pottsville after James McParland, a detective of the Pinkerton Agency, infiltrated and entrapped them in a murder plot.

Memorials are a great time to reflect on the present. Who are the W.W. Scranton's of today? Who is our Mayor McKune? Who are the company thugs? Who are the martyrs? Who is marching for freedom today? And how can we honor the past to support them in the present?

Here's the coverage in the Scranton Times:
http://m.thetimes-tribune.com/news/1877-labor-strike-recalled-1.1887691 #.VWMDwu9qVZk.facebook

Here's the clip from WNEP:
http://wnep.com/2015/05/24/remembering-coal-miners-in-scranton/

Please donate to RAMPS Legal Defense Fund: http://rampscampaign.org (and please spread the word!)

Via Dear Scranton
Dear Scranton wanted to have this petition to be shared. A few thought it was good idea to share it. http://signon.org/sign/amend-the-scranton-home

Amend the Scranton Home Rule Charter to Require Referendum Votes for Bond Issuance I just signed a petition to Scranton City Council: We, the residents of Scranton, can no longer afford to have our elected officials and city administrators agree to financially back city and/or authority bonds without a vote from the citizens of Scranton. We are therefore asking City Council to ame...

Earth First Shuts Down Drilling Site in Moshannon State Forest A group calling itself Marcellus Earth First! has set up a blockade in Moshannon State Forest, preventing the natural gas company EQT from operating a well. A report on an Earth First! website says the blockade on a gravel road began before 9:30 Sunday morning with about 40 protestors who succe...