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The Battle of Cripple Creek
… That's when the mine owners pounced. In January 1894, they proclaimed that the working day would increase from eight hours to nine and 10—with no increase in pay. However, the owners did offer an alternative. Workers could keep the eight-hour … solidarity is all about. The miners who were still going down in the working mines assessed themselves 10% of their wages to support the strikers, and the union set up soup kitchens. There had been plenty of labor battles in the West, but this one differed in several ways. The mine owners failed to get the military or police force they demanded to suppress the strikers. The Populist governor of Colorado, David Waite, …