September 12, 1972
Page 30224
LATTIMER MASSACRE MEMORIAL
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, last Sunday, September 10, 1972, was the 75th anniversary of the tragic massacre of 19 striking workers at the Lattimer Mines near Hazleton, Pa. On Sunday afternoon the Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties AFL-CIO Labor Council dedicated a Lattimer Memorial to these striking workers who were of Polish, Slovak, and Lithuanian descent.
I speak to the Senate today to honor those who died 75 years ago and to commend the labor council for their fitting tribute of this year.
Seventy-five years ago coal miners in the villages of Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties joined a local of the United Mine Workers to combat the existing miserable working conditions. They hoped to improve their lives, abolish company stores, and protect themselves from any exploitation by the coal companies. In order to seek support from their fellow miners, the strikers marched from Harwood on September 10, 1897. At the entrance of the Lattimer Mines the sheriff of Luzerne County and his deputies fired upon the unarmed union group. This senseless attack killed 19 men.
It is altogether proper that we commemorate this bitter episode in the long struggle for union rights. These men lost their lives in the battle for dignity and a decent life. We owe them our gratitude and respect. Today, when many of our problems are different, we should not forget those whose sacrifices gave us what we have today. And we should look to their courage and determination to give us strength to face our own challenges.
I ask unanimous consent that a proclamation adopted by the United Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties, in the city of Hazleton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, be printed in the RECORD. I am happy to make the Senate aware of the fitting tribute to the Lattimer massacre that occurred last Sunday and would like to add to that tribute by paying our respects to the 19 men who died 75 years ago.
There being no objection, the proclamation was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
PROCLAMATION – THE LATTIMER MASSACRE MEMORIAL YEAR – THE "75" YEAR
Whereas, shortly after they joined the first Local of the United Mine Workers of America in Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, coal miners in the villages of Harwood, Cranberry, Crystal Ridge, Harleigh, and Humboldt, near Hazelton, were ill fed, ill paid, and ill treated, and
Whereas, these union men, predominantly of Polish, Slovak, and Lithuanian origin, went on strike to better their working conditions, abolish the unfair company stores, and demand more for their work in and around the coal mines, and
Whereas, the non-union workers at Lattimer Mines were exploited by the Coal Company in order to defeat the men on strike, and
Whereas, the Strikers marched from Harwood to seek the support of their fellow workers at Lattimer Mines on Friday, September 10, 1897, and
Whereas, the Sheriff of Luzerne county and his deputies aimed and fired upon the unarmed union men at the entrance to Lattimer, and
Whereas, the lives of nineteen strikers were ended by the savage attack of the deputy sheriffs, and recorded with honor herein:
THE MARTYRED
Sebastian Broztowski. Frank Chrzeszeski. John Fotta. Andrew Jurecek. George Kulick. Andrew Monikaski. Raphael Rekiewicz. John Tarnowicz. Stanley Zagorski. Michael Cheslock. Adalbert Czaja. Anthony Grekos. Stephen Jurics. Andrew Mieczowski. Clement Platek. John Skrep.
Jacob Tomashontas. Adalbert Ziemba. Adam Zieminski.
Therefore, be it resolved, by the United Labor Council, Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties, AFL-CIO, with a membership 8,000, headquarters at Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that it call upon its contemporaries to observe the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Lattimer Massacre with appropriate ceremonies; and be it further resolved, that the site of the bloody affair be hallowed by an official historical marker of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and a fitting monument by organized labor and their friends to the memory of the 19 union members who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Trade Unionism; and, be it further resolved, that we call upon the City Council of Hazleton, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Organization, and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to proclaim "1972" as the Seventy-Fifth Lattimer Massacre Memorial Year.
Adopted unanimously, Saturday, January 29, 1972, by the assembled Officers, Delegates, and Friends, of the United Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Lower Luzerne and Carbon Counties, in the City of Hazleton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.