Counterculture/Labor Wars

The Labor Wars is what is commonly used to refer to the most violent period of the Lone Star Republic's labor movement. It is one of the most violent outbreaks of class warfare to occur in the world, due in part to the the virtual non-involvement of the government. Between 1909 and 1939 over 27,000 people were killed in armed, sometimes pitched, battles between laborers and business-hired soldiers.

The Labor Wars brought about dramatic changes in the Lone Star Republic. Some of the most obvious are serious restrictions on child labor, the 44 hour work week, Social Security, Medical Care, and the growth of the Labor Party.

Background

Before the beginning of the Labor Wars, the Lone Star Republic had very few laws regarding businesses. Until the big population boom in the early 1900's, the LSR had a serious shortage of workers, having never been heavily populated. With the influx of workers, primarily immigrants, and the discovery of many of the natural resources the LSR, many industries experienced rapid growth. Companies found themselves in positions where they could dictate the terms of employment for the first time. Coupled with the lack of legal oversight, this led to very poor working conditions and serious economic struggles for many of the workers.

With its frontier mentality, the Lone Star Republic's populace have always valued handling problems personally. Their can-do attitude, as well as access to and familiarity with firearms, were final straws in the volatile situation.

The Early Years

What is commonly thought of as the first battle of the Labor Wars occured May 7th, 1909, in San Francisco. A group of cannery workers, who had been striking without success for a month over trying to insure medical care if they were injured on the job, a safer working place, and higher wages. They company employed a large number of scabs and refused to deal with the workes. The workers came armed to the picketline and fired on the scabs, killing nine and wounding twelve others. When the sheriff arrived, he attempted to arrest some of the organizers. The lead organizer challenged the sheriff to a duel, which was accepted. Both the sheriff and the lead organizer were killed. The next day eight of the workers on strike were killed by guards the company hired to keep them away.

Over the next five years similar scenarios played out across the Lone Star Republic, sometimes with the local official favoring the workers, but more often than not favoring the companies. There was little organization from place to place. Most incidents were independent revolts against companies. What began amongst cannery workers spread to other factory workers, miners, loggers... wherever there were people working as unskilled laborers for growing businesses.

There were occasional attempts by one side or the other to involve authorities on the regional level (in California) or the national level, but for the most part the people involved didn't want politicians getting involved in their personal business or to expand the limited role the upper levels of government played in daily affairs. Also, unlike in many other countries, trying to buy a politician was a risky venture since so many of them were proud indivualists and honor was so highly valued.