Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1987
Abstract
The National Industry Recovery Act (1933) and National Labor Relations Act (1935) substantially improved the lot of most American workers by assuring their federally-mandated right to organize and engage in collective bargaining. Union Busting reveals a worker community-the Tri-State District (Southwest Missouri centering on Joplin, Southeast Kansas centering on Galena/Baxter Springs, and Northeast Oklahoma centering on Picher/ Commerce/Miami)-that was denied the benefits of that reform legislation. Opened in the 1840s, by 1900 this bonanza was rated the richest lead and zinc mining region in the world, and the industry it sustained was valued at one billion dollars.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Quarterly FALL1987 . Copyright 1987 Center for Great Plains Studies, University od Nebraska-Lincoln.