Bay View Tragedy

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The Bay View Tragedy (often referred to locally, and by labor rights activists, as the Bay View Massacre) was the culmination of events that began on Saturday May 1, 1886 when 7,000 building-trades workers joined with 5,000 Polish laborers who had organized at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to strike against their employers, demanding an eight-hour work day.

By Monday, these numbers had increased to over 14,000 workers that gathered at the Milwaukee Iron Company rolling mill in Bay View. They were met by 250 National Guardsmen under order from Governor Jeremiah M. Rusk to "shoot to kill" any strikers who attempted to enter. Workers camped in the nearby fields and the Kosciuszko Militia arrived by May 4. Early the next day the crowd, which by this time contained women and children, approached the mill and were fired upon. Seven people died as a result, including a thirteen-year-old boy. Several more were injured during the protest.

[edit] External links

• Wisconsin Labor History Society
• The Rolling Mills
• The Bay View Tragedy
• "The 1886 Bay View Massacre" from the "People and Events in Labor History" collection on the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council website.