Ed Boyce and the Western Federation of Miners, with Cole R. Costello

Join us for a fascinating discussion on labor and Montana history with University of Montana PhD student, Cole R. Costello. When Irish immigrant and former Populist Ed Boyce was elected president of the Western Federation of Miners in 1896, he began to transform the organization from a loose affiliation of local mining unions to a bastion of radicalism, encouraging Socialist ideals and encouraging workers to arm themselves. Boyce's personal direction of the union created national fissures with groups such as the American Federation of Labor, inspired later organizations such as Bill Haywood's Industrial Workers of the World, and forced confrontations about trade versus industrial unionism around the country. Using Boyce’s personal papers and other accounts of his presidency, Costello explores the lasting impact of this controversial organizer's legacy in Ed Boyce and the Western Federation of Miners.