2-377-963 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Coal strike, USA, 1902. Men and women lining up during the 1902 Coal Strike for their allotment of coal. The strike, by the United Mine Worker of America union, broke out in the anthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania and threatened to shut down the supply of winter fuel to all America's major cities. The strike ended after arbitration on 23 October having lasted for 163 days. The union claimed a victory, with workers gaining a 10% pay rise (they had asked for 20) and a reduction in the length of the working day from 10 to 8 hours. Membership in US trade unions boomed.