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

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

 to strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 against their employers, demanding an eight-hour work day

Eight-hour day

The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...

.

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

Wisconsin National Guard

The Wisconsin Army National Guard has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergency...

 under order from Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Governor Jeremiah M. Rusk

Jeremiah McLain Rusk

Jeremiah McLain Rusk was the 15th Governor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin from 1882 to 1889 and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1889 to 1893.-Biography:...

 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 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.

Since 1986, members of the Bay View Historical Society

Bay View Historical Society

The Bay View Historical Society was established in 1979 to preserve the character and heritage of the neighborhood of Bay View in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.- Description :...

, the Wisconsin Labor History Society, and other community groups have held a commemorative event to honor the memories of those killed during the incident. The event is held at the State Historical Marker site at the intersection of Superior Street and Russell Avenue, within view of the former rolling mill location.

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.