How the Arizona Miners Strike of 1983 Recast Labor-Management Relations in America Free Essay Example, 1000 words

On April 7, 1982, Phelps Dodge as a result of the recession, announced it would lay off 3,400 of its workers in Texas and Arizona. One year later, on May 1983, the company began negotiations with the United Steelworkers and other unions in Phoenix, Arizona. The subsequent negotiations with the unions failed to lead to an agreement and on midnight of July 30, 1983, a strike began. Six weeks into the strike, the company advertised for scabs in the newspapers. This infuriated the workers. On August 8, 1983, 1,000 strikers, family members, and supporters massed at the gates of the Morenci mine and other mining towns with pipes, bats, and chains to stop the scabs. The company canceled production for 24 hours and the Democratic governor of Arizona, Bruce Babbitt immediately flew in to mediate the conflict. Phelps Dodge agreed to a ten-day moratorium on hiring (Fein). Unsatisfied, the workers mobilized the next day demanding a complete shutdown by noon. The company was shut down befor e noon and Phelps Dodge turned to the government for intervention. After the moratorium expired, on the morning of August 19, Governor Babbitt sent in Huey helicopters, tanks, 426 state troopers, and 325 National Guard members. Other military vehicles arrived in Clifton and Morenci as part of "Operation Copper Nugget" to break the strike to protect the scabs ( Arizona Copper Mine Strike ).We will write a custom essay sample on How the Arizona Miners' Strike of 1983 Recast Labor-Management Relations in America or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page It set a precedent for attacks on mineworkers throughout the region. Later in 1995, after over a decade, Jonathan D. Rosenblum, author of Copper Crucible, published a report revealing facts of the state of Arizona s deployment of agents of the Arizona State Criminal Intelligence Systems Agency (ACISA) monitoring and bugging the meetings of the union.