In the early 1900s, unskilled workers flooded Colorado and the west in search of jobs in mines and factories. As author William Adler writes, they "lived in wretched tent camps or vermin-infested bunkhouses... They labored 12 hours or more daily, seven days a week, in workplaces as unsafe and unhealthy as their sleeping quarters." A new union called The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized to improve those conditions. The union attracted many workers through the songs of Joe Hill. Adler, who lives in Denver, has written a biography of Hill called "The Man Who Never Died." Adler speaks -- and listens to some of Hill's songs -- with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.
[Photo: Salt Lake Police Museum]
