Colorado miners' strike The Cloud City Miners' Union (CCMU), Local 33 of the WFM went on strike in 1896 over a reduction in wages that had persisted since the depression of 1893. The Coronado Mine was re-opened with armed replacement workers during the strike, and an incident on September 21 resulted in shooting and dynamite explosions. After surface buildings were burned, the Colorado governor sent the Colorado National Guard to Leadville. Boyce was one of twenty-seven union men who were jailed, but all of the union's leaders were released for lack of evidence. Radical positions At the 1897 WFM convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, Boyce told his fellow union members to arm themselves:I deem it important to direct your attention to Article 2 of the Constitutional Amendments of the United States—'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' This you should comply with immediately. Every (local) union should have a rifle club. I strongly advise you to provide every member with the latest improved rifle, which can be obtained from the factory at a nominal price. I entreat you to take action on this important question, so that in two years we can hear the inspiring music of the martial tread of 25,000 armed men in the ranks of labor. AFL and WLU Boyce led the WFM to join the American Federation of Labor the year he became WFM president. The affiliation lasted only until the spring of 1898. Samuel Gompers had refused to give striking Colorado miners strike benefits, and Boyce heatedly debated the issue with Gompers. But, convinced that the conservative and craft unionism policies of the AFL were inadequate to the task of organizing workers, Boyce led the WFM out of the AFL. In 1898, Boyce, a strong believer in industrial unionism, led the WFM to found the Western Labor Union. The Western Labor Union (later the American Labor Union) was established in direct opposition to the craft-oriented AFL, and included workers from all industries. Bunker Hill mine bombing In April 1899, WFM officials demanded that the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mine recognize the union. The mine owners' response was to fire all union members. Militant union members then blew up the Bunker Hill and Sullivan ore concentrator in the town of Wardner, at the time the largest ore concentrator in the world. Governor Frank Steunenberg declared martial law and