 The strike had been called by the district council of the WFM, representing the leaders of the various WFM union locals around the mining district.A recent change in the WFM constitution gave union leadership the right to call strikes in support of other locals without a strike vote, and the rank and file were not given the opportunity to vote on the strike.A large majority of the union miners were said to be opposed to the strike; Rastall estimated up to 90 percent were against.p.89

The WFM hoped to win the strike by having the mine owners pressure mill operators to settle.p.86 However, although some mine owners wanted the mills to accept WFM demands, the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association preempted defections, declaring that the dispute with the mills should not have caused a strike of mines in the Cripple Creek District.p.206 That argument by the CCMOA resonated with many of the union miners, who had given up their right to vote on strikes individually in their convention,p.85 and may have privately had second thoughts.