The Paint-Cabin Creek strike began when the coal operators on Paint Creek near Charleston, West Virginia rejected the demand of their unionized workers for a wage increase. While economics remained important, more of the strikers’ demands focused on recognition of the United Mine Workers of America as their bargaining agent and sought an end to the use of mine guards, black listing and the denial of workers’ rights to free speech and assembly. The strike ended in July,1913, with many dead and many more arrested.