Coal miner and trade union activist.Killed together with Julian Gryshko and Nick Nargan during the Estevan/ Bienfait coal miner's strike in 1931. The three men were members of mine worker's union of Canada, and were at the time protesting unsafe and squalid conditions at the mines near Estevan Saskatchewan.On September 7 1931, all of the more that 600 workers in the 23 active mines went on strike, and on September 29, during a protest parade through the city of Estevan all three men were gunned down by police. While there was much unrest in the mining industry all over Canada at the time, the Estevan incident was the single greatest loss of life, and a turning point in the fight for better wages and safety measures. A week later the mine owners settled the dispute. All three murdered miners were buried in the cemetery at Bienfait Saskatchewan. The marker read "Murdered By The RCMP". Sixty- five years later, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labor voted to erect a plaque in honor of the three men, and on May 10, 1997, Markunas' widow unvieled it in a public ceremony.There is also a miner's tribute plaque in front of the Estevan City Courthouse. The Miner's story was recently revisited in the book "Bienfait: The Saskatchewan miner's struggle of 1931", by Stephen Endicott.
Coal miner and trade union activist.Killed together with Julian Gryshko and Nick Nargan during the Estevan/ Bienfait coal miner's strike in 1931. The three men were members of mine worker's union of Canada, and were at the time protesting unsafe and squalid conditions at the mines near Estevan Saskatchewan.On September 7 1931, all of the more that 600 workers in the 23 active mines went on strike, and on September 29, during a protest parade through the city of Estevan all three men were gunned down by police. While there was much unrest in the mining industry all over Canada at the time, the Estevan incident was the single greatest loss of life, and a turning point in the fight for better wages and safety measures. A week later the mine owners settled the dispute. All three murdered miners were buried in the cemetery at Bienfait Saskatchewan. The marker read "Murdered By The RCMP". Sixty- five years later, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labor voted to erect a plaque in honor of the three men, and on May 10, 1997, Markunas' widow unvieled it in a public ceremony.There is also a miner's tribute plaque in front of the Estevan City Courthouse. The Miner's story was recently revisited in the book "Bienfait: The Saskatchewan miner's struggle of 1931", by Stephen Endicott.
Inscription
age 28
Gravesite Details
buried
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