Unsafe working conditions, low wages and ethnic rivalry contributed to the uneasy state of affairs in the region. The Lattimer Massacre near Hazleton resulted in the deaths of nineteen men in 1897 that marched in protest to the racially unfair practices of the mining owners and operators. It was not until the United Mine Workers (UMW) built a strong and ethnically diverse labor organization that the industry was brought to a screeching halt with the Great Strike of 1902. UMW President John Mitchell used his organization's solidarity to force the consortium of anthracite mining operators to recognize the union's demands for fair wages and safety in the mines. Monuments to the victims of the Lattimer Massacre near Hazleton, and those for labor leaders such as John Mitchell in Scranton or John Siney in Saint Clair pay tribute to the men who fought for the rights of coal miners across the United States.