December 25, 1910: A bomb destroyed a portion of the Llewellyn Ironworks in Los Angeles. On October 1st, a bomb had destroyed the Los Angeles Times building, killing 21 employees and injuring over 100. The Iron Workers had been fighting a brutal and protracted battle with U.S. Steel and the American Bridge Company, which were busting their union with spies, informants, scabs and agents provocateur. Los Angeles Times publisher Harrison Otis, who was viciously anti-union, provided propaganda for the bosses.
By 1910, the owners had driven nearly all the unions from their plants, except for the Iron Workers union, which had instigated a bombing campaign starting in 1906. In April 1911, private detective William Burns and Chicago police sergeant William Reed kidnapped James McNamara and held him hostage for a week prior to illegally extraditing him to Los Angeles for the bombings. Burns later arrested his brother John, but denied him access to an attorney. Both were likely innocent of the bombings. James McNamara spent the rest of his life in San Quentin, dying there in 1941. John served 15 years and then went on to serve as an organizer for the Iron Workers.