After hard rock miners made sporadic and often unsuccessful efforts to organize during previous decades, the Western Federation of Miners was established on May 15, 1893. The federation was formed through the merger of several miners' unions representing copper miners from Butte, Montana, silver and lead miners from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, gold miners from Colorado and hard rock miners from South Dakota, and Utah at a five-day convention held in Butte, Montana. First president of the organization was John Gilligan and W.J. Weeks was the union's first secretary-treasurer.