El Paso during this time was a hotbed for radical political activity, and Mexican workers in the city engaged in numerous labor strikes wherein they demanded better wages and improved working conditions.

The company benefitted from having the support of local law enforcement officials and, later, the Texas Rangers, and within a few weeks, they began to bring in strikebreakers.

While the strike ended in failure for the workers, several historians have noted the significance of the strike, with historian Monica Perales stating in a 2010 book that, "[a]lthough it ultimately failed, the action represented a critical moment in border labor history and revealed that the Mexican workers were willing to risk their jobs and their lives to be respected as smelter men".

In the 1970s, residents of Smeltertown were forced to relocate after environmental studies revealed dangerous amounts of lead in the area due to the plant.

[7] The smelter was one of the largest industries in the city and employed about 3,000 people, primarily Mexican Americans,[8][9] who lived in the nearby Smeltertown neighborhood.

[10] During this time, El Paso and its neighboring city of Ciudad Juárez across the Mexico–United States border in Mexico, were hotbeds for radical political activity, primarily among the Mexican populations.

[12][7] This strike ended in partial success for the smelters, as the company agreed to a $1.40 daily wage, but also fired several workers who had been involved in the labor dispute.

[22][16] Local strike leaders held rallies and meetings where they kept fellow strikers informed and sought to prevent the hiring of strikebreakers.

[8][10] In the second week of the strike,[7] the company began to bring in strikebreakers, including about 350 African Americans that they brought in via train from East Texas and Louisiana.

[22][7] Others hired included a large number of local non-Hispanic whites and recent Mexican immigrants,[19] and these strikebreakers were protected by company guards, Texas Rangers, and other law enforcement officers.

[6] While the WFM local union survived the strike, claiming about 40 members in 1914, the company refused to rehire many of the strikers, and by the end of 1913, many of them had left El Paso.

[5] Speaking of the strike in a 1996 book, historian Camille Guerin-Gonzales stated that, despite its failure, "Mexican immigrant workers had demonstrated their organizational abilities and showed their willingness to fight exploitative conditions",[11] while historian Monica Perales stated in a 2010 book that, "[a]lthough it ultimately failed, the action represented a critical moment in border labor history and revealed that the Mexican workers were willing to risk their jobs and their lives to be respected as smelter men".

[28] In the 1970s, residents of Smeltertown were forced to relocate after environmental studies revealed hazardous amounts of lead in the area caused by the smelter.