"Pinkertons and militia at Homestead, 1892 - One of the first union busting agencies was the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which came to public attention as the result of a shooting war that broke out between strikers and three hundred Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike of 1892."
Maybe not "hitmen" as such, but certainly the violent enforcer arm of capital hired to attack striking workers.
I’m not sure how these situations are comparable. Balancing property rights with use of force vs actively hiring hitmen. The former led to new laws and the latter seems to somehow still be celebrated.
"Pinkertons and militia at Homestead, 1892 - One of the first union busting agencies was the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which came to public attention as the result of a shooting war that broke out between strikers and three hundred Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike of 1892."
Maybe not "hitmen" as such, but certainly the violent enforcer arm of capital hired to attack striking workers.