| Full name | United Mine Workers of America |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 22, 1890 |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Affiliation | AFL–CIO, CLC |
| Key people | Cecil Roberts, president |
| Office location | Triangle, Virginia, United States |
| Website | www.umwa.org |
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada.[1] Although its main focus has always been on workers and their rights, the UMW of today also advocates for better roads, schools, and universal health care.[2]
The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1890, with the merger of two old labor groups, the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union.[3] Adopting the model of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), the union was initially established as a three-pronged labor tool: to develop mine safety; to improve mine workers' independence from the mine owners and the company store; and to provide miners with collective bargaining power. After passage of the National Recovery Act in 1933, organizers spread throughout the United States to organize all coal miners into labor unions.
During the 1930s, the UMWA was involved in Washington politics, a controversial involvement which generated such alternative unions such as the Progressive Mine Workers.
The main goal of the UMWA was to provide safer and better working conditions, and higher wages because mining was and still is a dangerous job.
Miners were often dependent upon the company store, a store that miners had to use because they were often paid only in company scrip, redeemable at the store, which often charged higher prices than other stores. Many miner's homes were also owned by the mines. Although there were company towns that raised the prices of all goods and made eviction a constant threat, these conditions were not the norm for all coal towns. But for the towns that did use the currency to their advantage, mining families often faced hardships in living conditions.[2]
Being a miner in the 19th century meant long hours of continuous hard labor. For many workers, it was not unusual to be accustomed to long hours in the dark mines.[2] Since miners were paid per ton of coal they produced each day workers would arrive as early as possible and stay till they physically were exhausted.[2] Because of working in the mines, many health issues arose. One problem was that a majority of the areas being mined were on average 3–5 feet high.[2] This meant that most miners worked all day without standing upright. Because a lot of the coal mines were hard to access by an average man, the demand for young boys to work in the mines grew.[2] More inexperienced miners led to more accidents. Another health concern was the amount of dust that a miner breathed in each day. Now we know that it causes the disease black lung, but then, few miners knew what effects that this job would have on their bodies.[2] Safety was also a big concern, most coal companies wanted to produce the cheapest coal, so in return they would not update or replace old existing tools and carts.[2] This led to miners becoming injured on a daily basis.[2] However, most companies did not get into conflict over the deaths because miners would typically work alone or in pairs, meaning that an accident would only harm two people and not a large quantity.[2] As mining became more of a demand, the workers started to understand that something could be done to improve the working conditions, and that something must be done soon before any more lives were lost.[2] The health and safety concerns of miners in the early 19th century were what prompted the labor movements to begin.[2]
Although mining was typically thought of as a man's job, women were in the mines as early as the 1920s and 1930s in some places. However, most early women miners worked during World War I and World War II, when many men were overseas, or they worked for their family who owned the mine.[2]
The UMWA pushed for equal pay and work opportunities for women. As time went on women began to do more hard labor and did the same work as men. In the 1970s the number of women who worked as actual miners and who received wages rose to historic highs.[2]
The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1890, by the merger of two earlier groups, the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union. It was modeled after the American Federation of Labor (AFL).The Union's emergence in the 1890s was the culmination of decades of effort to organize mine workers and people in adjacent occupations into a single, effective negotiating unit. At the time coal was one of the most in-demand natural resources, used to heat homes and to power machines in industries. The coal mines were a competitive and dangerous place to work. And with decreasing amounts of pay occurring on a regular basis,[2] miners sought a group to stand up for their rights.
American Miners' Association
The first step in starting the union was the creation of the American Miners' Association. This creation put into motion the labor movement in America.[2] The popularity of the group grew immensely. "Of an estimated 56,000 miners in 1865, John Hinchcliffe claimed 22,000 as members of the AMA.[2] As a result of the growing union, the mine owners sought to stop the AMA from becoming more powerful. Members of the AMA were fired and blacklisted from employment at other mines. After a short time the AMA began to decline until it was no more.
Workingman's Benevolent Association
Another early labor union that arose in 1868 was the Workingmen's Benevolent Association. The main difference between this labor union and many others of the time was that it was an anthracite labor union. The laborers formed the WBA to help improve pay and working conditions. The main reason for the success of this group was the president, John Siney, who sought a way for both the miners benefits to increase while also helping the operators gain a profit. The way that both parties could benefit was to limit the production of anthracite. Because the efforts of the WBA benefited the operators, they did not object when the union wanted to take action in the mines; actually, they welcomed it because they knew that they would profit. Because the operators trusted the WBA, the first written contract between miners and operators was established.[2] As the union became more responsible in the operators' eyes, the union was given more freedoms. As a result the health and spirits of the miners significantly improved.[2] The WBA could have been a very successful union had it not been for Franklin B. Gowen. In the 1870s Gowen owned the Reading Railroad, and bought several coal mines in the area. Because he owned the coal mines and the transportation of the coal, he was able to slowly destroy the labor union. He did everything in his power to produce the cheapest product and to ensure that members who were not in the union would benefit. As conditions for the miners of the WBA worsened, the union broke up and disappeared.[2]
After the fall of the WBA miners created many other small unions, including the Workingman's Protective Association (WPA) and the Miner's National Association (MNA). Although both groups had strong ideas and goals, they were unable to gain enough support and organization to succeed. The two unions did not last long, but provided greater support by the miners for a union which could withstand and help protect the workers' rights.[2]
Although many labor unions were failing, there were two predominant unions that arose held promise to become strong and permanent advocates for the miners. The main problem during this time was the rivalry between the two groups. Because the National Trade Assembly #135, better known as the Kights of Labor, and the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers were so opposed to one another, they created problems for miners rather than solved key issues.
This union was more commonly known as the Knights of Labor and began around 1870 around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The main problem with the Knights of Labor was the its secrecy.[2] The members kept very private their affiliation and goals of the Knights of Labor. Because both miners and operators could become members, there was no commonality to unite the members. Also, the union did not see strikes as a beneficial means to attain rights. To many people of the time, a strike was the only way that they believed they would be heard.
The Knights of labor tried to establish a strong and organized union, so they set up a system of local assemblies, or LAs. There were two main types of LAs, trade and mixed, with the trade LA being the most common. Although this system was put into place to create order, it did the opposite. Even though there were only two categories of LA's there were many sub-divisions of them. For the most part it was impossible to even tell how many trade and mixed LAs there were at a given time. Local assemblies began to arise and fall all around and many members began to question whether of not the Knights of Labor was strong enough to fight for the most important issue of the time, achieving an eight hour work day.[2]
This Union was formed by members of the Knights of Labor who realized that a secret and unified group would not turn into a successful union. The founders, John McBride, Chris Evans and Daniel McLaughlin, believed that creating an eight hour work day would not only be beneficial for workers, but also as a means to stop overproduction, which would in turn help operators. The union was able to get cooperation from operators because they explained that the miners wanted better conditions because they felt as if they were part of the mining industry and also wanted the company to grow. But in order for the company to grow, the workers must have better conditions so that their labor could improve and benefit the operators.
The first main concern of this union was to get a fair weighing system within the mines. Although, during a conference between the operators and the union, the idea of a new system of scaling was agreed upon, the system was never implemented. Because the union did not deliver what it had promised, it lost support and members.[2]
During this time the rivalry between the two unions increased and eventually led to the formation of the UMW. The first of many arguments arose after the 1886 joint conference. The Knights of labor did not want the NTA #135 to be in control so they went against a lot of their decisions. Also, because the Knights of Labor were not in attendance at the conference they were not able to vote against actions that they thought should be taken to gain rights for workers. Most of the actions required the Knights of Labor to lose their secrecy and make public its members and locations. Because such a problem arose when one union was not permitted to attend a conference, the National Federation held another conference in 1887 with both groups. Like the first, it was unsuccessful and the parties could not agree on what actions to be taken to provide better conditions in the mines. Throughout 1887-1888 many joint conferences were held to help iron out the problems that the two groups were having. Many leaders of both groups began questioning the morals of the other union.
One leader, William T. Lewis thought that there needed to be more unity within the union, and that competition for members between the two groups was not accomplishing anything. Because of his thoughts, he was replaced by John B. Rae as president of the NTA #135. This removal did not stop Lewis however; he got many people together who had been also thrown out of the Knights of Labor for trying to belong to both parties at once, along with the National Federation and created the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers (NPU). Although the goal of the NPU in 1888 was to create unity between the miners, it instead drew a heavier line distinguishing members of the NPU against those of the NTA #135. Because of the rivalry, miners of one labor union would not support the strikes of another, and many strikes failed. In December 1889, the president of the NPU set up a joint conference for all miners. John McBride, the president of NPU suggested that the Knights of Labor should join the NPU to form a stronger union. John B. Rae reluctantly agreed and decided that the merged groups would meet on January 22, 1890.[2]
When the union was founded the values of the UMWA were stated in the preamble;
We have founded the United Mine Workers of America fo the purpose of...educating all mine workers in America to realize the necessity of unity of action and purpose, in demanding and securing by lawful means the just fruits of our toil.[2]
The UMWA constitution listed eleven points as the union's goals:
The union's history is filled with examples of members and their supporters violently clashing with company-hired strikebreakers and government forces:
The Pittston Coal strike of 1989-1990 began as a result of a withdrawal of the Pittston Coal Group also known as the Pittston Company from the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA) and a refusal of the Pittston Coal group to pay the health insurance payments for miners who were already retired. The owner of the Pittston company at the time, Paul Douglas, left the BCOA because he wanted to be able to produce coal seven days a week and did not want his company to pay the fee for the insurance.
The Pittson company was seen as having inadequate safety standards after the Buffalo Creek flood of 1972 in which 125 miners were killed.[3] The company also was very financially unstable and in debt. The mines associated with the company were located mostly in Virginia, with mines also in West Virginia and Kentucky.
On 31 January 1988 Douglas cut off retirement and health care funds to about 1500 retired miners, widows of miners, and disabled miners.[3] To avoid a strike, Douglas threatened that if a strike were to take place, that the miners would be replaced by other workers. The UMW called this action unjust and took the Pittston company to court.
Miners worked from January 1988 to April 1989 without a contract. Tension in the company grew and on 5 April 1989 the workers declared a strike.[3] Many months of both violent and nonviolent strike actions took place. On 20 February 1990 a settlement was finally reached between the UMWA and the Pittston Coal Company.
District 26 of the UMWA in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada struck in early March 1925 against the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO). On June 4, the union pulled its men from a company power plant in New Waterford. More than fifty company police, many on horseback, occupied the plant on the morning of June 11. An estimated 700 - 3,000 miners and supporters gathered in New Waterford and marched to the power plant that morning. The company police opened fire when the crowd arrived and then charged the crowd on horseback, swinging nightclubs and firing revolvers. Miners fought back with stones and pulled police off horses. William Davis, a miner, was shot dead and several others were wounded by gunfire or trampled by horses. After the riot ended, the miners sabotaged and disabled the power plant for the duration of the strike. Police and company officials that didn't escape the battle were locked up in the town jail. In the following nights, company stores were raided and burned, including the colliery building. The Canadian Army deployed thousands of soldiers to the area in the second largest deployment in history for civil unrest within Canada. The union later suspended the 100 percent strike, allowing maintenance workers to return.
The 1925 strike lasted through the summer and contributed to the bankruptcy and breakup of the BESCO conglomerate several years later. The strike against BESCO by UMWA 26 in the Sydney Coal Field was unprecedented for the violence and militancy exhibited by the company toward the striking miners and changed the labour dynamics in Industrial Cape Breton.
In the summer of 1973, workers at the Duke Power-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, Kentucky voted to join the union. Eastover management refused to sign the contract and the union went on strike. Duke Power brought in replacement non-union workers, who were attacked. Hogg, the local judge was a coal operator himself and consistently ruled for Eastover. During much of the strike the mine workers' wives and children joined the picket lines. Many were arrested, some hit by baseball bats, shot at, and struck by cars. One striking miner, Lawrence Jones, was shot and killed by a replacement worker.
Three months after returning to work, the national UMWA contract expired. On November 12, 1974, 120,000 miners nationwide walked off the job. The nationwide strike was bloodless and a tentative contract was achieved three weeks later. This opened the mines and reactivated the railroad haulers in time for Christmas. These events are depicted in the documentary film Harlan County, USA.
On October 21, 1902, the five-month Coal Strike of 1902, led by the United Mine Workers, ended.
In 1993, more than 7,500 United Mine Workers miners went on strike against the Peabody Coal Co., the nation's largest coal producer.[6]
The union's history has sometimes been marked by internal strife and corruption, including the 1969 murder of Joseph Yablonski, a reform candidate who lost a race for union president against incumbent W. A. Boyle. Boyle was later convicted of ordering the murder.
The killing of Yablonski resulted in the birth of a pro-democracy movement called the "Miners for Democracy" (MFD) which swept the Boyle regime out of office and replaced it with a group of leaders who had been most recently rank and file miners. Led by new president Arnold Miller, the new leadership enacted a series of reforms which gave UMWA members the right to elect their leaders at all levels of the union and to ratify the contracts under which they worked.
Decreased faith in the UMW to support the rights of the miners caused many to leave the union. Coal demand was curbed by competition from other energy sources. The main cause of the decline in the union during the 1920s and 1930s was the introduction of more efficient and easily produced machines into the coal mines.[2] In previous years, less than 41% of coal was cut by the machines. However by 1930, 81% was being cut by the machines and now there were machines that could also surface mine and load the coal into the trucks.[2] With more machines that could do the same labor, unemployment in the mines grew and wages were cut back. As the problems grew, many people did not believe that the UMW could ever become as powerful as it was before the start of the war.[2] The decline in the union began in the 1920s and continued through the 1930s.[2] Slowly the membership of the UMWA grew back up in numbers.
A general decline in union effectiveness characterized the 1970s and 1980s, leading to new kinds of activism, particularly in the late 1970s. Workers saw their unions back down in the face of aggressive management.[7]
Other factors contributed to the decline in unionism generally and UMW specifically. The coal industry was not prepared economically to deal with such a drop in demand for coal. Demand for coal was very high during World War II, but decreased dramatically after the war, in part due to competition from other energy sources. In efforts to improve air quality, municipal governments started to ban the use of coal as household fuel. The end of wartime price controls introduced competition to produce cheaper coal, putting pressure on wages.[2]
These problems—perceived weakness of the unions, loss of control over jobs, drop in demand, and competition—decreased the faith of miners in their union. By 1998 the UMW had about 240,000 members, half the number that it had in 1946.[2] As of the early 2000s, the union represents about 42 percent of all employed miners.[2]
Throughout the years, the UMW has taken political stands and supported candidates to help achieve union goals.
The United Mine Workers ran candidate Frank Henry Sherman under the union banner in the 1905 Alberta general election. Sherman's candidacy was driven to appeal to the significant population of miners working in the camps of southern Alberta.[8] He finished second in the Pincher Creek electoral district.
The biggest conflict between the UMW and the government was while Franklin Roosevelt was president of the United States and John L. Lewis was president of the UMW. Originally, the two worked together well, but, after the 1937 strike of United Automobile Workers against General Motors, Lewis stopped trusting Roosevelt, claiming that Roosevelt had gone back on his word. This conflict led Lewis to resign as CIO president. The problem between the two leaders increased up to and during World War II. Roosevelt at one point did not agree with UMW actions, and threatened government intervention. As the years went on, however, the conflict diminished.[2]
In 2008 the UMWA supported Barack Obama as the best candidate to help achieve more rights for the mine workers.[9]
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