| United Mine Workers of America | |
| Founded | January 22, 1890 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO, CLC |
| Key people | Cecil Roberts, president |
| Office location | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Website | www.umwa.org |
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a United States labor union that represents workers in mining. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a National trade union center, the largest federation of The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (in French "le Congrès du travail du Canada Cecil Roberts (born October 31, 1946) is a miner and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body One of the groups in the forefront of the fight for collective bargaining in the early 20th century, 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. Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Knights of Labor, also known as Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was one of the most important American labor organizations of 135 and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers. It was modeled after the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The American Federation of Labor (AFL was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States
After passage of the National Recovery Act in 1933, organizers spread out throughout the United States to organize all coal miners. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933, Ch
During the 1930s the UMWA was often thought by many men in the field as being too involved in "Washington Politics" spawning such alternative unions such as the Progressive Mine Workers. The Progressive Miners of America (PMA was a coal miners' union organized in 1932 in downnstate Illinois.
Famous UMWA leaders include John Mitchell, co-founder Philip H. This article refers to the president of a miner's union Please see the John Mitchell disambiguation page for other people of the same name Penna and John L. Lewis. John Llewellyn Lewis ( February 12, 1880 &ndash June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of
Contents |
Achievements
- An eight-hour work day in 1898. The 8-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement (aka the Short-time movement) had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where
- Collective bargaining rights in 1933.
- In 1969, the UMWA convinced the United States Congress to enact the landmark Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act which provided compensation for miners suffering from Black Lung Disease. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, United States Public Law 91-173 generally referred to as the Coal Act, created the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration Pneumoconiosis is an Occupational lung disease caused by the Inhalation of dust
Violent clashes
The union's history is filled with examples of members and their supporters violently clashing with company-hired strikebreakers and government forces:
- Lattimer Massacre - September 10, 1897. Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lattimer massacre was an incident in which a sheriff's posse killed nineteen unarmed immigrant miners and wounded scores more Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common 19 miners were killed by police in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, during a march in support of unions.
- Battle of Virden - October 1898. Part of the larger mine wars that established Illinois as the leading union state in the country, and the reason that Mother Jones is buried at Mt. Mary Harris Jones ( May 1, 1830 or August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930) better known as Mother Jones, born in Olive, Illinois
- Ludlow Massacre - April 20, 1914. The Ludlow massacre refers to the violent deaths of 20 people 11 of them children during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a Tent colony of 1200 striking Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year 20 people, including women and children, killed when armed police, hired guns, and Colorado National Guardsmen broke up a tent colony formed by families of miners who had been evicted from company-owned housing. For the National Guard of a State and other countries' National Guard see National Guard.
- Matewan, West Virginia - May 19, 1920. Matewan is a town in Mingo County, West Virginia, USA at the confluence of the Tug Fork River Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar 12 men were killed in a gunfight between town residents and the Baldwin Felts Detective Agency, hired by mine owners. This is depicted in the John Sayles film Matewan. John Thomas Sayles (born September 28 1950) is an American Independent film director and Screenwriter who frequently Matewan ( 1987) is an American drama by John Sayles, illustrating the events of a Coal mine -workers' strike
- The 'Redneck War' - 1920-21. Generally viewed as beginning with the Matewan Massacre, this conflict involved the struggle to unionize the southwestern area of West Virginia. It led to the march of 10,000 armed miners on the county seat at Logan, ending in the Battle of Blair Mountain in which the miners fought state militia, local police, and mine guards. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest organized armed uprising in American labor history and led almost directly to the labor laws currently in effect in the United States These events are depicted in the 1987 novel Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina and the 2005 novel Blair Mountain by Jonathan Lynn.
- The Herrin massacre occurred in June of 1922 in Herrin, Illinois. The Herrin Massacre occurred in June of 1922 in Herrin Illinois. Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. 19 strikebreakers and 2 union miners were killed in mob action between June 21-22, 1922.
BESCO Strike, Nova Scotia
District 26 of the UMWA in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada struck in early March 1925 against the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO). See also Sidney Sydney (2001 population 24115 is an urban community in Nova Scotia, Canada 's Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (also DOSCO) was a Canadian Coal mining and Steel manufacturing company On June 4, the union pulled its men from a company power plant in New Waterford. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. New Waterford (2001 population 6944 is a Canadian urban community in Nova Scotia 's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. More than fifty company police, many on horseback, occupied the plant on the morning of June 11. Company police, also called Private Police, are Police officers who work for a private company rather than a government agency Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. 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. William Davis, ( June 3 1887 &ndash June 11 1925) was a Coal miner from Cape Breton Island. 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. Land Force Command ( LFC) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. 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. Industrial Cape Breton is a geographic region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Harlan County War
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. Harlan County is a County located in the US state of Kentucky. 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. He was accused of being paid off by the company. 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, Bill Bruner. Bruner served no time for the murder.
Three months after returning to work, the national UMWA contract expired. On November 12, 1974, 120,000 miners nationwide walked off the job. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. 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. Harlan County USA is a 1976 Academy Award winning Documentary film covering the efforts of 180 Coal miners on strike against
Other strikes
On October 21, 1902, the five-month Coal Strike of 1902, led by the United Mine Workers, ended. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the Anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania.
Internal conflict
The union's more recent 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. Joseph Albert "Jock" Yablonski ( March 3, 1910 &ndash December 31, 1969) was an American labor leader in the William Anthony "Tony" Boyle ( December 1, 1904 - May 31, 1985) was president of the United Mine Workers of America union 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. Arnold Miller ( April 25, 1923 &ndash July 12, 1985) was a miner and labor activist who served as president of the United Mine Workers of
Decline of labor unionism in mining
Automation and a general decline in American unions cut heavily into the UMW's membership after World War II. Automation ( Ancient Greek: = self dictated) roboticization or industrial automation or Numerical control is the use of Control systems World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In 1998 the UMW had about 240,000 members, half the number it had in 1946. In the early 2000s, the union represented about 42 percent of all employed miners. The UMW is most powerful in West Virginia, as well as in Montana and other western states. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern
External links
- United Mine Workers of America official site
- Justice at Peabody current campaign website
- Remember Virden: documentary on the mine wars in Illinois
- West Virginia's Mine Wars
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