Dates

• Majority of material found within 1890 - 1970

Extent

489 boxes Linear Feet (In the history of American labor, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has led the struggle to establish collecting bargaining in American industrial life. The UMWA was an early pioneer for worker health, safety, and retirement benefits. When representatives from the Knights of Labor and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers decided to meet in joint session on January 23, 1890, a new union, the United Mine Workers of America, was formed. Within this initial formation, a framework of districts was established under which actual organization efforts would be carried out. The area receiving the designation of District 2 comprised most of what was considered to be Central Pennsylvania which included the following counties: Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Fulton, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Somerset, Tioga, part of Bedford, and most of Armstrong and Indiana. During the history of District 2 portions of these counties, e.g. Potter County in 1960, did not always fall under District 2 control. Various reasons for this discrepancy were non-production, successful attempts by coal operators to drive the union out, and/or because the areas were handled by other districts. From time to time certain individual mining operations within the participating counties have fallen under the jurisdiction of other UMWA districts, however, the above list of counties forms a general representation of the territory covered by District 2. During the first decade of the union's existence, District 2 organizers encountered severe competition from surviving Knights of Labor locals, especially in Somerset and Cambria Counties. By 1900, however, the District could boast a membership of 4,999 members, up from 635 the year before. In 1904, President Patrick Gilday reported that District 2 had become the second strongest district in the national union, carrying 34,550 members. Organization of the miners in Central Pennsylvania was not without its problems. District 2 encountered many obstacles along the way. Economic conditions of the nation had adverse effects on the success of continuing organization drives and on the maintenance of established locals. Although heralded as one of the best wage scale agreements ever to be signed, the 1903 Wage Scale, adopted by the national union, created serious problems in certain areas of District 2. Operators from the Morris Run Coal Company, in Tioga County, Pennsylvania refused this scale, calling instead for a 14% wage reduction. Threatening to evict all of the miners who resided in company-owned housing, the Morris Run Coal Company set the stage for a very serious confrontation. District 2 was faced with a potentially explosive situation realizing the implications to the union as a whole if they authorized the miners to back down. In December of 1904, the coal company carried out their eviction threat, but were unable to break the union. In June of 1905 they admitted defeat and restored company housing and jobs, recognizing the local union (LU) as a valid bargaining agent. Although confined to Tioga County, this struggle was crucial to the continued existence and of District 2, which would be challenged by the operators throughout its history. By 1906, increased competition from non-union fields led coal operators in Pennsylvania, and throughout the nation, to insist upon a series of wage reductions. Faced with this possibility and with cost of living increases, the UMWA demanded that a return to the 1903 wage scale be implemented, raising wages and creating an increased differential between machine and pick-mined coal. As a result of the inability to come to some form of compromise, the UMWA International adopted a resolution, proposed by delegate W. D. Ryan, calling for a nation-wide strike. The officers from each District, including District 2, were directed to strike until the individual operators in their districts agreed to accept two year settlements which would re-establish the 1903 Scale. Such agreements could be entered into on a piecemeal basis. The district did not have to hold out until all operators were willing to sign the new agreement. In the wake of unsuccessful attempts to reach some form of compromise, District 2 went on strike along with the rest of the nation. This strike lasted into late June, with a compromise finally being reached in July, signed by the majority of coal operators in District 2. A return to the 1903 wage scale was accepted with only minor adjustments to other demands. John Brophy (1883-1963) estimated that a total of $340,000.00 was spent in relief monies by District 2 alone, with the National Union sending over $100,000.00 additional funds to the district to aid the striking miners. The struggle had not been an easy one, nor would it be the last. Struggles to unionize the miners of UMWA District 2 continued as the new decade progressed. District 2 organizers and officers continued their efforts and were rewarded with success in enlarging their membership. In 1913, former District 2 President William B. Wilson was selected by President Woodrow Wilson to be the first Secretary of Labor of the United States. At the 1916 Convention of the UMWA International, a man who would be instrumental in the UMWA and in the labor field moved onto center stage. That leader was John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880-June 11, 1969), former aide to Samuel Gompers and an organizer for the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Three years later, Lewis was acting president of the International UMWA. John L. Lewis served as president of UMWA International from 1920 to 1960. He was the driving force behind the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) which created the United Steel Workers of America. The UMWA joined the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1941. Because of the efforts of the District 2 UMWA, a Miners' Hospital was erected in Spangler, Pennsylvania in 1919. The hospital was funded by state appropriations and through assessments from the miners of the District. Unfortunately other events in 1919 were not so beneficial. In October 1917, District 2 had signed the Washington Wage Agreement which froze wage levels during World War I. This wage freeze remained in effect until 1919. Faced with post-war production and returning veterans the miners' union requested a wage increase. This request was denied sparking a strike. Interestingly, International President Lewis was against calling a strike and refused to provide financial support. President Woodrow Wilson offered the miners a 14% increase in December of 1919 and a series of federal injunctions were issued against the miners. In September of 1919 the largest steel strike in the history of the United States created an opportunity for District 2 to increase their influence in non-union areas of Johnstown, Cambria County and nearby Somerset County. Steel workers striking against the Cambria Steel Company were joined by 2,000 plus coal miners engaged in a sympathetic strike. Domenick Gellotte, an active District 2 organizer had begun to hold mass rallies in January and February of that year in an attempt to organize the non-union field. In the months prior to the beginning of the strike in September, Gellotte and other organizers actively cultivated the miners' interests, keeping a tight rein on their desire to strike for higher wages. President John L. Lewis was apprised of the situation by District 2 President John Brophy (November 6, 1883-February 19, 1963) who kept in close contact with Gellotte as the summer unfolded. Emotions were running high as Gellotte reported to Brophy in June that a strike was imminent with or without the approval of Lewis and the International Board. Newly formed Local 2986 of Johnstown appealed directly to Lewis for a sanction by the International. Lewis's diplomatic reply indicated that he would grant no such sanction without the approval of the Board. In August, John Brophy (see Manuscript Group 40) sent a telegram to President Wilson informing him of interference with organizing attempts in the area. The reply was not encouraging or overly supportive. UMWA President Lewis continued to believe a strike was impossible in the region and continued to offer little support to Brophy and his organizers. With the advent of the steel strike on 22 September, the impossible came true. The sympathetic strike lasted until the 29th when many of the miners returned to work following promises of recognition on the part of the operators. Failing to sign new scale agreements, however, the operators were threatened by a renewed strike in October. Adding force to these threats, John L. Lewis announced that a general strike would go into effect on November 1, 1919 if an agreement could not be reached between operators and miners. Without an agreement, the strike commenced as planned. Gellotte reported that 12,000 or more miners in Cambria County alone had walked out. Faced with federal injunctions and possible violence on the part of the citizens' committee of Johnstown, Gellotte was placed under protective custody when he refused to leave the area. William Z. Foster, secretary of the National Committee for Organizing Iron and Steel Workers, was also harassed. The coal strike continued until December of 1919 when the offer of a 14% increase was accepted. Gellotte reported that the miners would return to work. The difficulties had only begun, however, for District 2 in particular. Wages were again cut back in 1920 and again in 1921 and 1922 in spite of contract agreements. At the 1922 International Convention a general strike was ordered, to begin April 1, 1922 unless an agreement could be reached with the Central Competitive Field. Such an agreement would then serve as a master agreement. In an attempt to break the collective bargaining strength of the union, the operators stayed away from negotiations. In an effort to garner more support, the union appealed to non-union workers to support their efforts. In District 2 the targeted areas for such an appeal were the coal fields of Somerset County and the Johnstown and Black Lick Creek Field of Cambria County. Non-union workers flocked to the cause, organizing a number of new locals in spite of threats of eviction from the operators. An agreement was reached with the miners who had previously been under contracts after five months. The newly organized areas of Somerset and Cambria Counties were denied recognition. Demand for coal was low at this time, adding to the hardships endured by the striking miners. Union members across District 2 continued to support the striking locals of Somerset, assessing themselves 10-20% of their own wages for relief. For seventeen months the miners held out against Berwind-White Coal Mining Company and Consolidated Coal Company but to no avail. In August of 1923 Somerset delegates met to discuss calling off the strike. Recognizing the futility of carrying the strike further at that time, the resolution to resume work was carried. Opposition from Berwind-White and the other powerful operators in the area would continue until 1933 when two locals would be successfully established. John Brophy, President of District 2 until 1927, chose to run for the presidency of the International in 1926, against John L. Lewis. Wishing to rebuild the strength of the union, Brophy sought support for his campaign among the rank-and-file miners and Lewis opponents. Calling for the nationalization of all mines, Brophy also advocated a return of democracy to the ranks. Brophy was not able to garner enough support to carry the election, however. As a result of his defeat and his inability to run for District President, Brophy temporarily withdrew, albeit reluctantly, from the positions of power in the union. The 1930s saw a drop in union membership as coal was sold below production cost and the state of the economy worsened. It was not until the election in 1932 of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that organization activities met with success in the coal fields of the country. Section 7A of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 was instrumental in this increase. Sanctioning the right of workers to organize into unions, this section also provided for the use of collective bargaining. The Appalachian Wage Agreement signed in 1933 reflected the positive atmosphere. Acting as the basis for the first national wage agreement, the Appalachian Wage increased the scale to $4.60 per day with a forty-hour work week. Grievance procedures were established and the UMWA was formally recognized as the collective bargaining agent for all miners. Difficulties continued to plague the United Mine Workers of America. At the A.F. of L. Convention in 1935, conflicts erupted between the A.F. of L. and the UMWA culminating in the formation of the Committee of Industrial Organization (C.I.O.) by John L. Lewis and others. Lewis, who would serve as the C.I.O.'s first president continued to head the UMWA. The United Mine Workers of America remained in the C.I.O. until differences forced their withdrawal in 1941 when they formed District 50, which encompassed members of industries which depended on coal and coke by-products. Labor problems did not fade as the country faced another world war. The United Mine Workers of America refused to sign a no strike pledge at the onset of the conflict. In answer to the numerous grievances of the miners, John L. Lewis called for a nationwide strike in 1943. Between May 1, 1943 and November 1, 1943 there were four walkouts despite the government control of the mines and legislation in the form of a federal anti-strike law passed in July. Once the war was officially terminated, numerous strikes continued in certain areas in an effort to regain power and new contract provisions. National strikes were called in 1945, 1946 and 1949 by the UMWA. The 1946 strike caused the governmental seizure of the mines by President Harry S. Truman who fined the UMWA $3.5 million. The miners held out. They were successful in negotiating the establishment of the first Health and Welfare Fund for the UMWA, however, in 1946. This accomplishment paled in comparison to the blow struck by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in June of 1947 which replaced previous legislation with anti-labor legislation. Until 1951, there was a noticeable lack of mine safety regulations in the mining industry although the dangers of the occupation were manifest. District 2 felt this deficit, as other districts did, in the number of lives lost partially as a result of not having such regulations. The largest and most costly mine disasters in UMWA District 2 from 1902 to 1940 claimed 342 lives and left countless others injured. Statistics and information about mine disasters and coal production in Pennsylvania can be found in annual reports of the Report of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania (Call Number: HD 9547 .P4 A34). With the passage of the Mine Health and Safety Act on 21 December 1951 a system whereby federal inspectors were empowered to shut down any mine which did not operate within the established guidelines. Operators who were found to be negligent or in violation of these regulations could be fined. Coupled with the Health and Welfare Fund this measure helped to alleviate a good deal of the hardship and suffering of the miners and their families. The beneficial aspects of this legislation was furthered by the Federal Coal Mines Health and Safety Act of 1969. This legislation included benefits for those suffering from Black Lung Disease and regulations for dust control. Events in 1969 in neighboring District #5 had a direct impact on District 2. Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, a member of the International Board, challenged President W. A. "Tony" Boyle's right to the presidency. It was believed that Boyle had been misusing funds from the Health and Welfare Fund. The election of International officers was overturned by a federal court and a new election between Boyle and Yablonski was ordered. Before it could be held, Yablonski, his wife and daughter were found murdered under mysterious circumstances. In the wake of the investigation, District 2's office was occupied by federal agents as their business transactions, including the District's bank accounts were searched for any improprieties. None were found. A movement for rank and file control of the International got underway soon after. Under the leadership of Arnold Miller, the union members formed the "Miners for Democracy" movement. Opposing this faction within the union was the old guard surrounding W. A. Boyle. Miller succeeded in being elected president of the union in 1972 bringing a new age of miners' control to the UMWA. New elections were ordered for all districts as a result. District 2 held theirs in 1973 at which time they also rewrote their constitution. Included in the new constitution was the creation of COMPAC, a lobbying agency that would enable miners to endorse political and legislative measures as they saw fit. Despite economic difficulties facing heavy industry and the supportive coal industry in the 1970s and 1980s, District 2 has remained a viable agency standing by its fellow districts in times of crisis. Beginning in the early 1990s, District 2 underwent a series of administrative changes. On April 26, 1991, the International Executive Board voted to approve the merger agreement of UMWA Districts 2 and 25. Effective July 1, 1991, the Anthracite area, District 25, became part of District 2. The purpose of merging the adjoining Districts was to streamline operations, cut administrative costs, and to direct more resources towards membership service. On January 11, 1996, the International Executive Board approved the recommendations of a commission chaired by UMWA President Cecil Roberts, which was charged by the 1995 International Convention with adapting the Union's structure to meet the changing nature of the industry, the needs of the membership, and to direct a greater percentage of the UMWA's resources towards organizing the unorganized. As a result of the merger, UMWA District 2 covers the states of Pennsylvania, New York, and western Maryland, and the district represents workers in such diverse occupations as coal miners, truck drivers, construction workers, and firearms manufacturers. Due to the closing of several district offices, a rich variety of additional research materials were added to the District 2 Collection already housed at IUP. District 2 has had some influential and prominent union members in its history, many of which held district offices. John Brophy, who lived until 1963, went on to serve as a director of the C.I.O. and was part of the Industrial Union Department, A.F.L.-C.I.O. William B. Wilson, as previously noted, was appointed to a cabinet seat under Woodrow Wilson. Mary "Mother" Jones visited the District in 1921, lending her strong voice. The bitter conflict between John Brophy and John L. Lewis is played out in the correspondence of John Brophy during his presidency of District 2; as are the daily activities of District 2 organizers such as Domenick Gellotte, Stanley Hudzinski and David Irvine. The comprehensiveness of the collection of materials from District 2 has been deemed of significant importance to scholars seeking original material for research purposes. Dr. Maier B. Fox, Research Coordinator of the United Mine Workers of America, in researching his recently published book on the history of the Union, has commented on the completeness of the records of District 2 in comparison to other Districts. Fox cites the collection in the bibliography of his 1990 history of the United Mine Workers, United We Stand (Call Number: HD 6515 .M72 U554 1990).)

Language of Materials

English