Dates

• Majority of material found within 1933 - 1972

Extent

30 boxes Linear Feet (The Knights of Labor and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers of America both held their national conventions in Columbus, Ohio in January 1890. This joint session produced the United Mine Workers of America. An 11-point preamble to the first constitution of the union pointed the way for union activity in the following years. Included among the miners’ goal were: increased wages in accord with the dangers of mining, an end to pay in “scrip,” and increased use of safety equipment. In addition, an end to child labor was called for as well as an 8-hour work day and the establishment of checkweighmen of the miners’ choosing. A checkweighman or checkweigher was a representative elected by coal miners to check the findings of the mine owner’s weighman verifying that the miners were paid for the weight of coal they had mined each day. The UMWA Constitution also called for government action to outlaw the use of coal and iron police, and the pledge to use arbitration to deal with coal operators before resorting to strikes were also listed. Coal producing areas were divided into UMWA Districts. The districts were drawn up based on the existing marketing and transportation patterns, and partly on geography. There were districts created in 1890 that may not have any active or formal UMWA organization in place. District 3 was one of these yet-to-be-organized areas. Full organization would elude District 3 until the coming of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933. The District was centered in Westmoreland County, but it included surrounding counties. Evidence of labor organization among coal miners in UMWA District 3 Westmoreland County area in the 19th century is limited. Episodes of local strike activity as early as 1886 have been documented. This activity was probably linked to the Knights of Labor, whose national membership peaked in 1886. More than 50 local assemblies of the KOL were active in Westmoreland County between 1875 and 1893, with over 40 of these local assemblies made up of miners or mine and coke workers. Additional labor protests by miners occurred in Westmoreland County in 1894 and again in 1897. It is not clear whether these protests were county-wide, were centered toward a specific company or companies, or were specific to certain towns. The breaking of the 1894 strike coincided with the demise of The Independent, a labor newspaper that was published in Greensburg beginning in 1887. Although both the 1894 and 1897 strikes in Westmoreland County were paralleled by national efforts of the United Mine Workers, suggesting an organized UMWA presence despite the lack of formal district bureaucracy, it is unclear whether this local activity was supported or coordinated by the UMWA. Early in the 20th century, a recorded UMWA presence in the District 3 area appeared. Local unions were organized in different parts of Westmoreland County. Several of these local unions actually attended the UMWA annual conventions in 1905-1907, but were listed in the convention rolls under UMWA District 5. UMWA District 3’s presence and its tradition, however limited, of organization and protest among mine workers were in direct conflict to its other tradition that of strong company opposition to worker organization. Some, if not many or all, of the mines of the District 3 region were “captive” mines. This term describes a mine owned by a company that used the coal in its operations, as opposed to a mining company using the coal for the express purpose of marketing coal. These included steel interests, coking operations, and railroads. Mines were considered commercial if the companies operating the mines were involved primarily in mining and marketing the coal produced, rather than serving as small segments of a larger operation. Captive mine operators were noted for their resistance to unionization efforts of their workers. This resistance was based on the fear that unionization in one sector of their operation (in this case coal mining) would spread to the other dominant sectors of the operation. As a result, the history of worker-operator relations in the region was one of intense company resistance to organization. In some instances, racial and ethnic differences among workers were exploited to weaken unionization efforts. Other anti-union tactics included the use of injunctions, firings, and evictions to limit worker agitation. An amiable relationship between coal operators and law enforcement agencies including the State Police and the infamous Coal and Iron Police, who could intervene on the operator’s behalf, further discouraged union activity. In 1910, the first labor dispute in Westmoreland County explicitly linked to the UMWA occurred. A strike was called in the Irwin Field which exposed a strong, if short-lived, UMWA presence in the area. The Irwin Gas Coal Basin is an area in Westmoreland and Venango Counties in Pennsylvania that encompasses the townships of North Huntingdon, Penn, Sewickley, Salem, South Huntingdon, Hempfield, and Irwin, and the boroughs of Murrysville, Export, and Delmont. The quality of coal mined from this area proved unsuitable for use as coke, but it was ideal gasification and was used for the conversion into coal gas. Seven coal companies dominated the Irwin Field in 1910: the Westmoreland Coal Company, Penn Gas Coal, Manor Gas Coal Company, Jamison Coal and Coke Company, Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, Keystone Coal and Coke Company, and the Latrobe-Connellsville Coal and Coke Company. Company towns were established for coal company employees who were forced to purchase merchandise from company stores. Often workers were paid in company scrip. Occasionally, if a miner’s payroll deductions equaled his income, he would get a “snake” pay stub that meant he received no money for that pay period and therefore would become more indebted to the company store. The Westmoreland County Coal Strike (1910-1911) also known as the Westmoreland Coal Miners’ Strike began on March 9, 1910 and ended on July 1, 1911 (see Box 30 Item 11). The strike encompassed 65 mines and 15,000 coal miners. Sixteen people were killed during the strike, all miners and members of their families. The strike ended in a defeat for unionization efforts. The Westmoreland Coal Company ignored its workers’ objections and forced its miners to adopt new blasting agents, which were said to be safer. The miners themselves were responsible for purchasing their own powder and saw this forced use of the new more expensive product as a cut in wages. In addition to this, miners demanded an eight-hour work day and wages equal to those paid in the nearby Pittsburgh Coal Basin. Miners also wanted to be paid for mining coal dust, laying track, tunnel work, and removing water and debris. Coal miners were originally only paid by the number of coal cars they were able to fill each day. The miners attempted to organize under the leadership of the UMWA District 5 (Pittsburgh) officers. In retaliation to the beginnings of organization, the company fired 100 miners. A strike ensued in March 1910 that lasted until the end of June 1911. The miners, many of whom were Eastern European immigrants, faced a powerful and well-connected foe. The coal operators enjoyed a close relationship with the courts that enabled them to use injunctions to limit the striking miners’ activities. In addition, the police practice of harassing strikers and protecting strike-breakers was common. The demand for coal was also slack in this particular period. This lack of demand, combined with the use of strike breakers and police, enabled the coal companies to keep a large enough portion of their operations running to break even. The strike effort may have been weakened by disagreement at the national levels of UMWA as to whose jurisdiction including the Irwin Field. There was controversy as to whether UMWA District 5 or an independent locally based organization working through the International UMWA should lead the strike. The UMWA International supplied organizers and financial assistance, as did District 5 and 2. UMWA District 5 played a large role in the episode and would continue to be involved in the Westmoreland County area. However, an organized national UMWA presence in the area apparently did not last beyond the end of the strike. The strike in the Irwin Field was an important chapter in the history of UMWA District 3. It illustrated the hostile conditions under which organization efforts were carried out. It also reinforced the special relationship between Districts 3 and 5. This strike was the earliest recognition of the area as a semi-autonomous unit of the UMWA. In addition, the strike gained national attention outside the UMWA. Well known activists Mother Jones (1837-1930) and Emma Goldman (1869-1940) both spent time in the Irwin Field. Mother Jones even spoke on the strike, and other issues at the 1911 UMWA convention. There was also a Congressional report published in 1912 that dealt with the strike and the practices of the Westmoreland County Coal Company. UMWA District 3 once again faded from view following the collapse of the 1910-1911 strike. In 1921, a Greensburg local union was organized under District 5 and, once again, the Westmoreland County area was operating as an appendage of District 5, as it had in the first decade of the 20th century. Greensburg was in the Irwin Field, which had shown previously its ability to organize. It was perhaps this history that eventually led Greensburg to become home to the headquarters of the UMWA District 3. Strikes again occurred in the Westmoreland County area in 1922 and 1927. As in earlier efforts, these coincided with national and regional efforts by the UMWA. In 1922, the existence of the Greensburg local union under District 5 may have been a link to organization efforts in this area. During the 1927 strike, an organizer named George Medrick traveled throughout Allegheny, Fayette, and Westmoreland Counties. His travels between Pittsburgh and Westmoreland County show the links between Districts 3 and 5. Medrick was active in Fayette County as well, which was known as the Connellsville coke region. This area would become UMWA District 4 and shared with District 3 both the reputation as an area of “captive” mines. Company response to organizational activities in the 1920s was especially harsh. In some areas of Westmoreland County striking miners evicted from company houses were forced to build barracks-style shanties to live in. In 1927, mounted police troops were used to run down marching strikers, including one incident in Sewickley Township were both the flag-bearer (U.S. Flag) and a pregnant woman were trampled. The 1920s were hard years for coal miners, followed by the coming of the Great Depression. Many miners labored with little if any control over wage scales, work hours, checkweighmen, and safety conditions. But with the coming of Roosevelt’s New Deal, there was new hope for the UMWA in the 1930s. The national organizing drive that began early in 1933 both anticipated the passage of favorable national legislation and responded to grass roots efforts undertaken by miners. The National Industrial Recovery Act was signed into law by FDR in early summer. This legislation, specifically section 7(a), provided broad government support for organized workers, forcing employers to allow workers to organize. In some cases, this meant the formation or continuation of company unions. In other cases, operators had to acknowledge collective bargaining agents based outside the company. It provided a legally protected outlet for the energies of rank and file miners. The result was nothing short of a massive mobilization and reorganization effort within the UMWA. Districts which were long thought impervious to organization were becoming established. In many cases, workers organized themselves and swore themselves in. This left the organizers who reached them nothing more to do than hand out membership cards and take down names. The United Mine Workers Journal during this period was full of reports of the organization efforts. It was during this period that evidence of an organized District 3 first appeared. Volume 44 of the United Mine Workers Journal reported that, “Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, which for many years was lost to the union is 100 percent organized.” Other accounts reported that in areas of District 3 men had been denied the right of union membership for 50 years or more. In the span of three weeks, the entire district was organized. Company unions, hastily organized in response to the National Industrial Recovery Act to hold off independent unions, were voted down in favor of the UMWA. The first documented UMWA District 3 convention was held in 1933, reflecting its position as a functioning bureaucratic unit of the UMWA. All areas of the district were represented and President Frank Hughes presided. Hughes would remain in this position until 1956. Addresses by UMWA International Vice President Philip Murray (1886-1952) and UMWA District 5 President Pat Fagan were heard. Murray was a Scottish-born steelworker and served as the first president of the United Steelworkers of America. Murray was in charge of the organization efforts in Pennsylvania’s Bituminous Coal Field and Fagan was a native of Westmoreland County. Fagan’s presence also showed the continuing relationship between District 5 and the resurgent District 3. Some disagreement exists over the effects and significance of the organizing drive of the New Dean era. At least one historian has made a distinction between the successes of the resurgent union in the commercial versus the “captive” coal fields. The claim is that while organizational efforts were successful after the New Deal, attempts to win concessions and decision-making power were less effective. This is in part reflected by the District 3 records, which show instances of employer opposition to the national and regional collective bargaining agreements. Accounts in the United Mine Workers Journal relate that wages had increased and stabilized, the work day was shortened, and conditions had improved since the reorganization of the union. It is not clear the extent to which either of these scenarios prevailed in different parts of UMWA District 3. What is clear is that as of 1933, Westmoreland County was home to the organized, functioning District 3 of the United Mine Workers of America. The period from 1933-1950 is seen by historians as one of conflict, strikes and militancy in the coal industry and on the part of organized miners. In the 1950s, changes in labor-management relations came about that prompted Maier Fox, author of United We Stand, to call these the “quiet years.” These changes were prompted in part by shifts in the coal industry. Generally, demand was in decline due to alternate sources of fuel. The market of industrial users of coal outside the public utility market was declining. The railroads turned to the diesel engine, and home heating turned to natural gas and oil. Industries traditionally dependent on the coal mining industry made the transition to diversify fuel production to remain viable. Technologically, the introduction of the continuous mining machine and the use of powered haulers combined with surface mining to increase output per worker. This increased efficiency, coupled with the shrinking demand, tended to cause a decrease in employment. The union leadership cooperated with operators in introducing these new technologies and techniques and concentrated on strengthening the power of their organization. Meanwhile, membership declined as did the power of the UMWA to protect the jobs and the safety of working miners. In membership numbers, UMWA District 3 was in line with the national trend in the 1950s. It is unknown if the general factors listed above, other factors or some combination contributed to shrinking membership rolls. The existing documents from the period suggest some increase in bureaucracy reflected at the District level. Contracts became more formalized, and communication between the national and international officers of the union and the District increased. A change in leadership also occurred in this period. Ewing Watt replaced Frank Hughes as President of UMWA District 3 in 1957. Watt had formerly served as vice president under Hughes since the early 1950s. The final chapter of the history of UMWA District 3 took place within the larger context of change in the coal mining industry and union organization in the late 1960s and 1970s. In the 1960s, mining employment began to rise. The men hired to meet the increased demand were typically young and had little or no mining experience. An age gape existed in the UMWA between older miners nearing retirement and the new miners. These two groups, the largest and most influential among the rank and file had an unusual shared militancy. The older miners well remembered the militant 1930s and 1940s, and the new miners drew their militancy from examples of activism and protesting all around them in 1960s America. Miners began to question the moderate stance of UMWA leadership and the failure to act adequately on health and safety issues mostly notably black lung. Investigations of the union and its welfare and retirement fund (known as the Fund) monopolized the union’s attention and worked to drain its resources. Protests grew, eventually producing a rank and file organization known as the Miners for Democracy (MFD). This group pushed for an increased voice in and control over their union. These actions and a decline in membership would signal the decline of UMWA District 3 and its eventual consolidation into District 5. After a long battle at the national level, Tony Boyle was replaced by Arnold Miller in the 1972 election. In UMWA District 3, President Ewing Watt retired in May 1971 and his responsibilities were assumed by Bruno B. Olmizzi who had served as the UMWA International Representative of District 3. Fittingly, the bulk of UMWA District 3 records that survive from this period are workers’ compensation, welfare, and retirement case files. The movement toward democratization that began under Boyle at the prompting of the rank and file continued for a time under Miller. Displays of wealth and power were no longer acceptable at the national and district levels of UMWA. Official salaries were cut and some districts with shrinking memberships were merged into nearby districts. The disposition against overly large and powerful bureaucratic organization and shrinking membership may have combined to promote mergers. In the west, UMWA Districts 10 and 27, in Washington State and Montana, were merged into District 15, of Colorado and New Mexico. It is within this streamlining atmosphere that District 3 merged into District 5. The last official action of UMWA District 3 was its participation in the 1972 election in which Boyle was the District favorite. The district ceased to exist as an independent entity within the United Mine Workers of America following the election of Arnold Miller. The UMWA District 3 records survive as an independent unit because of the District’s unique history and union tradition in the Westmoreland area. Primary Sources: UMWA Papers of Districts 2, 3, and 5. IUP Special Collections & University Archives, Manuscript Groups 52, 66, 67.)

Language of Materials

English