Bright yellow forsythia has begun to bloom in the yards of Harlan and Brookside and Evarts. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. There was a scuffle when a state police captain tried to remove one of the women, she says, adding, "Captain Cromer did get hit several times; I hit him with a stick myself." The miners, impoverished due to their already low pay (this coming in the form of company scrip, room, and board), decided enough was enough, and some of them . safety director for the Harlan County Coal Operators Association; Moss Paterson, chief of the State Bureau of Mines and Minerals, and State and Federal mine inspectors. In 1981, he traded coal mining for gold mining as one of the founders of the current . The issues had been narrowed down to Eastover's demand for a "no-strike clause" and a limit on the power of the safety committee. Our driver points out Norman Yarborough's two-story frame house, across the highway from the camp and up out of the river bottom. Done. The prospects for settlement do not look good unless Duke begins to feel public pressure. The nearest ridge is green with spruce and pine. "I've been juiced a lot, and I've had to just set down thirty-five minutes because it just takes the pep out of you." By 1908 the union had . Harlan County U.S.A. by Felicia Elliott, August 2, 2016. The money was . Our delegation arrives on time at the Eastover office in Brookside. Nonunion workers were attempting to leave the mine. I glance at the new Piedmont magazine, Pace. It is thought that Middleton was assassinated for backing troops who were present in the County to protect the miners. Battle of Evarts - Wikipedia "I don't know nothing about the electrical part." The distance a miner had to walk and how time was looked at was in 15-minute increments. Interviews with residents of Hazard who discuss the coal miners' union, the harassment union miners faced from large mining companies, and the unofficial strikes that are being organized in Hazard County. The roof is approximately forty-eight inches high in the mine. Isolated trailer houses. In "Bloody Harlan" in the 1930s, miners and union organizers faced bayonets and many died fighting the coal bosses, helping to fuel a national wave of organizing. Grover Jennings says that six months ago he applied for a job at the Mary Helen mine and was apparently accepted, but that when he went back for his physical, Clyde Goitis, an official at the mine, said, "Buddy, there just ain't no way I can do anything for you. The Harlan County Coal Operators Association, still functioning today, spent nearly a half million dollars from 1927 to 1938 to combat unionism, most of it going to pay strongarm men to terrorize . Almost immediately after the explosion became known rescue teams, under the direction of J. F. Bryson, safety director of the Harlan County Coal Operators association, started into the entry. Only three of the families in the camp have indoor toilets. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 1931-39 (Paperback) at the best online prices at eBay! James Willard Pope officiating. Appalachia: Coal Operators Oral History Project SPOKEdb But is it really hurting? Yarborough comes out of a staff meeting and ushers us hack to a large, paneled meeting room with folding tables and chairs. By comparison to Harlan, the Pittston strike in 1989-1990 shut down almost 70% of that company's production (and completely halted production during the Moss 3 refining plant occupation) and won back the health care benefits of around 1500 miners and their families, as well as the Coal Act of 1992 that requires all coal operators in the U . ("Tony") Boyle for the national presidency of the UMW in 1972 in an election closely supervised by the federal government. On February 16, 1931, the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association reduced wages for miners in that part of eastern Kentucky by 10 percent. Nannie Rainey says, "I told him if he got my children, he was gonna haveta take me too." It reports that "Piedmont" is an adjective derived.from Italian words that literally mean "formed at the foot of the mountains." We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Willard Wirtz says he senses that the Harlan County Coal Operators Association is a major factor in the dispute, that it doesn't want a settlement with higher wages and benefits and tough safety provisions to be made by Eastover, because it fears the domino effect of such a settlement on the rest of the companies in the county. Harlan County Revisited - Memory of a Miner These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In the throes of the Great Depression, Harlan County coal owners and operators, in an effort to expand national dependency on their fuel, chose to sell below cost. The miners charge that the Harlan County Coal Operators Association is behind Eastover's refusal to sign a contract. During the Great Depression of the 1930s coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, struck against the coal operators for better pay and better working conditio. "Dreiser, Woman Indicted," one headline reads. There had been several clashes with the "scabs," the mine guards, and the state police, Kahn says. The Widows of Harlan County - CBS News A Brief History of Harlan County, USA | Labor Notes COMING THE BOYS OF HARLAN - The Washington Post Darrell Deaton says there is a direct telephone line to Washington for safety complaints, "but if you identify yourself; you're gonna be out of a job.". This series of skirmishes and strikes, lasting from early 1931 into 1939, began because of the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association's (HCCOA) decision to cut miners' wages by 10%. Trailer parks called Walnut Grove, Mobile Manor, and Mesa Village Mobile Manor. Bobby's wife, Becky, who died in 2013, was a lifelong advocate for the people of Harlan County. Another press member criticizes Barbara Bode for having raised a clenched fist during the women's testimony. Willard Wirtz says that it is important to remember that one side of the dispute felt confident enough about their case to arrange to spread it before the widest possible audience. Freda Armes says, "I run him off. It is beautiful in Harlan County, as pretty as any place in the world. However, the battle continues to this day. The UMW had made written proposals for compromising these issues a little. (Eastover offered fifty cents a ton.) When they went to jail, they say, some of the women took their children with them. In response, the United Mine Workers of America attempted to organize the miners. Soon enough, most miners had gone on strike out of solidarity. The miners say that, somehow, management always knows when the government inspectors are coming. But you must remember I am an immoral man. America in the Harlan County Mine Wars, 1931-1939 Carletta A. Bush Early accounts of the Harlan County mine wars place the inability of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to establish a permanent foothold in the county, first at the feet of of the Harlan County Coal Operators Association (HCCOA) and secondly at "The personal is political" was a rallying cry of second wave feminism. We never would find out what happened. "A gun thug pulled a gun on us, and I broke a switch over his head, and the little gun thug pulled out," Lois Scott says matter-of-factly. On top of that, we learn later, the union is spending $108,000 a year for medical and hospital coverage for the striking miners and their families. Herndon J. Evans, the editor of the Pineville Sun, argued, The troubles of the coal industry had their inception in war times. The Price of Coal, Part II. The committee has invited owners as well as workers to participate in the hearings, but the impression we get is that management will not appear. When a miner complains, Jerry Johnson says, the foreman says, "If you don't like it, you can always get your bucket," meaning pick up your lunch bucket and get out. Strikebreakers were often beaten. These charities began to give aid to blacklisted miners who were unable to find employment as the soup kitchens had closed once the NMU had closed its doors. The most memorable of those are 1964, 1966, 1969 (The West Virginia Black Lung strike that the miners won) 1971, and the 1974 Strikes. J. D. Skidmore says that, back in the mines, the phones are always out of order, there is no transportation out until the end of the shift, and it's a one-hour walk to daylight. Harlan County in eastern Kentucky, which has been brought out into the spotlight this summer by the violence with which the local Coal Operators' Association has carried on this attack, is, as far as I can find out, a pretty good medium exhibit of the entire industry: living conditions are better than in Alabama and perhaps a little worse . ", Bill Doan says that he was hurt in a rockfall at 7:15 one morning and that he didn't get out of the mine until nine o'clock. Harlan County War - Wikipedia She's been picketing with the other women. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Which Side are You on? Only to be escorted to the county line and told not to return. Get a Demo. They say no action has been taken on this report. Movie Review: Harlan County, USA (1976) - organizing.work I remind her of what Bill Doan has said: "You work with one eye on the roof, one eye on your job, and your mind's outside.". We drive to the Evarts Community Center and report to the other members of the Citizens Inquiry. Sheriff Blair was voted out of his office in 1933 and died just a year later. "They don't want miners havin' any say in safety." Faith, power, and conflict: Miner preachers and the United Mine Workers On Friday, March 25, a continuous mining machine operator was killed by a wall collapse at the Huff Creek No. Nevertheless, as the county seat, the city of Harlan has resources much of the county lacks. Pay ranged from $17 to $32 day, the average being $25. Si has signed on as head of the staff for the Citizens Inquiry, which is funded with a five-thousanddollar grant from the Field Foundation. Battle of Evartshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/new-deal/national-industrial-recovery-act-of-1933/, Battle of Evartshttps://pipiwiki.com/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, Battle of Evartshttps://wiki2.org/en/Battle_of_Evarts, Harlan County Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War, A Brief History of Harlan County, USAhttps://labornotes.org/blogs/2019/08/brief-history-harlan-county-usa, Harlan County Warhttps://everipedia.org/Harlan_County_War, https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/background-coal-strike, https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/local-elite, https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/new-york-writers, https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/national-miners-union-and-other-radical-groups, The Wagner Act of 1935 (National Labor Relations Act)https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-wagner-act-of-1935-national-labor-relations-act-2060509#:~:text=%20The%20Wagner%20Act%20defines%20and%20prohibits%20five,or%20administration%20of%20a%20labor%20organization.%20More%20, BOMB IN AUTO KILLS KENTUCKY OFFICIAL; Harlan County Attorney Predicted Assassination for Backing Troops in Election.https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/05/archives/bomb-in-auto-kills-kentucky-official-harlan-county-attorney.html#:~:text=HARLAN%2C%20Ky.%2C%20Sept.%204%20%28AP%29.%20%20The%20death,his%20automobile.%20View%20Full%20Article%20in%20Timesmachine%20%C2%BB, Elmon Clay Middleton https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70804679/elmon-clay-middleton, KENTUCKY HOLDS FOUR IN AUTO BOMB KILLING; Harlan Prosecutors Death Is Laid to His Fight Against Slot Machines.https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/06/archives/kentucky-holds-four-in-auto-bomb-killing-harlan-prosecutors-death.html, Blackjewel Bankruptcy Leaves Damaged Lands and Miners Compensation in Limbo, https://ohiovalleyresource.org/2021/03/22/blackjewel-bankruptcy-finalized/, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/?fbclid=IwAR21nYphw4Dul-_EwuAmSWgzsvPLNwsMM0FtV75j0y-mGUHq-lCZjJxZot8, For more about us, you can visit our Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/kytnliving, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs0oV5gFzIS2JdMJ3HvTOgA, When we forget our past and who we are as a people, then we become who they say we are. In the face of what promised to be a lengthy struggle for the Harlan County coal miners of 1931, their wildcat strike had left thousands jobless and many homeless as well. Is that the only objection that is holding up a settlement? Three Point Mine Explosion We huddle before breaking up. The Harlan County Coal Miners, 1931-39 (Paperback) at the best online prices at eBay! Expand. One of the towns that were a refuge was Evarts, Kentucky. Sometimes, they'll be a black scum on the rag." Unemployment in 2017 was 9.4 percent, far above the national average. Why haven't the car bodies been removed from the highway and the streets? The name comes from a series of United Mine Workers strikes and labor-management battles which ended in a gunfight between deputized mine guards and miners on May 4, 1931, in the tiny community of Evarts. There is a hard edge in her voice, and her blue-gray eyes are flashing. Depression-era Harlan County, Kentucky, was the site of one of the most bitter and protracted labor disputes in American history. ~~ David Sergent. In the throes of the Great Depression, Harlan County coal owners and operators, in an effort to expand national dependency on their fuel, chose to sell below cost.