The National Industrial Recovery Act only partially succeeded in accomplishing its stated goals when it was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on May 27, 1935, which was three weeks before the Act was set to expire. The miners say that they want their own safety committee, elected by the miners, as the standard UMW contract provides, with the right to walk out, losing their pay, when there is eminent danger in the mine. At Brookside, this would amount to $400,000 a year. On May 24, 1931, Sheriff Blair rescinded the miners right to assemble and tear-gassed a union rally. "We took the sticks with us," she says. No concessions or deals were made between the two factions and the membership of the United Mine Workers union plummeted. We stop for fish and chips at a chain-operated Long John Silver's Sea Food Shoppe, as out of place in the Cumberlands as a clam in a spruce tree. There are nearly 40,000 people in the county, a drop of 36 percent since 1960. "With all those state police, we knew we had three choices," she says. Here and there, we also see white-blossoming pear and dogwood trees. He said that when the coal industry was at its height in 1928, the peak of . Looking for protection by the Kentucky National Guard, many were surprised to find that they broke the picket lines instead. Kentucky communities discussed include Artemus, Burdine, Jenkins, Jellico, Van Lear, and Wheelwright; and Kentucky counties include Bell, Clay, Floyd, Harlan . Jacqueline Brophy asks why public services have broken down. The women say they then organized a "sunrise worship service" to begin at 4:30 on the morning of October 23, on the railroad tracks across the highway from the picket line. Yellow-dog contracts (Contracts where the employees agreed to never organize into a union before they were employed with a coal company), company unions, blacklists, all tactics that were employed by the companies to bust up unions, and discrimination-based on union activity were all outlawed under this act. Leroy Helton says miners often have to splice electrical cable, even though they're not qualified to do so. Freda Armes says, "I take a cloth and strain the water to cook with. (That is a tough point.) "Yeah," a coal miner says, "but the land's so poor, you can't hardly raise an umbrella on it.". ~~ David Sergent. After the Battle of Evarts, the Red Cross and the United Mine Workers Union refused to help the striking men on the basis that it was now an industrial conflict that needed to be resolved internally. Paternalism is the practice of people who have a business or other authority to restrict the freedoms of those who are subordinate to them. 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. Over one thousand shots were exchanged during those fifteen minutes. It is not all Duke's fault by any means. Dalton points out that there were 132 mine fatalities in the United States in 1973, only seventeen of them in UMW mines. It took forty-five minutes for someone to come and help get him out, Deaton says. Darrell Deaton, president of the Brookside UMW local, says he was caught in a belt line last year because he had to work alone, without a helper. I have two children and four grandchildren from a previous marriage. They just laughed about it, and we kept on cuttin' coal. Why are people allowed to dump raw sewage in the streams? He hopes the other side will do the same. There are very few vacant houses in the county. The trees are barely beginning to bud in the early March warmth. . Mr. Nolan, a resident of Cawood, is survived by his wife, Mrs. Stella Nolan . 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 group publishes policy papers on the benefits of coal for Kentucky and sponsors the "Friends of Coal" initiative. And lastly, the Harlan Fox Mining Co - presumably derived from the Harlan Fox Coal Co - was in operation from 1925-1932. They file with us copies of specific federal safety violation reports, and they say that nothing was ever done to correct these violations. During the big coal boom in the early 1900s, Harlan County was amongst the largest contributors. After this, the first strike occurred, in which only about 13% of strikers showed up to work. Done. It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. . That year, annual wages dropped from $1,235 to $749. Harry Caudill, attorney and author of Night Comes to the Cumberlands, will not be able to join us in Harlan because of legal business. When McQueen was hurt, his foreman drove him to the hospital and left him there, and he was two hours hitchhiking home. Sheriff T. R. Middleton replaced Blair under the pro-union campaign platform. I've talked to Norman Yarborough, and you ain't bringing no union down here. It will be a two-hour, winding drive through the Cumberland Mountains to the town of Harlan. Prior to the strike, the pay of the Brookside miners started and stopped at the face of coal. New subdivisions named Tall Oaks and Colonial Heights. Eight miners were sentenced to life in prison for the actions that were taken on May 5, 1931. He says that negotiations were broken off on November 28, 1973, because of the miners' insistence on the full terms of the standard UMW contract. The sign man for R C Cola has worked this territory well. It is an area of Kentucky that you only go to if you are intentionally going to the county. 1 mine in Evarts, in Harlan County, Kentucky. The miners say that they often have to stand knee-deep in water while handling 440-volt electrical cables. She's been picketing with the other women. 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. The men and women were released on good behavior. In response, the United Mine Workers of America attempted to organize the miners. The UMW had made written proposals for compromising these issues a little. Is the safety provision in the UMW contract the sticking point for Eastover? Our driver points out Norman Yarborough's two-story frame house, across the highway from the camp and up out of the river bottom. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". And always there is a murky roadside stream, beech and sycamore trees lining its banks. "I cain't get a job nowhere in this county. Why couldn't Eastover live with the same national UMW contract that so many other companies have accepted? The women are nervous about testifying, afraid of retaliation. 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.". Before this war was over it is not known exactly how many miners, coal operators, deputies, and bosses would be killed. It is home to lawyers, doctors and coal operators; it has a hospital, several banks and a few fast-food . I have taken several classes in Journalism as well as in the Appalachian History, Literature, and Sociology during my time at those schools. These battles will end the Coal Wars proper. "Dreiser, Woman Indicted," one headline reads. He discusses the formation and activities of the Harlan County Coal Operators Association . She talks about the women being armed with sticks, mace . Middleton died on the scene. I have been married to David W. Sergent since May 4, 2013. Harlan Daily Enterprise, September 17, 1943. (The union has told us that they are quite willing to limit the contract to the Brookside mine.) On May 5, 1931 the pot boiled over; in Harlan County Kentucky, heavily armed deputies and company men, called "gun thugs" by miners, confronted disgruntled union men on a road near Evarts. Si says Harlan is a dry countyno legal liquor and no beer. A third generation coal operator, he served as President of the Harlan County Coal Operators and the Harlan Mining Institute, as Vice President of the Kentucky Coal Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Associated Industries of Kentucky. . Dan Pollitt reads a letter from Carl Horn, Jr., president of Duke Power Company, respectfully declining our invitation. Outlining the legal framework for labor unions and management relations to improve the working conditions for workers. Talking to Aaronson, I am reminded of an old tin sign I saw tacked on a tree along the highway as I left Harlan. Or all you're gonna get's a chunk of Harlan County coal. Blaine Sergent, coal leader, putting up his check at the end of a workday in Harlan County, Kentucky, in 1946. Trailer parks called Walnut Grove, Mobile Manor, and Mesa Village Mobile Manor. The strikebreakers were under the protection of private mine guards. Even though things were doing better for the unions in Harlan County, there was still civil unrest. The miners charge that the Harlan County Coal Operators Association is behind Eastover's refusal to sign a contract. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. There are still ongoing strikes today and the violence in Harlan County Continues. The Seco Train Accident September 20, 1917, New Bank in the Coal Country Installed in 1911, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/new-deal/national-industrial-recovery-act-of-1933/, https://pipiwiki.com/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War, https://labornotes.org/blogs/2019/08/brief-history-harlan-county-usa, 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, 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, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70804679/elmon-clay-middleton, https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/06/archives/kentucky-holds-four-in-auto-bomb-killing-harlan-prosecutors-death.html, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/?fbclid=IwAR21nYphw4Dul-_EwuAmSWgzsvPLNwsMM0FtV75j0y-mGUHq-lCZjJxZot8, The Flatwoods Monster: Weird Appalachia Cases, Rotherwood Mansion: Weird Appalachia Cases, The Brown Mountain Ghostly Lights: Weird Appalachia Cases. Another press member criticizes Barbara Bode for having raised a clenched fist during the women's testimony. He is dressed more like a miner than a mining executive. The prospects for settlement do not look good unless Duke begins to feel public pressure. After the railroad arrived in 1911 . 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 . He says that they do not need the UMW to look after them; he will do that. 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. Thirty percent of the families lack automobiles. The UMW union called in the National Guard to help them. Duke went into the coal business directly in 1970 when it organized Eastover Mining Company as a wholly owned subsidiary and, through it, bought several mines in eastern Kentucky, including the one at Brookside. It read: RE-ELECT GAW, JAILER. Their General Secretary recently released some facts which help to illustrate the reason for much of the unemployment in the county. In Harlan County, Kentucky, are some of our country's richest natural resourcesand some of its poorest people. [citation needed] On February 16, 1931, in order to prevent operating at a loss, the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association cut miners' wages by 10%. The Act was an attempt to restructure the industrial sector of the economy and to alleviate unemployment with a public works program. Big Boy. These guards were legally able to protect these men during their off duty time. In 1973 the 13-month Brookside Strike brought almost 200 workers to battle Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant, a company owned by Duke Power. He says that he will not agree to the Brookside contract applying to "all" of Eastover's operations. Five miles north of Harlan, we drive up Inspiration Mountain. It was the most violent attack of the Harlan County Coal wars and the most violence would only last fifteen minutes in total but would forever change the name to Bloody Harlan. But, Aaronson says, Norman Yarborough had then called back to say, simply, that there was nothing of further interest to them in the negotiations More public pressure on Duke is needed, he says. My brother died at the age of forty. At first, heading northwest on modern Route 23, through Kingsport, Tennessee, Weber City, Virginia, and Gate City, Virginia, the sights are the same as almost everywhere else in America today. Si sticks a wad of Red Man chewing tobacco in his cheek and begins to fill us in on the background of the Brookside strike. We soon get into a discussion about Dreiser's 1931 inquiry. But, I say, even without further investigation of each of the complaints, it is possible to conclude that fear is an everyday part of the miners' lives. Sudie Crusenberg, a plain woman in a cotton dress, gives us some idea of what life is like for a coal-mining family. And we're burning up people to make electricity. This caused the clergy to denounce the union. We drive through the streets of the town of Harlan, past the stores and houses, past the Harlan Baptist Church with a sign out front which reads: "If you are unkind, you are the wrong kind." "If we could monitor these inspections, perhaps we could cut down on the fatalities," he says. Among coal miners, Harlan County, Kentucky, is known as "Bloody Harlan." In one of these, the septic tank has been out of order for several months. The Sheriff reportedly got rich on payoffs from the companies, and he used 181 mine company gunmen as special deputies. Three Point, Harlan County, Kentucky September 16, 1943 No. the foreman would just say, "We gotta run coal. . 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. Does the Association hire for all the mines in the county? Overturned car bodies everywhere. those in the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association, were run as open shops from October 27, 1933 - March 31, 1935. Harlan County to unionize miners. If any attractive woman became interested in me, I'd think it was a very lovely thing. We gather back in Evarts and announce that our report will be ready in two or three weeks. However, they did make a greater effort than the United Mine Workers with relief as they opened soup kitchens around the county. Someone had planted dynamite in his automobile and when he started it up the car blew up. Free shipping for many products! Perched atop Inspiration Mountain is the modern Mount Aire Motel. Only 23 percent of those in the county over the age of twenty-five have completed high school. Bobby's wife, Becky, who died in 2013, was a lifelong advocate for the people of Harlan County. CBS is represented by a camera crew, and there are a number of national reporters. She says that the women decided that they couldn't fight guns with switches and that they had taken sticks with them the next time. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The miners could be fired if they refused to spend their paychecks only in the store. After nearly 40 years of working in coalmines, David . Interview Summary. In response, the coal owners and operators decided to sell their fuel at below cost to increase the national dependency on coal. The decade-long conflict between miners and the coal operators who adamantly resisted unionization has been immortalized in folksong by Florence Reece and Aunt Molly Jackson, contemplated in prose by Theodore Dreiser and Sherwood Anderson, and long been obscured by . We agree that most of us lean toward the miners, but we think we can be fair in trying to learn the facts. Seen 'em carried out on a stretcher," she says. At Washington's National Airport, I board Piedmont Airline's fat little silver jet on a Sunday afternoon in early March. We're all involved. Leroy Helton says he still owes a lot of bills that should have been paid by SLU. Many of the houses have no running water, and these families have to carry all their water from a common outdoor spigot. "I don't like to handle that raw juice," he says. It was Miller who defeated W. A. Former Director of Harlan County Coal Operators Association. 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. Its profits in 1973 were $90 million, up 14 percent from the year before. He says that, standing. She talks about hiding behind cars on the picket line for protection from the "gun thugs." She talks about a standoff against Basil Collins and the scabs and gun thugs. Some of the women went to jail with the men, and some took their children with them. The Harlan County Wars took on its own epic spin on the ongoing fight between labor disputes and the coal operators and owners lasting almost ten years. They point out that most of the big coal companies, such as U.S. Steel and others, have signed UMW contracts, but that the smaller companies of eastern Kentucky have held out. While it succeeded in organizing thousands of miners, it failed to complete a bargaining agreement with Harlan County's coal operators. Funeral Wednesday March 1 at 11 a.m. at Grays Knob Bible Church. What a marvelous view! There is a suit still in litigation. On Friday, March 25, a continuous mining machine operator was killed by a wall collapse at the Huff Creek No. Exist Dates. Why is garbage left on the roadway? Sometimes, they'll be a black scum on the rag." To prevent operating at a loss, on February 16, 1931, the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association decided to cut all wages by ten . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Three of our Inquiry members plan to talk with the president of Duke Power Company. Attempts to organize led to the dismissal of employees who were suspected of having leanings toward the organization and having them evicted from their family homes. At first, there were little battles with gunshots being exchanged between the strikers and the private guards, and the local law enforcement agents. They fed strikers' children as well as the employed, blacks as well as whites. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Killed - 12. With the opening left by the United Mine Workers union the openly Communist (NMU) National Miners Union tried to help the miners to organize. When filmmaker Barbara Kopple traveled to Harlan County, Kentucky, the resulting Academy award-winning documentary, Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976) captured a historic story.

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