When Miners March: West Va. Coalfield Tales Still Resonate

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5341/when_miners_march/

Friday December 18 1:21 pm

By Kari Lydersen

As politicians and protesters hash out perhaps the very future of our planet at the Copenhagen climate summit, I can't help but focus on a major culprit of the climate crisis: coal.

Coal-fired power is responsible for a large chunk of the greenhouse gas emissions that threaten to throw us into climatic, social and economic turmoil. It is also the fodder of some of the most brutal labor wars in U.S. history. And coal miners in China, Eastern Europe and to a lesser degree the U.S. still work in horrendously dangerous and grueling conditions.

So let's look at When Miners March, a 2004 book penned by William C. Blizzard, son of a legendary miner. A new edition is in the works, for release in fall 2010 on PM Press. The tome tells of vicious mine wars and fearless union organizing in West Virginia from the late 1800s through a 1921 march into nonunion Logan County.

Current events—notably the struggle for unions to remain relevant and empowered, and coal's role in the climate change crisis—make these writings both relevant and remarkable. The book underscores, among other things, both how far we have come in terms of labor protections and rights, and how far we have fallen in terms of workers’ ability and willingness to take great risks and militant action.

Coal could in many ways be seen as symbolic of heavy industry past and present, fuel for steel mills and railroads that built the heartland and still the country’s primary energy source. The book starts with a striking quote from Mother Jones, as fitting today as ever:

The story of coal is always the same. It is a dark story. For a second’s more sunlight, men must fight like tigers. For the privilege of seeing the color of their children’s eyes by the light of the sun, fathers must fight as beasts in the jungle. That life may have something of decency, something of beauty – a picture, a new dress, a bit of cheap lace fluttering in the window – for this, men who work in the mines must struggle and lose, struggle and win.

FULL story at link.

[tech9413]

1. When you talk about coal and workers rights You have to mention

the battle of Blair mountain. The effort and sacrifice of those that tried to get decent wages for their brothers in Mingo county is what America is all about. My connection to the coal industry and the rights of workers comes to me from my Grandpap. He was the fire boss and then foreman at United Mine #1 until it closed in '32. He made sure that all the workers could find another job and helped feed their family. I suspect that's one reason we never had a strike up here. He was a hard assed SOB, but he always cared about the other guy.