John Phillip White (February 28, 1870 – September 21, 1934) was a miner and president of the

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

(UMWA) from 1911 to 1917.

Biography

He was born in Coal Valley,

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in 1870 and went to work in the mines as a teenager before moving with his family to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. He joined the United Mine Workers and was eventually elected District 13 secretary-treasurer in 1899. He became the district president from 1904 to 1907 and again from 1909 to 1912. He was elected an UMWA international vice president in 1909, serving for two years. He was elected president of UMWA in 1911 after pledging to unite the union's warring factions. It is generally concluded that he was successful. During his presidency, the Colorado Coal Strike of 1913-1914 and Ludlow Massacre occurred. He is generally considered a progressive UMWA president. He won UMWA approval of the six-hour day, a ban on the employment of anyone under the age of 16, pensions, and workers' compensation. Although he was a political conservative, he forced through an amendment to the UMWA constitution forbidding membership in the

National Civic Federation The National Civic Federation (NCF) was an American economic organization founded in 1900 which brought together chosen representatives of big business and organized labor, as well as consumer advocates in an attempt to ameliorate labor disputes. I ...

. White is well known for two actions, which eventually, determined the course of the labor movement in the United States. In 1912, he forced delegates of the UMWA convention to approve a resolution asking the American Federation of Labor to endorse industrial unionism. He also appointed

John L. Lewis John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. A major player in the history of coal mining, he was the d ...

to be UMWA's chief statistician, a position which would allow Lewis to launch his own successful, historic run for the union presidency. He resigned from UMWA in 1917 to serve as a consultant to the National Fuel Commission during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, he worked as a field representative for UMWA. He died in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, in 1934.

References

*Downing, Sybil. ''Fire in the Hole.'' Niwot, Colo.: University Press of Colorado, 1996. *Fink, Gary M., ed. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor.'' Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1984. *Holbrook, Stewart. ''The Rocky Mountain Revolution.'' New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1956. *McGovern, George S. and Guttridge, Leonard F. ''The Great Coalfield War.'' Paperback reissue ed. Niwot, Colo.: University Press of Colorado, 2004. *Phelan, Craig. '' William Green: Biography of a Labor Leader.'' Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1989. *Suggs, Jr., George G. ''Colorado's War on Militant Unionism: James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners.'' 2nd ed. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. *Schwieder, Dorothy. "Black Diamonds"." Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1983.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, John Phillip 1870 births 1934 deaths People from Coal Valley, Illinois American coal miners Presidents of the United Mine Workers Trade unionists from Iowa Trade unionists from Illinois