The Progressive Miners of America (PMA, renamed the Progressive Mine Workers of America, PMWA, in 1938) was a coal miners'

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

organized in 1932 in downstate

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 ...

. It was formed in response to a 1932 contract proposal negotiated by United Mine Workers President

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 ...

, which reduced wages from a previous rate of $6.10 per day to $5.00 per day. The union was dissolved in 1999, after decades of discontent by members.

History

Background

During the first years of the 20th Century, the various organizational districts 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) retained substantial autonomy for the negotiation of contracts with mineowners.Gary M. Fink, "Progressive Mine Workers of America (PMA)," in Gary M. Fink (ed.), ''Labor Unions.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977; pg. 226. Among the strongest and most effective of these was UMWA District 12, encompassing the state of

, which managed to negotiate for itself the highest wage scale in the United States. Although able to win a $7.50 daily wage for its members, District 12 gradually came into conflict with national UMWA leadership under union president

, which sought an end to district autonomy in favor of the centralized negotiation of contracts on a national basis. Although initially opposing wage reductions under the slogan "No Backward Step," in 1928 Lewis negotiated a contract which effectively reduced the daily wage rate for Illinois miners from $7.50 to $6.10. This contract was narrowly ratified only after extensive campaigning among Illinois miners by UMWA officials, who eventually made the case for employment stability under the new wage rate rather than instability and strife if a fight was made to maintain the previous rate of wages. A general sense of dissatisfaction with Lewis and the national union leadership remained among Illinois miners in the aftermath of the signing of the new 1928 contract. The coming of the Great Depression put additional downward pressure upon wages, as the ranks of unemployed workers skyrocketed. The new contract negotiated in 1932 by the UMWA called for a further reduction of daily wages, this time from the previous $6.10 per day to just $5.00. This contract was overwhelmingly rejected in District 12, with negative votes carrying the day by a 4-to-1 margin. Lewis was called in to personally negotiate a new contract; his second effort did not differ materially from the first. This time, however, after the ratification vote was taken, tally sheets vanished and union president Lewis unilaterally put the new contract into effect, over the strenuous objection of rank and file members in District 12. Disaffected miners voted to initiate a series of

wildcat strike The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

s against mine operators across Illinois, with one particularly violent confrontation between striking miners and law enforcement authorities taking place on August 24, 1932, in the

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

community of Mulkeytown. Vehicles were upended and workers were shot at and beaten. Strikers believed Lewis and the UMWA leadership to be in cahoots with mineowners and lawmen in suppression of the Mulkeytown strike, and sentiment began to grow for a split of Illinois miners from the national union.

Formation

On September 1, 1932, barely a week after the violence at Mulkeytown, disaffected representatives of the Illinois miners gathered at Gillespie and voted to split from the UMWA in favor of their own organization, to be called the Progressive Miners of America (PMA). Approximately 18,000 miners were members of the organization at the time of its formation. Rejecting Lewis's autocratic, personalized leadership, the new union adopted democratic policies and instituted measures intended to ensure that their leaders would be held accountable to the membership. The new union embodied an alternative definition of unionism which broadened its role beyond wage agreements and worker grievances. Labor scholar Staughton Lynd defines alternative unionism or community-based unionism as "democratic, deeply rooted in mutual aid among workers in different crafts and work sites, and politically independent." This class conception of labor extended to include women. Historian Caroline Waldron Merithew notes, "the PMA was one of the few movements in which non-wage-earning women became leaders in organizing an industry that employed only male labor."

Recognition

Following its September 1932 formation, the PMA immediately sought to negotiate a new wage agreement for Illinois miners. A wage conference was called in

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. ...

in October, attended by a dissident segment of the state's mine operators, who were themselves divided as to the approach to be taken towards the organized labor movement. The contract negotiated between the dissident miners of the PMA and the dissident mine operators proved to be virtually identical to the agreement earlier rejected by the Illinois rank-and-file, ironically. The PMA did gain official recognition and an automatic dues check-off system, concessions necessary for the group's survival but failed to restore daily wage levels to the abandoned 1928 rate. Picketing against mines which refused to recognize the PMA was begun.Fink, "Progressive Mine Workers of America (PMA)," pg. 227. In response to the Illinois split, the Lewis-led UMWA began immediate negotiations with the mainline members of the

Illinois Coal Operators Association 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 Rockford ...

, agreeing upon a two-year extension of the new and reduced wage rates, which had been previously packaged as an "emergency" measure. The two rival unions and groups of operators stood in opposition to one another for the rest of the decade, with the UMWA retaining its hold over key coal mines in Southern Illinois through its

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...

agreement. Repeated demands for statewide recognition elections by the union were also rejected by the

National Labor Board The National Labor Board (NLB) was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933, to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). Establishment, structure and procedures T ...

, which refused to intervene in favor of either union, instead letting the contracts negotiated by the rival unions stand. Law Professor Jim Pope writes, "By early 1934, exit from the UMW was no longer a viable option for union miners. With the cooperation of employers and courts, the UMW had used its quasi-governmental position to withering effect against the alternative unions."Jim Pope, "The Western Pennsylvania Coal Strike of 1933, Part II: Lawmaking from Above and the Demise of Democracy in the United Mine Workers," ''Labor History,'' vol. 44, no. 2 (2003), pg. 259.

1937 Racketeering charges

The PMA suffered a crucial blow in 1937 when 39 members were

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

in federal court on anti- racketeering charges. Although the defense provided compelling evidence of UMWA collusion with the

Peabody Coal Company Peabody Energy is a coal mining and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its primary business consists of the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is purchased for use in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody ...

, the jury returned guilty verdicts for the accused. Subsequently, 34 received federal prison sentences, many serving time in Leavenworth, Kansas.

American Federation of Labor recognition

The union was also torn internally.

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

leaders resisted the efforts of radicals to expand the alternative formation of the union. Red-baiting was adopted to attack and discredit left-leaning members. In the spring of 1938, with Lewis and the UMWA having left the staid American Federation of Labor (AF of L) to help form the rival Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the AF of L offered a national charter to the Progressive Miners of America. This offer was accepted and the name of the organization was changed at this time to the Progressive Mine Workers of America (PMWA). Under the AF of L's umbrella the PMWA approximately doubled its original membership during subsequent years, topping the 35,000 mark by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Organizational structure

The Progressive Miners of America governed itself through biannual conventions and maintained national headquarters in Springfield, Illinois. The group issued an official organ during its salad days, a weekly newspaper called ''Progressive Miner.''

Return to independent status and decline

This national affiliation with the AF of L proved to be short-lived, however, as in 1946 the larger and stronger United Mine Workers of America rejoined the AF of L, regaining national jurisdiction and forcing the PMWA out of the organization. A lengthy period of decline began, with membership and organizational clout of the PMWA atrophying in subsequent decades. While the

formally continued to exist until 1999, its possibility to offer mine workers a genuine alternative dissolved decades earlier. Paired against the combined forces of the UMWA, the state and federal government, and the coal operators, the Progressives were hindered at every turn.

Footnotes

{{Reflist, 2

External links

* Wayne Hinton (ed.)

Wayne's World of History and Genealogy, www.hinton-gen.com/ Mining trade unions Defunct trade unions in the United States Coal mining in the United States Trade unions established in 1932 1999 disestablishments in the United States United Mine Workers of America