The 1922 UMW Miner strike or The Big Coal Strike
was a nationwide general
strike of
miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
s in the US and Canada after the
United Mine Worker's (UMW)
trade union contract expired on March 31, 1922. The strike decision was ordered March 22, to start effective April 1. Around 610,000 mine workers struck.
About 100,000 of the striking miners were non-union or not associated with the UMW.
Background
Negotiations having failed to produce a contract, on March 22, 1922,
union 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 ...
ordered the strike to commence on April 1, the day after the expiration of the current contract.
More than 600,000 miners went on strike leaving 185,000 miners not on strike;
10,000 of which were union members running the pumps so the mines didn't flood.
''The Labor World'' at the time reported the following for many of the states,
In June during the strike, the
Herrin mine massacre occurred in Illinois. A month later, on July 1 the
Great Railroad Strike of 1922 started. Political comics from the time suggest there was solidarity between the miners and rail workers.
Aftermath
A contract was reached on September 2, 1922, it covered members of the UMW extending the agreement terms of the previous contract to August 31,1923. The
Federal Coal Commission
The Federal Coal Commission was an agency of the Federal government of the United States of America, enacted by the U.S. Congress in September 1922 and headed by former U.S. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall.
History
Background
On April 1, 1922, ...
was also formed as part of the agreement. After ratification, mining resumed on September 11. The general coal strike lasted 163 days.
However non-unionized mining workers were not covered by the UMW contract.
After the UMW ended their strike, around 25,000 Windber, Pennsylvania miners
continued striking. Those miners voted to end their strike on August 14, 1923, after failing to gain a contract.
See also
*
Great Railroad Strike of 1922
*
1922 New England textile strike
The New England Textile Strike was a strike led by members of the United Textile Workers of America (UTW) principally in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Throughout the duration of the strike, an estimated 68,000-8 ...
*
United Mine Workers coal strike of 1919
The United Mine Workers coal strike of 1919 saw coal miners strike for over a month, from November 1 to December 10, 1919, for better wages.
Background
1919 in the United States saw the country undergoing the First Red Scare a period marked by a ...
*
West Virginia coal wars
External links
Audio interview with coal miner Leon Alexander
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Miners' labor disputes in the United States
1922 in the United States
Labor history of the United States
1922 labor disputes and strikes
Labor disputes led by the United Mine Workers of America