John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)
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John Mitchell (February 4, 1870 – September 9, 1919) was a
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
leader 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 ...
from 1898 to 1908.


Background

John Mitchell was born in 1870 in
Braidwood, Illinois Braidwood is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, approximately southwest of Chicago and south of Joliet. The population was 6,191 at the 2010 census. The Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station, a nuclear power plant currently owned ...
, a second generation
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immigrant. He became an orphan when he was only six years old, and began working at that age to support his family.


Career

Mitchell worked in the coal mines his whole life. Having started work at age six, by age fifteen he joined the
Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
in 1885 and was a founding member of the United Mine Workers of America in 1890. He was elected District 12 secretary-treasurer in 1895. He was made an international union organizer in 1897 and worked alongside Mary Harris "Mother" Jones before being elected an international vice president the same year. Mother Jones later became disillusioned with him. According to her autobiography, "He had tasted power, and this finally destroyed him." Just before Mitchell became president, the
Lattimer Massacre The Lattimer massacre was the violent deaths of at least 19 unarmed striking immigrant anthracite miners at the Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, United States, on September 10, 1897.Anderson, John W. ''Transitions: From Eastern Europ ...
had seen 19 miners killed by police and 58 miners died in the
Twin Shaft Disaster The Twin Shaft disaster occurred in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Colliery in Pittston, Pennsylvania, United States, on June 28, 1896, when a massive cave-in killed fifty-eight miners. Disaster At 3:00 in the morning on Sunday, June 28, ...
one year earlier. But this was also a period of growth for the union: the number of members grew almost tenfold, from 34,000 to 300,000, during Mitchell's term. Mitchell engaged in contentious negotiations with mining companies, including one in which
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Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
had to intervene, resulting in an
eight-hour workday The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...
and a
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
. In September 1898, Mitchell became acting president of UMWA after president
Michael Ratchford Michael D. Ratchford (August 1860 – December 12, 1927) was an Irish-American labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1897 to 1898. Ratchford is remembered for his leadership of a coal strike during the summer ...
resigned to become a member of the United States
Industrial Commission {{Distinguish, Industrial Relations Commission The Industrial Commission was a United States government body in existence from 1898 to 1902. It was appointed by President William McKinley to investigate railroad pricing policy, industrial concentr ...
. He won election outright in 1899. He helped organize 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 ...
in 1900. He served as fourth vice president of the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
(AFL) from 1898 to 1900, and as second vice president from 1899 to 1913 (although he had lost the UMWA presidency in 1908). Along with AFL
Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...
and AFL secretary-treasurer Frank Morrison, he was sentenced to prison for violating a court injunction during a strike at the Buck Stove and Range Co. in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. In a landmark case, the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
overturned the contempt citation in ''
Gompers v. Buck's Stove and Range Co. ''Gompers v. Buck's Stove and Range Co.'', 221 U.S. 418 (1911), was a ruling by the United States Supreme Court involving a case of contempt for violating the terms of an injunction restraining labor union leaders from a boycott or from publishing ...
'', finding that the court of appeals had erred in allowing the company to bring the complaint of contempt, rather than the district court itself. One of Mitchell's earliest challenges in the UMWA was to help incorporate new workers from various ethnicities into the union. There were numerous language barriers, as well as cultural biases and outright prejudice to be overcome. His success in this area helped him become vice-president in 1897, and president one year later, in 1898. When his successor, Thomas Lewis, won approval of a resolution forcing UMWA members to resign from the National Civic Federation, Mitchell left the union. He continued his association with the federation for many years, as well as serving on a number of state and federal commissions.


Death

John Mitchell died age 47 on September 9, 1919, from
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
in
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and was buried in Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton.


Legacy

A statue of Mitchell stands on the grounds of the Lackawanna County Courthouse, Scranton, Pennsylvania, the site of the
Coal Strike of 1902 The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of ...
negotiations in which President Roosevelt participated. Because of the significance of these negotiations, the statue and the Courthouse were added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1997.


Works

* ''The Workingman's Conception of Industrial Liberty'' (1910)


See also

*
Michael Ratchford Michael D. Ratchford (August 1860 – December 12, 1927) was an Irish-American labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1897 to 1898. Ratchford is remembered for his leadership of a coal strike during the summer ...
* Thomas Lewis *
John Phillip White John Phillip White (February 28, 1870 – September 21, 1934) was a miner and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1911 to 1917. Biography He was born in Coal Valley, Rock Island County, Illinois in 1870 and went to work ...
*
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 ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


United Mine Workers of America
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John Presidents of the United Mine Workers Trade unionists from Illinois American coal miners People from Braidwood, Illinois 1870 births 1919 deaths Knights of Labor people American trade unionists of Irish descent