Killing For Coal : America's Deadliest Labor War

In 1907, two miles south of Centralia, Illinois was the Centralia Mine No. 5. The Mine was there to provide coal during World War II. This particular mine employed 250 men and produced 2,000 tons of coal each day. During the next several years there were several complaints made regarding the safety of the mine. On March 25, 1947, the mine exploded, killing 111 miners. (Stillman, 2010)

At the time of Roosevelt’s presidency, workers were treated quite poorly. Corporations provided harsh working conditions, very low wages, and negligible rights. One corrupt corporation was exposed in 1902. The actions from the workers, and Roosevelt’s support were a precedent for the reform enacted in the future. In 1902, a coal mine strike came forth from the workers. The labor accomplished was very dangerous, yet the

After the civil war, up until the early 1900s, the need for a larger workforce grew as industrialization expanded. Samuel Slater brought the industrial revolution from England, and even since then, there were people trying to get better working conditions. Due to the growth in population by immigrants and expansion of industrialization, the working conditions became worse and worse, causing workers to suffer. Many people fought to solve this problem and changed many American’s lives for the better.

Eventually, the workers of American Coal, who were once the landowners of the very area they were mining, formed a labor union to fight for better working conditions. The union was met with great opposition by the company’s secret police. As time went on, the coal miners continued to fight for their rights, only to be put down violently by the coal company’s strikebreakers. Union leaders were also fired and blacklisted from the company as a means to put a stop to union activity.

They were slowly becoming displaced from work and strikes were beginning to form. These miners were going on strikes because of wage cuts and poor working conditions that they were being required to work with (Hard Times: 1920 – 1940). People all over Colorado were suffering; in Pueblo, Texas Creek, Westcliffe, and many more places. Mines were closing due to lack of production and money. Even railroads that were once operated daily by numerous people were being shut down and taken apart. Colorado was not flourishing in the 1920s.

In the mini case “The Frustrated Labor Historian” Dr. Horace P. Karastan was placed in a difficult position. There are many important events in American labor union history that it is difficult to choose just three that were to be the focal point of his presentation to the audience. It

The work that these laborers did was degrading and dehumanizing. They were given one small task to complete a bigger goal, but they were never able to get the satisfaction of completing a product. This was very detrimental to the mental state of the workers and did not help them to make better quality products, because they only had one small insignifiant job in the whole process. They were easily replaceable and the work was so simple that children could easily do it. Document C shows that ten years before this time people specialized in a job, but as time progressed the job was subdivided and subdivided until the point that instead of knowing the whole trade, the workers know one small part of the whole job. The owners did this for cost cutting and to make production faster. No matter how hard one worked they often did not find joy in their work and they were unable to advance very far in the company. The labor unions did little in helping them to move up in the world if anything it made it harder for the workers. They had to sign contracts saying they would not join unions or else they would lose their jobs. Document D shows the contract that many had to sign saying they would join or be affiliated with the labor unions while employed, the companies tried to make it sound appealing, giving the guise that they would make life better and change things for the better if the workers

Copper is an essential part of the history of the United States, as most industrial machines need copper to operate. Wiring, vehicle construction, and roofing are but a few things made with copper. PDC was one of the leading copper mines in the Arizona. PDC was the “owner” of Morenci, the company owns or controls major services in the town, everything from electric power to the police service (Rosenblum, 1995 p.5). Many of the mineworkers, a majority (80%), were Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, who settled in Arizona in the early parts of the 20th century. This ethnic group fought long and hard for union representation as a way to solidify employee benefits and hold PDC accountable for unfair labor laws. In 1981, an economic recession affected the price of precious metals, including copper. In 1982, PDC faced three challenges: international competition, hard bargaining unions, and resistance to internal changes. PDC was forced to terminate 3,400 miners’

The hours were long and the pay was very low. If an employee got injured on the job, the company often would do nothing to help with their medical costs or support their family while they couldn’t work. Some workers couldn’t even support their families with their low wages and as a result many households didn’t have enough for food. One of the reasons that the Pullman strike occurred was many of Pullman’s workers who had worked for him for over a decade were not getting adequate food (Doc 3). Child labor was also a big problem.

On average, the work for a week was around 59 hours. Many steelworkers put on more than 12 hour day work for a whole week. Even when the money levels were in an increase, the working conditions for people were still dangerous. Living like each day could be their last. American industry had the highest accident rate in the world. Business executives believed labor supply was a product to be at the lowest price possible. Some workers began protesting which created labor unions and strikings. This strike led to hundreds deaths and millions of dollars in property were destroyed. The strike was a failed

The Ludlow Massacre of 1914 is one of the bloodiest strike in the American labor history. Historians have debated whether the event was a massacre of innocent lives caused by the Colorado Fuel & Iron (CF&I) or as a battle between the company workers and the company militiamen. The CF&I stated that the event was an act of its workers to demilitarize the company and to prevent importation of “strikebreakers”. However, Thomas Andrews’ Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War introduces the concept of workscape in which gives an understanding of the event internally, above the surface and underground the mines of Colorado. Within the book, the operation of Colorado coal companies in capitalizing the coal industry lead to the formation of the mine workscape in which united coal miners underground the mines and above the surface to fight for industrial and political rights. This paper would define the concept of workscape in the definition given by Andrews, and provide evidence of the responsibility of the exploitation of capitalism in forming the mine workscape in the Colorado coal fields between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Furthermore, the closer inspection of several events that occurred within and outside the grounds of the Colorado coal fields related to labor unrest with the knowledge of the concept of workscape will help understand the culmination of the Ludlow massacre within the larger history of capitalism. A careful investigation of the book and other

“Blasting itself produced immense quantities of mineral particles. The common practice of returning to the work face soon after the detonation of charges meant entering an area filled with particulate matter. (Derickson 3)” Also, as labors transported, unloaded, and cleaned the extracted material dust was inhaled even though they were away from the mine. So no matter what technique used the coal dust still made it in the air and into the miners’ lungs. There were no safety regulations in place about how long to wait after blowing up coal, no regulations about how many particulates in the air were safe, no mask or safety precautions and no mandatory venting. Although some of these things were easily usable to the safety the company felt it was too costly. “An elaborate system of fans and blowers was ‘too costly’, so the miner had to pay for the bad ventilating by ‘miners’ asthma’ and other ailments caused by bad air. (Derickson 4)” Basically the coal operators did not care enough about the miners safety to provide vents and things that could have helped the air quality.

To kick off the Second Industrial Revolution, a bloody battle was fought between a labor union and Homestead Management led by Andrew Carnagie. The labor union fought to protect their jobs from being taken by unskilled, nonunion workers that would be imported by management if the Pinkertons gained control of the mill. The 12 hour battle ended with the workers victory. However, the future of workplace democracy was still at stake with two clear sides: union members and corporate management. The workers believed they could reverse the increasing power of large business and create a working-class democracy in America. They had articulated a vision of democracy in which there was a blurred line between workers and employers and they were considered

It is through this lense that the Ludlow Massacre begins to make sense. Miners, during Colorado's booming early years enjoyed a high level of autonomy but little safety. Early disputes between labourers and owners were about mine safety almost as if the industry was collectively attempting to figure out the “balance the need to earn wages with the will to stay alive.” Between the industries beginning around 1870 and the first strike of 1884, there were no strikes in this 14 year period, in contrast to the period of 1884 and 1914, which saw a strike on average every seven years. Unions formed to demand greater safety for miners, and owners responded by installing safety procedures that to a minimal degree increased the safety of the mines. Once this balance of wages and safety was figured out, owners and economic reality set out to destroy the industry's tendency to harbour ‘pre-industrial craft rhythms’ that afforded miners their independence and facilitated the development collective identity. The dangerous nature of the mine allowed the colliers to avoid

The workplace was crowded to the point of having difficulty to exit. That is probably one of the reason many died because it was too crowded, not many of them had the chance of exiting the place of tragedy Children were hired to work in the sweatshops which were in violation of the of the Child Labor Laws. Children as young as 3 to 4 years of age were hired. When inspectors used to go check on the working condition of the environment of the sweatshops, children would be hidden in large boxes so the inspectors would not