Coal and conflict: The UMWA in Harlan County, 1931-1939. As discussed in a previous video. HARLAN WAR TRACED TO PAY-CUT REVOLT: Subsequent A.F. The miners lay in ambush for cars carrying company men, and shot at them. 27, TROOPS AGAIN MOVE ON HARLAN COUNTY: Occupation of Kentucky Area New York Times; September 29, 1935; pg. Special to The New York Times. In 1959 when Lewis retired, the union had been reduced to 180,000 members, and the southern coalfields, Harlan included, were non-union once again. George Harlan Bleecker. It was perhaps the greatest union rebound ever. [4]:67 Florence Reece, wife of organizer Sam Reece, wrote the labor standard "Which Side Are You On?". [11] Team and coaching superlatives Concord, California De La Salle won 12 total national championships from 1994 to 2015, including 6 in a row from 1998 to 2003. The Wagner Act of 1935 (National Labor Relations Act or NLRA) guaranteed the rights of workers to choose to organize. I Really Hate My Job (DVD, 2008) Neve Campbell . The Act also made a provision for a National Labor-Relations Board to designate a legal structure for the workers to conduct fair and legal elections of their officers and representatives. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. [12] On May 24 a union rally was tear-gassed, and Sheriff Blair rescinded county members' right to assemble. After his military career, he spent a number of years in corporate manufacturing management, in the textiles industry, where he crossed paths with a few too many new-generation Gordon Gekkkos and chose to move on to consulting work on behalf of "Con los pobres de la tierra quiero yo mi suerte echar . These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Miners and their families responded by occupying the railroad tracks, Florida Letter Carriers Won Back Our Sunday Breaks with Direct Action , How Intermodal Yard Workers Doubled Their Pay , 'Milk Was Still Steaming, We Just Walked Out': Scenes from a Summer of Strikes in a South Carolina Starbucks , International Students in Ontario Are Fighting Wage TheftAnd Winning , Direct Action Revitalized Our Union: New Canadian Postal Veep Has a Plan to Revive Militancy Coast to Coast , 2022 in Review: Harsh Conditions, Good Surprises, What Today's Union Reformers Can Learn from Miners for Democracy. However, the battle continues to this day. Outlining the legal framework for labor unions and management relations to improve the working conditions for workers. The United Mine Workers of America represented 400,000 miners at that point and promised miners safer work conditions and higher wages. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139, by John W. Hevener p.79, JOHN HENRY BLAIR. return to the Civil War Homepage. The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139 by John W. Hevener p. 128, Which Side Are You On? See production, box office & company info, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom. A lot of people get hung up on using coal because if we stopped we would lose so many jobs..yada yada But coal is a finite resource and eventually we will run out of it and have to make the transition anyway. The coal companies refused to back down from their positions and change anything. The new union leadership pledged to organize (or reorganize) the unorganized. If those under them behave in an approved manner then they receive housing, work, food, and other perks of their position. [1] [6][7][8] The most violent attack by mine workers occurred on May 5, 1931 and became known as the Battle of Evarts. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side, and coal firms and law enforcement . Others claim that his death was caused by an election concerning slot machines into the county. "Soldiers of the Great War" Fallen Kentucky Soldiers in WWI Harlan County ~ Adair ~ Allen ~ Anderson ~ Ballard ~ Barren ~ Bath ~ Bell ~ Boone ~ Bourbon ~ Boyd ~ ~ Boyle ~ Bracken ~ Breathitt ~ Breckinridge ~ Bullitt ~ Butler ~ Caldwell ~ Calloway ~ Campbell ~ Carlisle ~ . The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139 by John W. Hevener P. 81-123, Which Side Are You On? These guards were legally able to protect these men during their off duty time. Among them is Silas Kincaid (Ted Levine), whose wife, Ruby Kincaid (Holly Hunter), becomes a key player during the strike. Give $10 a month or more and get our "Fight the Boss, Build the Union" T-shirt. Established by a gathering of business leaders in Chicago in 1921, the Plan outlined a "multifaceted economic system [that emphasized] free markets, individual contract, management control, nonregulation of business, and vigilance against 'unsound' or radical thought." Currently you are able to watch "Harlan County War" streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Though most workers felt disillusioned with organized labor structure, the NMU's radical ideology gained some traction: ten local lodges sprang up before the Harlan County NMU was officially chartered. Alas, catastrophe awaited, this time in the booming 50s. The union, with all that it promised, is gone. The unrest continues in Harlan and surrounding counties as there have been many strikes. Madonna left fans speechless as she asked Hollywood pal Amy Schumer how she "licks her husband's a**hole". No concessions or deals were made between the two factions and the membership of the United Mine Workers union plummeted. During the 20th century it was often a center of labor strife between coal mine owners and workers, especially in the Harlan County War of the 1930s. They have also been used in anti-nuclear and anti-military actions in decades past, one of which resulted in anti-war veteran Brian Willson losing his legs in 1987. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other. N10, BOMB IN AUTO KILLS KENTUCKY OFFICIAL: Harlan County Attorney New York Times; September 5, 1935; pg. The strikebreakers were under the protection of private mine guards. According to information on the Harlan County School's Facebook page, District Judge Scott Lisenbee performed the swearing-in during a ceremony in the Harlan District Court courtroom. Privacy Policy All rights reserved. This is open to all ages, and yes, we'd love to see you bring your grown princess just the same as those little ones! Probate records are held by the Harlan County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Harlan County, Kentucky Genealogy Courthouse. Murder of workers in labor disputes in the United States, List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States. November 18, 1931; pg. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139, by John W. Hevener pp.39,40, Which Side Are You On? . However, wages at these mines came into step with the rest of the nation. A road to change: Harlan County. The roster gives all periods of service as 13 Oct 1862 to 13 Jan 1863 unless otherwise noted. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. RMP/jp. The 1973 UMWA Convention in Pittsburgh was a celebration of workers democracy and workers power. At first, there were little battles with gunshots being exchanged between the strikers and the private guards, and the local law enforcement agents. All of you men, not just fathers, with a special lady in your life, this is for you too! The Kentucky mining camps still had the paternalism idea in their mists and the ever-independent Appalachian people were not having it. Although these miners today have no union, the mines of Harlan County have a storied history of grassroots labor militancy. The Harlan County War in the 1930s consisted of violent confrontations among strikers, strikebreakers, mine company security forces, and law enforcement. Honest account of "class warfare" in Bloody Harlan Co. The Red Cross eventually became involved in the county along with several local charities. Sadly, the state and federal troops would occupy the county several times. The coal miners, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back. Three company men and one striker were killed in the exchange. There were only three cars in the motorcade each of which contained a sheriffs deputy. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139, by John W. Hevener pp. RM RB64C0 - Harlan & Hollingsworth Company Factory, 100 South West Street, Wilmington, New Castle County, DE. Blair made it clear that he was on the side of the mine operators and the people of the county lost any illusion that the law enforcement would be impartial in this strike. The local community rallied behind them. In the black-and-white video . A UMWA organizer who welcomed us displayed a revolver on the dashboard of his car. They ransacked the whole house and then kept watch outside, waiting to shoot Sam down when he came back. Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. 18. The Dreiser Committee also discovered the labor folk singer Aunt Molly Jackson and her younger half-brother Jim Garland, putting them on a tour of 38 states to raise funds for the strikers. The strikers expected protection, but upon replacing deputized mine guards, the National Guard broke the picket lines instead. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal industry skirmishes, executions, bombings and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. ' Harlan County War' premiers on the SHOWTIME cable network June 4. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side, and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other. On July 7, a group of deputies, enraged at a public celebration of the Wagner Act, dispersed the crowd by beating several miners. The 1920s, a decade of defeat for American workers everywhere, left the UMWA in a shambles. Wide World Photo. [25] Also, during the strike Florence Reece, wife of organizer Sam Reece, wrote the labor standard "Which Side Are You On? 36 45.773 N, 83 11.3 W. Marker is in Cranks, Kentucky, in Harlan County. Fine . Named after the popular Civil War novel, "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come," by Kentucky . These events resulted in the county being called "Bloody Harlan." After the Battle of Evarts, May 5, 1931, Kentucky governor Flem D. Sampson called in the National Guard to restore order. In the southern Appalachian fields stretching from West Virginia to Alabama, there was no union at all. [citation needed] On February 16, 1931, in order to prevent operating at a loss, the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association cut miners' wages by 10%. The Brookside strike is vividly recounted in Barbara Kopple's masterpiece, the documentary "Harlan County, USA." NONUNION AND DEADLY Today, U.S. coal comes mostly from the Western plains, dug. On May 24, 1931, Sheriff Blair rescinded the miners right to assemble and tear-gassed a union rally. RootsWeb is funded and supported by . Directors Tony Bill Starring Holly Hunter, Stellan Skarsgrd, Ted Levine Genres Drama Subtitles English [CC] Harlan County War TV Movie 2000 1 h 44 m IMDb RATING 6.4 /10 576 YOUR RATING Rate Drama A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly dying of black lung disease, joins the picket lines for a long, violent strike. Today we tell that story on our YouTube channel. An investigation was conducted on Terrorism in the Kentucky Coal Fields. New York Times; May 12, 1934 pg. The decision caused unrest in the county among the miners. It was the most violent attack of the Harlan County Coal wars and the most violence would only last fifteen minutes in total but would forever change the name to Bloody Harlan. Cinemark There were shots exchanged and all three deputies and one striker were killed. The film follows the lives of the striking miners and their families as they struggle to stand up to the powerful coal company and fight for better wages and working conditions. Nearly everyone in Harlan County, Ky., works in the coal mines for Brookside Mining. Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century The mining company had ordered a motorcade to deliver food and supplies to the strikebreakers known as Scabs. Wages at these mines came into step with the rest of the nation. The Harlan County Wars took on its own epic spin on the ongoing fight between labor disputes and the coal operators and owners lasting almost ten years. I have also attended the University of Pikeville. She becomes a member of the organizing committee and regularly joins the picket lines herself. [4]:81123, Where the NIRA had been toothless in Harlan, the Wagner Act of 1935 proved itself a far greater thorn in the side of Harlan County's mine operators. I was home alone with our seven children. [2][3] Employees who were known by their bosses to be union members were initially fired and evicted from their company-owned homes. Aging autocrat and UMWA President John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free hand in mechanizing the mines. Still, there is a spirit that lives in Harlan, along with the ghosts of battles past. Miners also wanted the right to organize and have a union. Capitalizing on the general unrest created within Harlan's already-impoverished labor force, the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) attempted to organize the county's miners. Harlan County War Photos View All Photos (10) Movie Info Nearly everyone in Harlan County, Ky., works in the coal mines for Brookside Mining. One of the towns that were a refuge was Evarts, Kentucky. Family Members. 42-45, Which Side Are You On? Three company men and one striker were killed in the exchange of gunfire. By then a powerful UMWA represented 400,000 working miners, promising safety at work and an escape from the poverty that had consumed generation after generation. Unlike the previous Coal Wars that took place in West Virginia with the Paint-Creek Strike of 1912 and Matewan that lasted for a year or two. She was the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner and married to Sam Reece, an organizer for the radical National Miners Union, then embroiled in the bloody 1931 Harlan County war. There are no featured reviews for Harlan County War because the movie has not released yet (). It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. In Pennsylvania and Ohio it had collapsed. Here at Kentucky Tennessee Living we fully support the coal miners and their families. Harlan County War (2000) is a television film directed by Tony Bill and written by Peter Silverman. 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