The Illinois coal wars , also known as the Illinois mine wars and several other names, were a series of labor disputes between 1898 and 1900 in central and southern Illinois .
108-831: The disputes were marked by the Chicago–Virden Coal Company bringing in strikebreakers by train to bypass local coal miners, racial violence between black and white coal miners , most notably during the Battle of Virden on October 12, 1898, and the Pana massacre on April 10, 1899. In 1898, a coal miners' strike began in Virden after the Chicago-Virden Coal Company refused to pay their miners union-scale wages. The strike ended with six security guards and seven miners killed, and over 30 others were injured. The company finally granted
216-517: A Republican , framed a plan for a three-year contract between the UMWA and the coal operators, providing for a pay rate of $ 7.50 per day ($ 133 in 2023 dollars). President Coolidge and then- Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover were impressed with the plan, and Lewis was offered the post of Secretary of Labor in Coolidge's cabinet. Lewis declined, a decision he later regretted. Without government support,
324-415: A " pit head ". In Australia , "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine. Coal mining has had many developments in recent years, from the early days of men tunneling, digging, and manually extracting the coal on carts to large open-cut and longwall mines. Mining at this scale requires the use of draglines , trucks, conveyors , hydraulic jacks , and shearers. The coal mining industry has
432-697: A 70% increase over the 20 years since 1999. In 2018, the world production of brown coal (lignite) was 803.2 Mt, with Germany the world's largest producer at 166.3 Mt. China is most likely the second largest producer and consumer of lignite globally although specific lignite production data is not made available. Coal production has grown fastest in Asia, while Europe has declined. Since 2011, world coal production has been stable, with decreases in Europe and US offset by increases from China, Indonesia and Australia. The top coal mining nations are: Energy production from coal mining
540-467: A coal seam occurring near the top of a ridge or hill, the entire top is removed in a series of parallel cuts. Overburden is deposited in nearby valleys and hollows. This method usually leaves the ridge and hilltops as flattened plateaus. The process is highly controversial for the drastic changes in topography, the practice of creating head-of-hollow-fills , or filling in valleys with mining debris, and for covering streams and disrupting ecosystems. Spoil
648-697: A five-month strike, ensuring that the increase in wages gained during World War I would not be lost. In 1921 Lewis challenged Samuel Gompers , who had led the AFL for nearly forty years, for the presidency of the AFL. William Green , one of his subordinates within the Mine Workers at the time, nominated him; William Hutcheson , the President of the Carpenters , supported him. Gompers won. Three years later, on Gompers' death, Green succeeded him as AFL President. In 1924, Lewis
756-405: A fourth of the world's energy. Coal extraction methods vary depending on whether the mine is an underground mine or a surface (also called an open cast) mine. Additionally, coal seam thickness and geology are factors in the selection of a mining method. The most economical method of coal extraction for surface mines is the electric shovel or drag line. The most economical form of underground mining
864-403: A greater proportion of the coal deposit than underground methods, as more of the coal seams in the strata may be exploited. This equipment can include the following: Draglines which operate by removing the overburden, power shovels, large trucks in which transport overburden and coal, bucket wheel excavators, and conveyors. In this mining method, explosives are first used in order to break through
972-485: A group of African-American miners traveling by train from Pana were attacked. One woman, Anna Karr, was killed and about twenty others wounded. At Carterville, five more non-union African-American miners were killed in rioting. Local juries acquitted all defendants accused in those attacks. After the massacre, the mine operators temporarily shut down all of Pana's mines in late June to demonstrate good faith in arbitration, and also because of their fear of violence. Because of
1080-440: A land use condition is not equal to the original use. Existing land uses (such as livestock grazing, crop and timber production) are temporarily eliminated in mining areas. High-value, intensive-land-use areas like urban and transportation systems are not usually affected by mining operations. If mineral values are sufficient, these improvements may be removed to an adjacent area. Strip mining eliminates existing vegetation, destroys
1188-440: A large dining-room table, but with hydraulic jacks for legs. After the large pillars of coal have been mined away, the mobile roof support's legs shorten and it is withdrawn to a safe area. The mine roof typically collapses once the mobile roof supports leave an area. There are six principal methods of underground mining: Coal is mined commercially in over 50 countries. 7,921 million metric tons (Mt) of coal were produced in 2019,
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#17330855955761296-559: A long history of significant negative environmental impacts on local ecosystems, health impacts on local communities and workers, and contributes heavily to the global environmental crises, such as poor air quality and climate change . For these reasons, coal has been one of the first fossil fuels to be phased out of various parts of the global energy economy . The major coal producing countries, though, such as China , Indonesia, India and Australia , have not reached peak production, with production increases replacing falls in Europe and
1404-447: A method that currently accounts for about 60 percent of world coal production. In deep mining, the room and pillar or bord and pillar method progresses along the seam, while pillars and timber are left standing to support the mine roof. Once room and pillar mines have been developed to a stopping point limited by geology, ventilation, or economics, a supplementary version of room and pillar mining, termed second mining or retreat mining ,
1512-464: A mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa , a coal mine and its structures are a colliery , a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as
1620-488: A miner from Montana , to take the presidency of the union in 1963. Lewis was born in or near Cleveland, Lucas County , Iowa (distinct from the present township of Cleveland in Davis County), to Thomas H. Lewis and Ann (Watkins) Lewis, immigrants from Llangurig , Wales . Cleveland was a company town , built around a coal mine developed one mile east of the town of Lucas . His mother and grandparents were members of
1728-512: A new coal mine. 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 driving force behind the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which established
1836-574: A result of occupational exposures is coined occupational hearing loss . To protect miners' hearing, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration 's (MSHA) guidelines for noise place a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for noise at 90 dBA time-weighted over 8 hours. A lower cutoff, 85 dBA, is set for a worker to fall into the MSHA Action Level which dictates that workers be placed into hearing conservation programs. Noise exposures vary depending on
1944-444: A result of the great Flint Sit-Down Strike , during which Lewis negotiated with company executives, Governor Frank Murphy of Michigan, and President Roosevelt. U.S. Steel conceded without a strike, as Lewis secretly negotiated an agreement with Myron Taylor , chairman of U.S. Steel. The CIO gained enormous strength and prestige from the victories in automobiles and steel and escalated its organizing drives, targeting industries that
2052-518: A significant shift in their approach towards local coal companies in an effort to consolidate and enhance the UMWA's authority. This collaboration came at the expense of Illinois locals and their rank-and-file members. The UMWA pursued a strategy that involved undermining labor-friendly contract provisions, including job-sharing arrangements that had long been regarded as customary. The UMW even went as far as expelling 24 locals to get rid of any challenge to its authority. This conflict came into full force in
2160-575: Is accomplished by drilling holes into the overburden, filling the holes with explosives, and detonating the explosive. The overburden is then removed, using large earth-moving equipment, such as draglines , shovel and trucks, excavator and trucks, or bucket-wheels and conveyors. This overburden is put into the previously mined (and now empty) strip. When all the overburden is removed, the underlying coal seam will be exposed (a 'block' of coal). This block of coal may be drilled and blasted (if hard) or otherwise loaded onto trucks or conveyors for transport to
2268-427: Is commonly started. Miners remove the coal in the pillars, thereby recovering as much coal from the coal seam as possible. A work area involved in pillar extraction is called a pillar section. Modern pillar sections use remote-controlled equipment, including large hydraulic mobile roof-supports, which can prevent cave-ins until the miners and their equipment have left a work area. The mobile roof supports are similar to
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#17330855955762376-418: Is dedicated to mining activities until it can be reshaped and reclaimed. If mining is allowed, resident human populations must be resettled off the mine site; economic activities, such as agriculture or hunting and gathering food and medicinal plants are interrupted. What becomes of the land surface after mining is determined by the manner in which the mining is conducted. Usually reclamation of disturbed lands to
2484-516: Is highly concentrated in certain jurisdictions, which also concentrates much of the social and economic impacts of the industry to these regions. The industry directly employs over seven million workers worldwide, which, in turn, creates millions of indirect jobs. In several parts of the world, producers have reached peak coal as some economies shift away from fossil fuels to address climate change. A 2020 study found that renewables jobs could feasibly be created in these geographies to replace many of
2592-479: Is mostly used to generate electricity, and 75% of annual coal production is exported, mostly to eastern Asia. In 2007, 428 million tonnes of coal was mined in Australia. In 2007, coal provided about 85% of Australia's electricity production. In the fiscal year 2008/09, 487 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 261 million tonnes was exported. In the fiscal year 2013/14, 430.9 million tonnes of coal
2700-417: Is partially economically recoverable. Coal refuse is distinct from the byproducts of burning coal, such as fly ash . Piles of coal refuse can have significant negative environmental consequences, including the leaching of iron, manganese, and aluminum residues into waterways and acid mine drainage . The runoff can create both surface and groundwater contamination. The piles also create a fire hazard, with
2808-593: Is placed at the head of a narrow, steep-sided valley or hollow. In preparation for filling this area, vegetation and soil are removed and a rock drain constructed down the middle of the area to be filled, where a natural drainage course previously existed. When the fill is completed, this underdrain will form a continuous water runoff system from the upper end of the valley to the lower end of the fill. Typical head-of-hollow fills are graded and terraced to create permanently stable slopes. Most coal seams are too deep underground for opencast mining and require underground mining,
2916-436: Is referred to as 'overburden' and is removed in long strips. The overburden from the first strip is deposited in an area outside the planned mining area and referred to as out-of-pit dumping. Overburden from subsequent strips is deposited in the void left from mining the coal and overburden from the previous strip. This is referred to as in-pit dumping. It is often necessary to fragment the overburden by use of explosives. This
3024-515: Is removed and overburden dumped to the side. Dust, vibration, and diesel exhaust odors are created (affecting sight, sound, and smell). Residents of local communities often find such impacts disturbing or unpleasant. In case of mountaintop removal , tops are removed from mountains or hills to expose thick coal seams underneath. The soil and rock removed is deposited in nearby valleys, hollows and depressions, resulting in blocked (and contaminated) waterways. Removal of soil and rock overburden covering
3132-701: Is still common, with 4,000 new cases of black lung every year in the US (4 percent of workers annually) and 10,000 new cases every year in China (0.2 percent of workers). The use of water sprays in mining equipment reduces the risk to miners' lungs. Build-ups of a hazardous gas are known as damps, possibly from the German word Dampf which means steam or vapor: Noise is also a contributing factor to potential adverse effects on coal miners' health. Exposure to excessive noise can lead to noise-induced hearing loss . Hearing loss developed as
3240-464: Is the long wall, which involves using two spinning drums with carbide bits that runs along sections of the coal seam. Many coals extracted from both surface and underground mines require washing in a coal preparation plant . Technical and economic feasibility are evaluated based on the following: regional geological conditions; overburden characteristics; coal seam continuity, thickness, structure, quality, and depth; strength of materials above and below
3348-435: Is used for both thermal and metallurgical coals . In New South Wales open casting for steam coal and anthracite is practiced. Surface mining accounts for around 80 percent of production in Australia, while in the US it is used for about 67 percent of production. Globally, about 40 percent of coal production involves surface mining. Strip mining exposes coal by removing earth above each coal seam. This earth to be removed
Illinois coal wars - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-502: The American Federation of Labor (AFL). Lewis was a Republican but played a major role in helping Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt win a landslide victory for the US presidency in 1936. He was an isolationist , and broke with Roosevelt in 1940 on FDR's anti- Nazi foreign policy. Lewis was an effective, aggressive fighter and strike leader who gained high wages for his membership while steamrolling over his opponents, including
3564-499: The Chicago and Alton Railroad helped prompt the establishment of Virden. Later during the spring of 1853 they also had dry goods as well, for stores, which brought in people. January 1855, areas around Virden and Virden itself went through one of the most disastrous snowstorms that they had seen. Train-cars were stuck on the railroads, and passenger cars couldn't be unloaded. Following the devastating storm, although causing some setback for
3672-568: The Civil Rights Act of 1957 by denying the powers of injunctions for voting access cases, which also meant that the ability of judges to lay union injunctions was limited. Lewis secured a welfare fund financed entirely by the coal companies but administered by the union. In May 1950, he signed a new contract with the coal operators, ending nine months of regional strikes and opening an era of peaceful negotiations that brought wage increases and new medical benefits, including regional hospitals in
3780-482: The Industrial Revolution , and coal provided the main source of primary energy for industry and transportation in industrial areas from the 18th century to the 1950s. Coal remains an important energy source. Coal is also mined today on a large scale by open pit methods wherever the coal strata strike the surface or are relatively shallow. Britain developed the main techniques of underground coal mining from
3888-670: The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), and the boy was raised in the church's views regarding alcohol and sexual propriety, as well as a just social order that favored the poor. While his maternal grandfather was an RLDS pastor and Lewis periodically donated to his local RLDS church for the rest of his life, there is no definite evidence that he formally joined the Midwestern Mormon denomination. Lewis attended three years of high school in Des Moines and at
3996-690: The United Steel Workers of America and helped organize millions of other industrial workers in the 1930s, during the Great Depression . After resigning as head of the CIO in 1941, thus keeping his promise of resignation if President Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the 1940 election against Wendell Willkie , Lewis took the United Mine Workers out of the CIO in 1942 and in 1944 took the union into
4104-700: The 1947 Taft–Hartley Act , making the UMW independent. Lewis, never a Communist, still refused on principle to allow any of his officials to take the non-Communist oath required by the Taft–Hartley Act; the UMW was therefore denied legal rights protected by the National Labor Relations Board . He denounced Taft-Hartley as authorizing "government by injunction" and refused to follow its provisions, saying he would not be dictated to. This opposition to labor injunctions meant that Lewis supported attempts to weaken
4212-525: The AFL had long claimed, especially meatpacking, textiles, and electrical products. The AFL fought back and gained more members, but the two rivals spent much of their energy fighting each other for members and for power inside local Democratic organizations. Journalist C. L. Sulzberger described Lewis's rhetorical skill in the "Crust of Bread" speech. Operators who opposed a contract were often shamed into agreement by Lewis's accusations. A typical Lewis speech to operators would go, "Gentlemen, I speak to you for
4320-492: The Birmingham workers on a train to St. Louis. State troops were called into the town and into the surrounding areas. Investigation and charges were filed against some mine strikers and owners, but no convictions were brought up. The coal company also accepted the requests of the workers and re-opened the mines as quickly as they could. In the 1920s, under the guidance of John L. Lewis , the United Mine Workers (UMWA) witnessed
4428-571: The European immigrants in the labor unions that were striking feel threatened by the African American miners coming in. Near the end of September 1868 as one train car came in to Virden full of workers, a stockade was built by the entrance of the mine and around 300 armed workers came from around the area to meet the train as it was about to stop full of the strikebreakers, but it speeds past and continues onto Springfield, IL. Close to three weeks after
Illinois coal wars - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-526: The General Motors and "Little Steel" strikes of 1937, or the President's purported rejection of Lewis' proposal to join him on the 1940 Democratic ticket. Others point to power struggles within the CIO as the motivation for Lewis' actions. Lewis drew fierce criticism from most union leaders. Reuben Soderstrom , President of the Illinois State Federation of Labor, ripped his former ally apart in
4644-787: The U.S., Examples include the Sago Mine disaster of 2006, and the 2007 mine accident in Utah 's Crandall Canyon Mine , where nine miners were killed and six entombed. In the decade 2005–2014, US coal mining fatalities averaged 28 per year. The most fatalities during the 2005–2014 decade were 48 in 2010, the year of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in West Virginia, which killed 29 miners. Chronic lung diseases, such as pneumoconiosis (black lung) were once common in miners, leading to reduced life expectancy . In some mining countries black lung
4752-662: The UMW!" Coal miners represented many ethnic groups, and Lewis shrewdly realized that they shared a faith in Roosevelt; he was careful not to antagonize any of the immigrant ethnic groups, and he appealed to African-American members as well. He secured the passage of the Guffey Coal Act in 1935, which was superseded by Guffey-Vinson Act in 1937 after the 1935 act was declared by the US Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. Both of acts were favorable to miners. Lewis had long had
4860-497: The UMWA and mine operators, and as the violence died down many PMA miners started to return to the mines, and those who came back sooner were less likely to lose their jobs and by flagged by authorities. Many PMA workers were indicted because of their connection to the violence, including the 41 federal indictments that were issued in connection with 23 railroad bombings, six attempted bombings, and one railroad bridge burning which occurred between December 17, 1932 and August 8, 1935. This
4968-455: The UMWA from the CIO. Six months later, he substantively violated organized labor's no-strike pledge, spurring President Roosevelt to seize the mines. The strike damaged the public's perception of organized labor generally and Lewis specifically; the Gallup poll of June 1943 showed 87% disapproval of Lewis. Some have asserted that Lewis' actions produced shortages which crippled wartime production in
5076-482: The UMWA. Lewis and the UMW were major financial backers of Roosevelt's reelection in 1936 and were firmly committed to the New Deal . At the AFL's annual convention in 1934, Lewis gained an endorsement from them of the principle of industrial unionism , as opposed to limitations to skilled workers. His goal was to unionize 400,000 steel workers, using his UMWA resources (augmented by leftists he had expelled in 1928). With
5184-499: The UMWA. The radicals were most successful in the bituminous (soft) coal regions of the Midwest, where they used local organizing drives to gain control of locals, sought a national labor political party, and demanded federal nationalization of the industry. Lewis, committed to cooperation among labor, management, and government, took tight control of the union. He placed the once-autonomous districts under centralized receivership, packed
5292-608: The US Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show that between 1990 and 2004, the industry cut the rate of injuries by more than half and fatalities by two-thirds. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , even in 2006, mining remained the second most dangerous occupation in America, when measured by fatality rate . These numbers, however, include all mining activities, and oil and gas mining contribute to
5400-660: The United States and proposed mines under development. The coal mining industry employs almost 2.7 million workers. The History of coal mining goes back thousands of years, with early mines documented in ancient China, the Roman Empire and other early historical economies. It became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it was primarily used to power steam engines, heat buildings and generate electricity. Coal mining continues as an important economic activity today, but has begun to decline due to
5508-846: The United States government. Lewis was one of the most controversial and innovative leaders in the history of labor, gaining credit for building the industrial unions of the CIO into a political and economic powerhouse to rival the AFL. During World War II , he was widely criticized by calling nationwide coal strikes, which critics believed to be damaging to the American economy and war effort. His massive leonine head, forest-like eyebrows, firmly set jaw, powerful voice, and ever-present scowl thrilled his supporters, angered his enemies, and delighted cartoonists. Coal miners for 40 years hailed him as their leader, whom they credited with bringing high wages, pensions and medical benefits. After his successor died shortly after taking office, Lewis hand-picked Tony Boyle ,
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#17330855955765616-462: The age of 17 went to work in the Big Hill Mine at Lucas . In 1906, Lewis was elected a delegate to the United Mine Workers (UMW) national convention. In 1907, he ran for mayor of Lucas and launched a feed-and-grain distributorship. Both were failures and Lewis returned to coal mining. He moved to Panama, Illinois , where in 1909 he was elected president of the UMW local. In 1911 Samuel Gompers ,
5724-581: The coal mining jobs as part of a just transition ; however, renewable energy was not suitable in some of the geographies with high concentrations of miners, such as in China, which is far and away the leading coal-mining nation. Coal refuse (also described as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob ) is the material left over from coal mining, usually as tailings piles or spoil tips . For every tonne of hard coal generated by mining, 400 kg (880 lb) of waste material remains, which includes some lost coal that
5832-497: The coal preparation (or wash) plant. Once this strip is empty of coal, the process is repeated with a new strip being created next to it. This method is most suitable for areas with flat terrain. Equipment to be used depends on geological conditions. For example, to remove overburden that is loose or unconsolidated, a bucket wheel excavator might be the most productive. The life of some area mines may be more than 50 years. The contour mining method consists of removing overburden from
5940-857: The coal resource may cause burial and loss of topsoil, exposes parent material, and creates large infertile wastelands. Soil disturbance and associated compaction result in conditions conducive to erosion. Soil removal from the area to be surface-mined alters or destroys many natural soil characteristics, and reduces its biodiversity and productivity for agriculture. Soil structure may be disturbed by pulverization or aggregate breakdown. Top 10 hard and brown coal producers in 2012 were (in million metric tons): China 3,621, United States 922, India 629, Australia 432, Indonesia 410, Russia 351, South Africa 261, Germany 196, Poland 144, and Kazakhstan 122. Coal has been mined in every state of Australia, but mainly in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It
6048-522: The contract talks failed and coal operators hired non-union miners. The UMWA treasury was drained, but Lewis was able to maintain the union and his position within it. He was successful in winning the 1925 anthracite (hard coal) miners' strike by his oratorical skills. Lewis supported Republican Herbert Hoover for US president in 1928; in 1932, as the Great Depression bore brutally on the mining camps, he officially backed Hoover but quietly supported Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1936, his union made
6156-442: The defense industry. In the postwar years, Lewis continued his militancy; his miners went on strikes or "work stoppages" annually. In 1945 to 1950, he led strikes that President Harry S. Truman denounced as threats to national security. In response, industry, railroads and homeowners rapidly switched from coal to oil. After briefly affiliating with the AFL, Lewis broke with them again over signing non-Communist oaths required by
6264-429: The developed world. Modern coal mining in the US has an average 23 deaths per year due to mine accidents (2001–2020). However, in lesser developed countries and some developing countries, many miners continue to die annually, either through direct accidents in coal mines or through adverse health consequences from working under poor conditions. China , in particular, has the highest number of coal mining related deaths in
6372-455: The disruptive activities of blasting, ripping, and excavating coal. Stripping of overburden eliminates and destroys archeological and historic features, unless they are removed beforehand. The removal of vegetative cover and activities associated with the construction of haul roads, stockpiling of topsoil, displacement of overburden and hauling of soil and coal increase the quantity of dust around mining operations. Dust degrades air quality in
6480-447: The districts of UMW that there was going to be a new 40-cent per ton rate. Quite quickly after though, the Chicago-Virden Coal Company repealed the agreement and went down to the South , mainly Birmingham, Alabama to bring back African American strikebreakers to work in the mines, lowering the hours for the people that were striking. As the Chicago-Virden Coal Company repeals the agreement
6588-543: The enmity of those on the left, including Lee Pressman and Len De Caux . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Lewis threw his full support behind FDR's government, stating "When the nation is attacked every American must rally to its support. All other consideration becomes insignificant...With all other citizens I join in the support of our government to the day of its ultimate triumph over Japan and all other enemies." In October 1942, Lewis withdrew
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#17330855955766696-571: The fatalities occurring in the first half of the 20th century. 3,242 died in 1907, the worst year ever; in 2020 there were five. Open cut hazards are principally mine wall failures and vehicle collisions; underground mining hazards include suffocation, gas poisoning, roof collapse, rock burst , outbursts , and gas explosions. Firedamp explosions can trigger the far more dangerous coal dust explosions, which can engulf an entire mine. Most of these risks are greatly reduced in modern mines, and multiple fatality incidents are now rare in most parts of
6804-493: The first load of workers attempted to land but couldn't, the numbers of strikers went up to almost 2,000, the company owner decided he would try again and bring in another train but as he brought in that load of workers the white workers shot at the train, resulting in it stopping at the stockade. A pitch battle then broke out between the white union workers, guards, and a few black Birmingham workers. The fight lasted around ten minutes including 7 striking miners and 5 guards killed in
6912-457: The genetic soil profile, displaces or destroys wildlife and habitat, alters current land uses, and to some extent permanently changes the general topography of the area mined. Adverse impacts on geological features of human interest may occur in a coal strip mine. Geomorphic and geophysical features and outstanding scenic resources may be sacrificed by indiscriminate mining. Paleontological, cultural, and other historic values may be endangered due to
7020-566: The head of the AFL, hired Lewis as a full-time union organizer . Lewis traveled throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest as an organizer and trouble-shooter, especially in coal and steel districts. After serving as statistician and then as vice-president for the UMWA, Lewis became that union's acting president in 1919. On November 1, 1919, he called the first major coal union strike, and 400,000 miners walked off their jobs. President Woodrow Wilson obtained an injunction, which Lewis obeyed, telling
7128-442: The hills. In the 1950s, Lewis won periodic wage and benefit increases for miners and led the campaign for the first Federal Mine Safety Act in 1952. Lewis tried to impose some order on a declining industry through collective bargaining , and maintaining standards for his members by insisting that small operators agree to contract terms that effectively put many of them out of business. Mechanization nonetheless eliminated many of
7236-410: The idea that the highly competitive bituminous coal industry, with its sharp ups and downs and cut-throat competition, could be stabilized by a powerful union that set a standard wage scale and could keep recalcitrant owners in line with selective strikes. The acts made that possible, and coal miners entered a golden era. At all times, Lewis rejected socialism and promoted competitive capitalism . With
7344-450: The immediate area, has an adverse impact on vegetative life, and constitutes health and safety hazards for mine workers and nearby residents. Surface mining disrupts virtually all aesthetic elements of the landscape. Alteration of land forms often imposes unfamiliar and discontinuous configurations. New linear patterns appear as material is extracted and waste piles are developed. Different colors and textures are exposed as vegetative cover
7452-579: The jobs in his industry, while scattered non-union operations persisted. Lewis continued to be as autocratic within the UMWA, padding the union payrolls with his friends and family, ignoring or suppressing demands for a rank-and-file voice in union affairs. Finally in 1959 the passage of the Landrum–Griffin Act forced reform. It ended the practice where the UMWA had kept a number of its districts in trusteeship for decades, meaning that Lewis appointed union officers who otherwise would have been elected by
7560-632: The largest single contribution, over $ 500,000, to Roosevelt's successful campaign for reelection. Lewis was appointed a member of the Labor Advisory Board and the National Labor Board of the National Recovery Administration in 1933; he used these positions to raise wages of miners and reduce competition. He gambled on a massive membership drive and won, as he piggybacked on FDR's popularity: "The President wants you to join
7668-460: The late 18th century onward, with further progress being driven by 19th-century and early 20th-century progress. However, oil and gas were increasingly used as alternatives from the 1860s onward. By the late 20th century, coal was, for the most part, replaced in domestic as well as industrial and transportation usage by oil , natural gas or electricity produced from oil, gas, nuclear power or renewable energy sources. By 2010, coal produced over
7776-664: The leaders of nine other large industrial unions and the UMWA in November 1935, Lewis formed the "Committee for Industrial Organization" to promote the organization of workers on an industry-wide basis. Key allies were Philip Murray (the UMWA man Lewis picked to head the steel union); Sidney Hillman , president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA); and David Dubinsky of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). The entire CIO group
7884-612: The longtime leader's skills or vision. "[An] eloquent spokesman of labor, [Lewis] has given voice to the aspirations of the industrial workers of the country and led the cause of free trade unions within a healthy system of free enterprise." Lewis retired to his family home, the Lee–Fendall House in Alexandria, Virginia , where he had lived since 1937. He lived there until his death on June 11, 1969. His passing elicited many kind words and fond remembrances, even from former rivals. "He
7992-420: The low wages paid by the operators, the black community was left impoverished. Many of them spent their money to get to Weir, Kansas, where many of them were recruited to break up another mining strike. Just southwest of Springfield, Illinois , in 1852 a newly established town called Virden quickly rose from the ground up with various businesses, churches, a doctor and the towns' first school. The completion of
8100-404: The majority of fatalities. Coal mining resulted in 47 fatalities that year. One study, though, has suggested that hazards of modern mining are now more accretive with workers facing long-term health impacts, such as sleep deprivation, that build up over time. Strip mining severely alters the landscape, which reduces the value of the natural environment in the surrounding land. The land surface
8208-424: The membership. Lewis retired in early 1960. The highly paid membership slipped below 190,000 because of mechanization, strip mining, and competition from oil. He was succeeded as president by Thomas Kennedy , who served briefly until his death in 1963. He was succeeded by Lewis's anointed successor, W. A. Boyle , known as Tony, a miner from Montana. He was considered just as dictatorial as Lewis, but without any of
8316-461: The method of extraction. For example, a study has found that among surface coal mine operations, dragline equipment produced the loudest sound at a range of 88–112 dBA. Within longwall sections, stageloaders used to transport coal from the mining face and shearers used for extraction represent some of the highest noise exposures. Auxiliary fans (up to 120 dBA), continuous mining machines (up to 109 dBA), and roof bolters (up to 103 dBA) represent some of
8424-600: The miners' families.... The little children are gathered around a bare table without anything to eat. They are not asking for a $ 100,000 yacht like yours, Mr...." (here, he would gesture with his cigar toward an operator), "...or for a Rolls-Royce limousine like yours, Mr. ..." (staring at another operator). They are asking only for a slim crust of bread." In the presidential election of 1940 , Lewis rejected Roosevelt and supported Republican Wendell Willkie . The reasons for Lewis' souring on FDR and his New Deal are still contested. Some cite his frustration over FDR's response to
8532-465: The mining workforce. in 2015 US coal mines had 65,971 employees, the lowest figure since EIA began collecting data in 1978. However, a 2016 study reported that a relatively minor investment would allow most coal workers to retrain for the solar energy industry. Coal mining has been a very dangerous activity and the list of historical coal mining disasters is long. In the U.S., 104,895 coal miners were killed in mine accidents since 1900, 90 percent of
8640-469: The noisiest equipment within continuous mining sections. Exposures to noise exceeding 90 dBA can lead to adverse effects on workers' hearing. The use of administrative controls and engineering controls can be used to reduce noise exposures. Improvements in mining methods (e.g. longwall mining), hazardous gas monitoring (such as safety-lamps or more modern electronic gas monitors), gas drainage, electrical equipment , and ventilation have reduced many of
8748-585: The open pit methods, due to thickness of the seam 20–25 metres (60–90 feet). Coals occurring below 90 m (300 ft) are usually deep mined. However, there are open pit mining operations working on coal seams up to 300–460 metres (1,000–1,500 feet) below ground level, for instance Tagebau Hambach in Germany. When coal seams are near the surface, it may be economical to extract the coal using open-cut , also referred to as open-cast, open-pit, mountaintop removal or strip, mining methods. Opencast coal mining recovers
8856-537: The open support of the AFL and the tacit support of the UMWA, Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated and elected president in 1932, and Lewis benefited from the New Deal programs that followed. Many of his members received relief. Lewis helped secure passage of the Guffey Coal Act of 1935, which raised prices and wages, but it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Thanks to the 1935 National Labor Relations Act , union membership grew rapidly, especially in
8964-421: The operation reaches a predetermined stripping ratio (tons of overburden/tons of coal), it is not profitable to continue. Depending on the equipment available, it may not be technically feasible to exceed a certain height of highwall. At this point, it is possible to produce more coal with the augering method in which spiral drills bore tunnels into a highwall laterally from the bench to extract coal without removing
9072-408: The overburden. Mountaintop coal mining is a surface mining practice involving removal of mountaintops to expose coal seams, and disposing of associated mining overburden in adjacent "valley fills." Valley fills occur in steep terrain where there are limited disposal alternatives. Mountaintop removal mining combines area and contour strip mining methods. In areas with rolling or steep terrain with
9180-425: The potential to spontaneously ignite. Because most coal refuse harbors toxic components, it is not easily reclaimed by replanting with plants like beach grasses. The use of sophisticated sensing equipment to monitor air quality is common and has replaced the use of small animals such as canaries, often referred to as " miner's canaries ". In the United States, the increase in technology has significantly decreased
9288-464: The press, saying he had become "the most imaginative, the most efficient, the most experienced truth-twisting windbag that this nation has yet produced." Lewis failed to persuade his fellow members. On election day, 85% of CIO members supported Roosevelt, thus rejecting Lewis's leadership. He resigned as president of the CIO but kept control of the UMWA. Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , Lewis
9396-418: The purposes for which conscription is sought." Lewis' opposition to American intervention continued after the leftist coalition against it had splintered. In August 1941 he joined Herbert Hoover , Alfred Landon , Charles Dawes, and other prominent conservatives in their appeal to Congress to halt President Roosevelt's "step-by-step projection of the United States into undeclared war." This action earned him
9504-523: The radical organizers to work for his CIO organizing drives, and they soon gained powerful positions in CIO unions, including auto workers and electrical workers. Lewis was often denounced as a despotic leader. He repeatedly expelled his political rivals from the UMWA, including John Walker, John Brophy , Alexander Howat and Adolph Germer . Communists in District 26 ( Nova Scotia ), including Canadian labor legend J. B. McLachlan , were banned from running for
9612-573: The rank and file, "We cannot fight the Government." In 1920, Lewis was elected president of the UMWA. He quickly asserted himself as a dominant figure in what was then the largest and most influential trade union in the country. Coal miners worldwide were sympathetic to socialism , and in the 1920s, Communists systematically tried to seize control of UMWA locals. William Z. Foster , the Communist leader, opposed dual unions in favor of organizing within
9720-455: The riot, along with 30 other individuals injured, one of which was a Birmingham worker. October 13, the day after the union said that they wouldn't take care of the African American workers and so a pair of people ran away being stopped by white workers and beaten. A mob gathered at the Mayor's office and was threatening to begin lynching all the strikebreakers. Instead Mayor Loren Wheeler sent all of
9828-399: The risks of rock falls, explosions, and unhealthy air quality. Gases released during the mining process can be recovered to generate electricity and improve worker safety with gas engines . Another innovation in recent years is the use of closed circuit escape respirators , respirators that contain oxygen for situations where mine ventilation is compromised. Statistical analyses performed by
9936-418: The seam for roof and floor conditions; topography, especially altitude and slope; climate; land ownership as it affects the availability of land for mining and access; surface drainage patterns; groundwater conditions; availability of labor and materials; coal purchaser requirements in terms of tonnage, quality, and destination; and capital investment requirements. Surface mining and deep underground mining are
10044-565: The seam in a pattern following the contours along a ridge or around the hillside. This method is most commonly used in areas with rolling to steep terrain. It was once common to deposit the spoil on the downslope side of the bench thus created, but this method of spoil disposal consumed much additional land and created severe landslide and erosion problems. To alleviate these problems, a variety of methods were devised to use freshly cut overburden to refill mined-out areas. These haul-back or lateral movement methods generally consist of an initial cut with
10152-607: The second time. Laborers were furious, holding strikes and demonstrations, also organizing the Progressive Miners of America (PMA) to try and fight back for the rights of regular laborers. This built up anger from workers quickly turned violent with multiple bombings, shootings, and fights all within a two week period in February 1933. Many of these attacks were directly purposed to harm or kill UMWA miners or officials, organized by PMA workers. Federal and local authorities sided with
10260-432: The spoil deposited downslope or at some other site and spoil from the second cut refilling the first. A ridge of undisturbed natural material 15 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m) wide is often intentionally left at the outer edge of the mined area. This barrier adds stability to the reclaimed slope by preventing spoil from slumping or sliding downhill. The limitations of contour strip mining are both economic and technical. When
10368-556: The strong contribution coal plays in global warming and environmental issues, which result in decreasing demand and in some geographies, peak coal . Compared to wood fuels , coal yields a higher amount of energy per unit mass, specific energy or massic energy, and can often be obtained in areas where wood is not readily available. Though it was used historically as a domestic fuel, coal is now used mostly in industry, especially in smelting and alloy production, as well as electricity generation . Large-scale coal mining developed during
10476-476: The surface or overburden, of the mining area. The overburden is then removed by draglines or by shovel and truck. Once the coal seam is exposed, it is drilled, fractured and thoroughly mined in strips. The coal is then loaded onto large trucks or conveyors for transport to either the coal preparation plant or directly to where it will be used. Most open cast mines in the United States extract bituminous coal . In Canada, Australia, and South Africa, open cast mining
10584-449: The town, in 1869 the first coal shaft was sunk down, and over the next few decades Virden grew to supporting 21 different coal mines . With so many mines being held up by such a small, fairly new town, mine workers got over worked and underpaid. This resulted in the United Mine Workers national coal strike in 1897, where an agreement was made in January 1898 by all Illinois coal companies and
10692-524: The two basic methods of mining. The choice of mining method depends primarily on depth, density, overburden, and thickness of the coal seam; seams relatively close to the surface, at depths less than approximately 55 m (180 ft), are usually surface mined. Coal that occurs at depths of 55 to 90 m (180 to 300 ft) are usually deep mined, but in some cases surface mining techniques can be used. For example, some western U.S. coal that occur at depths in excess of 60 m (200 ft) are mined by
10800-617: The union bureaucracy with men directly beholden to him, and used UMWA conventions and publications to discredit his critics. The fight was bitter but Lewis used armed force, red-baiting, and ballot-box stuffing and, in 1928, expelled the leftists . As Hudson (1952) shows, they started a separate union, the National Miners' Union. In Southern Illinois , amidst widespread violence, the Progressive Mine Workers of America challenged Lewis but were beaten back. After 1935, Lewis invited
10908-404: The union executive after a strike in 1923. McLachlan described him as "a traitor" to the working class. Lewis nonetheless commanded great loyalty from many of his followers, even those he had exiled in the past. A powerful speaker and strategist, Lewis used the nation's dependence on coal to increase the wages and improve the safety of miners, even during several severe recessions. He masterminded
11016-531: The wage increase a month after the strike. The strike in Virden is also credited with the winning of the 8-hour work day for hourly mine workers, and a memorial in the town square commemorates the battle. The same conditions and organizations were also involved in similar conflicts in two southern Illinois towns: in Lauder (now Cambria, Illinois ) on June 30, 1899, and in Carterville, Illinois on September 17. At Lauder
11124-441: The world, with official statistics claiming that 6,027 deaths occurred in 2004. To compare, 28 deaths were reported in the U.S. in the same year. Coal production in China is twice that in the US, while the number of coal miners is around 50 times that of the US, making deaths in coal mines in China 4 times as common per worker (108 times as common per unit output) as in the US. Mine disasters have still occurred in recent years in
11232-597: The years 1932-1936, when the UMWA tried to force a contract on the Illinois miners who were already on strike, ignoring their concerns and problems that were brought by the Great Depression . With the Great Depression, Illinois UMWA negotiators were forced to accept a pay cut for miners, dropping it from $ 6.10 a day to 5$ . The laborers did manage to defeat this cut, forcing Lewis to schedule another vote in August, and it got passed
11340-437: Was expelled from the AFL in November 1938 and became the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), with Lewis as the first president. The growth of the CIO was phenomenal in steel, rubber, meat, autos, glass and electrical equipment. In early 1937, his CIO affiliates won collective-bargaining contracts with two of the most powerful anti-union corporations, General Motors and United States Steel . General Motors surrendered as
11448-531: Was mined, and 375.1 million tonnes was exported. In 2013/14, coal provided about 69% of Australia's electricity production. In 2013, Australia was the world's fifth-largest coal producer, after China, the United States, India, and Indonesia. However, in terms of proportion of production exported, Australia is the world's second largest coal exporter, as it exports roughly 73% of its coal production. Indonesia exports about 87% of its coal production. A court in Australia has cited climate change in ruling against
11556-435: Was staunchly opposed to American entry into World War II. Initially, he tapped into the anti-militarism that animated the left wing of the CIO. He publicly opposed the prospect of a peacetime draft as "associated with fascism, totalitarianism and the breakdown of civil liberties," claiming in his 1940 Labor Day speech that there was "something sinister about the attempt to force conscription upon our nation, with no revelation of
11664-445: Was the first time in U.S. history that indictments were returned on the federal anti-racketeering act against a labor union. After Franklin Roosevelt issued the $ 10,000 fines to each convicted miner, many believed that the spirit of the PMA was broken, and the authority of the UMWA had returned. Coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from
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