Gone Progressive

Recently I had the opportunity to visit UMWA District 12 headquarters in Springfield, IL. While most of their historically relevant files are archived at Penn State University, District 12 does hold a partial card file which lists the union's locals during the time of the mine war.

Here's a video which shows one of the files:

One can see the word, "Progressive" handwritten next to each local that seceded from the UMWA.

According to the Decatur Herald, the Progressive Miners of America claimed to represent 34,000 of the state's 45,000 union miners when it was founded in September, 1932.

Thanks to the UMWA's Lisa Andrew for sharing this interesting find.