Centralia Mine Disaster

Here's a late post to commemorate the Centralia Mine Disaster. The mine exploded on March 25, 1947, in Centralia, Illinois killing 111 miners.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor reported:

"The explosion was caused when an underburdened shot or blown-out shot ignited coal dust. The mine was exceedingly dry and dusty. Heavy deposits of coal dust were present along the roadways and on the roof, ribs, and timbers in working places and entries. At the time of the explosion most of the men were at the man trips on the entries waiting for the shot firers to complete lighting the shots so they could ride to the shaft bottoms on the man trips. At the time of the explosion 142 men were in the mine. Of those, 65 were killed by burns and violence and 45 by afterdamp. Eight men were rescued but one died from the effects of afterdamp. Twenty-four escaped unaided."

UMWA President, John L. Lewis testified before Congress on the disaster. Here's a short video clip of some of his testimony:

Following the disaster UMWA President John L. Lewis invoked the union's right to call memorial days. The miners did not work for six days, beginning March 29, 1947.

In United We Stand: The United Mine Workers of America 1890-1990, Maier B. Fox writes, "The disaster was of such magnitude that both the House and Senate held committee hearings on mine safety. Lewis used those forums to castigate both the operators and the government. He told the representatives that historically the operators philosophy was, 'We kill them, you (the union) provide for their widows and orphans.'"

Lewis' leadership on mine safety during this time is one of the reasons he was held in such high esteem by many miners. In some ways, his actions then make an assessment of his career difficult.

Undoubtedly Lewis was an autocrat that had little use for democratic mechanisms to govern a union. And there seemed to be no limits to the actions he would take to consolidate and hold power. The names of the PMA martyrs etched on the side of the Mother Jones Monument are testament to how dangerous it could be to oppose him.

While he contributed greatly to the growth of industrial unionism through the formation of the CIO, Lewis' need for control ensured top-down structures which left workers reliant on the paternalistic favor of union leaders and bureaucratic processes of the legal system for protection, rather than building rank and file power through democratic unions.

As the decades wore on those legal protections eroded. Arguably those bureaucratic processes now do more to serve business interests, undercutting the rights of workers to speak, organize and act.

That being said Lewis' leadership in the 1940's resulted improved mine safety as well as a welfare and retirement fund. The Centralia Mine Disaster provided the catalyst to force the government to act and the mining industry to acquiesce. The UMWA Welfare and Retirement Fund continues to this day.

Here's Woodie Guthrie's "Dying Miner", to commemorate the tragedy.
Provided courtesy of the excellent Archive.org.

Eyewitness Account of the Mulkeytown March

Last year I was lucky enough to interview Sam Sabattini, a former resident of Bulpitt, IL as well as former member of the Progressive Miners of America. As a teenager Sabatinni participated in a number of union actions and witnessed mine war violence first-hand.


Following the fradulent contract referendum, west central Illinois miners organized a mass march to southern Illinois to join with their union brothers in the south.

On August 25, 1932, the Decatur Herald & Review reported: "Handbills urging union miners in this section to cease work and meet members of the army of miners from central and northern Illinois were dropped from an airplane over the coal fields and towns of Franklin county Thursday morning.

The text of the handbills: 'Miners of southern Illinois: "All out today. "Meet your 25,000 union brothers at the Franklin county line. "They have come to aid you to put an end to the gunman rule and terrorism which is being used to force you to work under a wage scale you have twice rejected. The miners of the whole district are with you. Down your tools today. Policy Committee, District No. 12. U.M.W.A.'"

Sabattini recalls: "The parade started in Christian County and they were gonna go down to West Frankfort and show the United Mine Workers a show of strength.

Well, between Du Quoin and Christopher there’s a little town called Mulkeytown, okay?

And the highway or the road between East Du Quoin and Mulkeytown was raised up because there was a drainage ditch on each side. Well, there was about 100 – or over 100 cars that were formulated from Springfield and they would pick up 10 or 15 cars as they went along.

The United Mine Workers down there let them get across the levy and then they opened up, not to kill. But I was riding in a car, a Model A Ford Wilshire with a fellow by the name of Red Rape and the United Mine Workers just shot into the door with pellets, not buckshot. But most every car that was there had bullet holes in the side door and Red turned that Model A around on the levy and away we went for home.

That was a harrowing experience. I was tickled to death to get the hell out of there."