How Did Lewis Prevail?

James Gray Pope is Professor of Law & Sidney Reitman Scholar at Rutgers University. Prof. Pope has written extensively on depression era labor law and history including the article,
The Western Pennsylvania Coal Strike of 1933, Part II: Lawmaking From Above and the Demise of Democracy in the United Mine Workers.


In this article, Pope dissects John L. Lewis' strategy to thwart pro-democracy unionists and enhance his own power:

"Lacking support among the miners, Lewis formed alliances with coal operators. In Illinois, the contracts that had been 'ratified' by fiat in 1932 was due to expire in March 1933. Although the PMA had majority support in many mines, (and probably in the state as a whole), Lewis sat down with the Illinois Coal Operators Association and negotiated a two-year extension until April 1935. Calling this agreement an 'emergency measure,' Lewis refused to submit it to the miners for ratification. The operators then decline to deal with the PMA on the ground that they were under contract to the UMW. Thus, PMA members were presented with the choice of accepting representation by the UMW or striking. In most areas, local government responded by prohibiting assemblies and picketing by both unions, a superficially neutral policy that hampered PMA protests and protected UMW contracts." (p. 257)

And while Section 7 (a) of the newly enacted National Industrial Recovery Act should have protected the rights of Illinois miners to join the union of their choice, jurisdiction over the PMA's dispute was bounced between the courts and the regional board of the National Bituminous Coal Labor Board. In PMA President Claude Pearcy's words, the stalemate left the PMA with "no legal rights except to occupy the status of a lemon to be squeezed by Johnson and his so-called labor boards." (p. 259) (General Hugh S. Johnson was the administrator of the National Recovery Administration.)

The complete article is available from Labor History, Volume 44

What Is Community-Based Unionism?

Studying the mine war, it can be easy to focus on the the sensational violence and yet overlook the important principles which were contested. Certainly with the theft of the wage referendum ballots, the democratic rights of the rank-and-file had been usurped. But the formation of the Progressive Miners of America also heralded a model of unionism that was structurally different than its predecessor.

This alternative unionism or community-based unionism is discussed in Staughton Lynd's book, "We Are All Leaders", The Alternative Unionsim of the Early 1930's. In the introduction, Lynd writes, "By whatever name, this alternative unionism was democratic, deeply rooted in mutual aid among workers in different crafts and work sites, and politically independent. The key to the value system of alternative unionism was its egalitarianism." (p. 3) Contrasted to bureaucratic unionism in which power is wielded from the top and tactics and decision-making are handled by national leaders, alternative unionism is characterized by a horizontal formation of rank-and-file workers who actively participate in most aspects of the union. Further, adherents to alternative unionism tend to view their constituency across a broad class spectrum while bureaucratic unionism tends to function more narrowly within the immediate concerns of its membership and contracts.

In the 1930's, this division was heightened considerably due to John L. Lewis' paternalistic leadership of the UMWA. Arguably, the PMA was attempting to uphold and formalize a nascent form of community unionism which grew within the Illinois coal fields for decades. With Lewis' ascendancy to the UMWA presidency in 1920 came a relentless push to centralize union authority under his auspices.

The Way Life Was

Earl Hutchison was a small boy during the mine war. He and his family lived in Tovey and Virden Illinois during the conflict. In his 2006 book, Growing Up On The Illinois Prairie During The Great Depression And The Coal Mine Wars: A Portrayal Of The Way Life Was, Dr. Hutchison recounts his experiences as a young boy living under the cloud of economic calamity and a violent labor war.

In this excerpt, Hutchison attempts to understand why as a six-year-old, he shot out the windows of the local mine owner as well as the perpetual violence that gripped the region:

“Perhaps part of my actions here and elsewhere stem from what I call 'resident' or 'landed' memories. The essence of a man or a woman, I believe, stems not only from their heritage and their actions but from the land they live on. The milieu they live in. If the land or the milieu has a history of turbulence and violence, that influence may be paramount: The consciousness it exerts on those living on that land, an endosymbiosis, cannot be dismissed as inconsequential.”

While Hutchison’s tome is a valuable oral history of the times, the publisher Edwin Mellen Press specializes in academic research works which will prevent this book from being affordable for many. (It's priced at $109.95) However, Hutchison and the publisher are to be commended for preserving a history that is too often ignored. And while the book may be out of personal reach, the local public or university library may very well be able to acquire a copy.

“Coal Field Hell Raiser”

The Progressive Miners of America distinguished itself in a number of ways. Perhaps the most important was the role that women played in organizing and leadership. As a community-based union, the PMA viewed its struggle as that of the community and not limited to the male members of the organization. As pointed out in an earlier post, PMA women organized themselves and became active organizers and leaders in the struggle. Sometimes they were willing to take risks that their male counterparts were unwilling to assume.

Much of that early activism was led by the first President of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Progressive Miners of America, Agnes Burnes Wieck.

The East St. Louis Journal noted:

“In the old days, women of the mine areas were a hazard to the success of any strike. The men knew that a complaining woman at home could drive the most militant union man back to the pits without victory.

Now the women, organized under the auxiliary, glory in the privations they suffer. They would not let the men go back if they wanted to go, unless the return was a distinct victory. That, says Mrs. Wieck, is why there never can be a compromise between the Progressives and the U.M.W.A. in Illinois.

The second factor is that as an organization the women have taken an important role in the actual hostilities. The have picketed and the have marched in demonstrations. The have held meetings in the face of orders forbidding meetings. Where they might have starved singly, they have learned through organization to raise money for food, clothing, and strike expenses.”

Charles M. Swart, “Agnes Burnes Weick (sic) – Coal Fields Hell Raiser,” East St. Louis Journal, Illinois Magazine, 22 October 1933, 1.


To learn more about her life and contributions, read Woman from Spillertown, A Memoir of Agnes Burnes Wieck, by her son David Thoreau Wieck

"Verdict in Springfield"

Here's an online article which was originally published in Time magazine on December 27, 1937. The article was written on the federal conviction of 36 members of the Progressive Miners "of conspiring to blow up trains and thus interfere with 1) the mails and 2) interstate commerce."

While the verdicts dealt a near-fatal blow to the union, trial testimony also pointed to collusion between the coal operators and the United Mine Workers. That testimony was never refuted in the trial. Here's an excerpt from the Illinois State Journal's trial coverage, December 11, 1937.

“W.R. Swafford, Harrisburg, ...testified Friday he was instructed by an official of the Peabody Coal Co. to simulate a gun battle during miners’ riot in Harrisburg in October of 1933 to raise sympathy and get the militia out.

Swafford, ... said he acted under orders of W. C. Craggs,... at that time superintendent of the company’s No. 43 mine near Harrisburg.

... According to previous testimony presented in the trial, ...a mass meeting of miners was held in Harrisburg, a march was made on the mine, a gun battle followed, and troops were called out to restore order.

Swafford, ... said Craggs gave him a sawed-off shot gun and a rifle and four boxes of shells and told him to go out on the mine property to guard the mine’s fan house. ‘If anyone starts shooting,’ Swafford quoted Craggs as instructing him, ‘do all the shooting you can so we can raise sympathy and get the militia in here.’

...He also testified he saw a company-owned truck, covered with sheet iron leave the property about 10 p.m., and asserted he saw three machine guns, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, and a couple of boxes of dynamite in a mine office...

He asserted that earlier in 1933, from June 30 to July 5, he said about two hundred others were requested to stay in the mine to arouse sympathy and get the militia called out. Pressed by Prosecutor Welly K. Hopkins to tell who gave him those orders, the witness replied it was general talk at the time. ‘Didn’t you really stay in the mine because it was heavily picketed?’ Hopkins asked. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘I went home one night and was not molested. The company wanted us to look like we were picketed in.’”

On This Day, 75 Years Ago...

On Februrary 25, 1933 the New York Times reported multiple injuries at the Capitol mine in Springfield, IL. Several miles away, State Senator W.E.C Clifford of Champaign, IL convened a State Senate hearing on site to "investigate the conditions at the Peerless mine of the Peabody Coal Company."

The Progressives had been picketing the Peerless mine, but relocated to the Capitol mine and Woodside mine where approximately 1000 Progressives confronted members of the UMWA. Deputies rushed to each mine. At least one picket was shot and four others injured. The paper reported that two sheriff's deputies were also "beaten down, but whether by picket or working miners was not learned."

While it's true that many incidents occurred in less populated areas downstate, this New York Times piece shows that it wasn't unusual for mine war violence to occur within a stone's throw of the state capitol.

"We were not ladies. We were women."

The Women's Auxiliary of the Progressive Miners of America provided crucial support for the union during conflicts and strikes. Beyond its support function, it provided the impetus and backbone for much of the early militancy and commitment to organizing which characterized the early years of the union.

Irene Allard was a founding member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Progressive Miners of America. She was also married to Gerry Allard, the first editor of the PMA's newspaper, The Progressive Miner. In a 1974 interview conducted by Barbara Herndon and Nick Cherniavsky, Irene discussed the formation of the Women's Auxiliary.

Prior to the mine war, Irene was a member of the the Ladies Auxiliary of the United Mine Workers:

"We went to a meeting in Clinton, Indiana. A miners meeting...And on the stage was these women with their white uniforms. And they were the ladies auxiliary of Clinton Indiana or wherever. And Hazel (Ansboury) and I were so impressed with this thing that on the way home we decided we're going to organize a ladies auxiliary in West Frankfort. And we did. I don't remember how many women we had to start with but they were enthusiastic and we called ourselves ladies auxiliary because that's what the Indiana women called themselves."

"We had our group and we wore white uniforms – well all they were was house dresses, you know – Hoover aprons we used to call them – they tied in the back. And we had a little starch cap that we wore – 'Ladies Auxiliary' on it."

"And when the Progressive Miners was organized we retained the women but they changed the name to 'Women's Auxiliary' because we were not ladies we were women."


"Well I'm proud of it, that I had a part to play in that because uh, they were glorious. That's the only word I know for them. And I think without the women the men would not have gone as far as they did."