Unions and Mining

Inspiration, intrigue, conflict, and hope for a better future are themes that run through the tumultuous history of unionization among mine workers, both in our region and in the nation.
We’ve assembled a collection of essays and articles on this written by historians and chroniclers of the complex and fascinating effort to achieve unionization.
Primary Sources about the Windber Miners' Strike for Union in 1922-1923
The following primary sources talk about the miners at Windber, Pennsylvania, and the strike of 1922–1923.
Remembering the 1906 Strike for Union in Windber, Pennsylvania
Select Readings compiled by Mildred Allen Beik. Translations were done by Mildred Allen Beik, with assistance from Jitka Hurych and Alan Cienki. Courtesy of the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota. On April 2, 1906, as many
UMWA Marker Honors Mine Workers
Eileen Mountjoy In 1990, the centennial year of the United Mine Workers of America, will be marked by celebrations, both large and small, across the coal fields of several states. On an international scale, the United Mine Workers Journal,
The Windber Miners' Strike for Union in 1922-1923
Historians, including many labor historians, have emphasized the economic and political conservatism of the 1920’s, including the American labor movement.
To Organize the Unorganized
By Eileen Mountjoy The year 1919 was marked by an explosion of activity in the American labor movement. Discontent surged among industrial workers as promises of wage increases and improved working conditions, made by employers during World War One,
That Magnificent Fight For Unionism
By Eileen Mountjoy During 1920 and 1921, western Pennsylvania's coal mine operators campaigned vigorously to slash wages of the miners they employed. Because demand for coal declined after World War One the operators were forced
The Coal Strike of 1919 in Indiana County and its Aftermath
The Coal Strike of 1919 in Indiana County and its Aftermath