Synopsis
Founded by white, Anglo-Saxon pick miners in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America had become by World War I the largest, most powerful, and in many ways the most progressive labor organization in the American Federation of Labor. Developing out of a conference commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the UMWA, this volume explores its critical influence in the development of industrial unionism, efforts at interracial and interethnic organizing, and the foundation and guidance of the CIO between 1935 and 1955.
The essays—most commissioned especially for this volume—also examine the impact of mechanization on the coal industry, issues of health, safety, and company control, the long-neglected role of women in coal-mining communities, and the influence of the leadership of John Mitchell and John L. Lewis. The final section looks at the UMWA's efforts to renew itself as a democratic and dynamic organization in recent decades.