Alexander Janes

713849277

The West Virginian Coal Miner

 Underneath the ground in the mountains of West Virginia, there is a mineral which

provides the majority of the United States’ power supply. This mineral has meant many different

things to various people throughout history. Some people saw it as a path to a stable occupation

by extracting it from the earth. Others dreamt of the riches which could be made selling it on the

market. And many people, especially those in the rural mining villages of West Virginia, simply

know it as a way of life, the driving force which can obviously or subtly influence their day to

day activities.

This rock with the power to shape lives is, of course, coal. There is more coal production

in West Virginia annually than in any other state, and 4% of the world’s coal reserves are found

in the state. (US-DOL Coal Production Report, WV Coal Mining Facts) This is even more

impressive when it is taken into consideration that West Virginia is only 24,230 square miles, the

9th smallest state in the country. The production of coal, though important for West Virginia’s

economy to generate money from other states being powered by Appalachian coal, is especially

necessary for that state’s own energy security. 99% of West Virginia’s power supply is generated

by coal. (WV Coal Mining Facts) Because both their jobs and their communities depend on coal,

those who are most affected by the coal industry are those who are directly involved in the

extraction of coal, miners.

The story of the average coal miner is the most relatable story in West Virginia. Everyone

in the state understands the importance of coal and knows at least a few people in the coal

industry. As such, people tend to know the history of coal miners in the state, too. This history is

littered with injustices and transgressions against the working miner. More often than not, the

force behind these injustices was simply greed; those in power sought to augment their own
wealth to such an extreme that the lives of the miners they depended upon became lives of

suffering and danger.

The despairs of a coal miner occur for a variety of reasons. The biggest battle for miners

throughout the years has been the battle for fair wages; the coal industry has historically been

one of the most unequal with regards to salary within the industry. Executives of coal industries

have been making millions of dollars since the turn of the 20 th century, while miners have

struggled to be paid fairly since even earlier. Before legislation promoting wage reform, what

little coal miners were paid was given to them in scrip, a form of company currency, meaning

they were unable to purchase anything not sold by the company running their coal mine, which

seriously inhibited the quality of life for miners and their families. Miners may also fret over the

safety of their mine, with the constant threat of various potential dangers such as mine wall

collapse, gas explosion, or lung disease. The biggest concerns that coal miners faced were issues

dealing with their pay, their quality of life (as well as that of their families), and their safety.

The first well-documented conflict between miners and mine operators over “the

fundamental issue of who would control and profit from development of West Virginia’s natural

resources” was the skirmish which is now known as the Battle of Matewan. (Lewis, 5) In 1920,

the miners in Matewan, West Virginia were extremely agitated with the mine owners and

operators of the Stone Mountain Coal Corporation for a multitude of reasons, but the most

glaring problem was the extremely low level of pay for the miners. In the months preceding the

Battle of Matewan, members of the United Mine Workers of America in other coal mining

regions had started a strike demanding that their wages be increased by 27%. The union, which

previously held little influence in southern West Virginia, determined that Matewan presented an

opportunity to organize workers in that part of Appalachia. Thousands of miners joined the
UMWA. This infuriated those in power at the Stone Mountain Corporation, who proceeded to

fire the miners who signed the union’s roster, and evict their families from the company’s

housing. Many families were left with no form of income, and with tents and sheds as the only

available shelter. On May 19, enforcers working for the mine owners served eviction notices to

families living in a coal camp. The chief of police, who along with the town’s mayor

sympathized with the miners, decided to attempt to stop the company’s plans. Local armed

miners and residents surrounded the enforcers on their way to the train station. The mayor of

Matewan was killed with the first shot fired by an enforcer, and by the end of the skirmish, two

miners and seven company enforcers were also dead. The miners viewed this as a victory over

the coal corporation, and the battle sparked a rapid organization of West Virginia miners into

union chapters. The miners’ efforts directly led to an increase in wages.

The story of the miners in Matewan provides an example of a wage struggle which coal

miners faced throughout West Virginia. A major reason for the miners’ frustration was the

inequality in profit within the coal industry. Miners, after they secured payment in US dollars

rather than company scrip, were still paid low wages, hovering only slightly higher than

minimum wage for the bulk of the 20th century. Since the average West Virginian is a coal miner,

the public tends to believe that the state “was bypassed by America’s industrial expansion…

[but] West Virginia was in fact the frontier of industrial capitalism during this period.” (Lewis,

2) Coal accounted for even more of the nation’s power during industrialization than it does

today, thus during this time there was great wealth to be made in the coal industry. Coal was

necessary for steel production and to power other manufactories. With each new steel plant or

paper mill that opened, the demand for coal grew higher. Capitalists with great financial power

from national and global economic centers grew interested in making profits from the sale of
West Virginia coal. With increasing control over the state’s economy, outsiders also held the

state’s political sphere within their grasp. With time, and “capital investment from New York

and London, [West Virginia’s] indigenous people lost control of the land and government.”

(Lewis, 2) On the local level, it was typical to own a mansion in town or have a large estate on

the outskirts, while they drove high-end cars for the men they exploited to admire enviously. On

a more macro level, the owners of coal and steel conglomerates such as J.P. Morgan or John

Rockefeller were the richest men in the world. It seems entirely reasonable that the coal miner,

upon whose back these empires were built, would question why he could not share in the

tremendous wealth.

Quality of life for miners and miners’ families often suffered due to the extortionist

policies of the coal corporations. Another look at the early 20th century will provide insight into a

major detriment to quality of life: the ‘company store’ mindset. This mentality is most aptly

described by Professor Ronald Lewis of West Virginia University:

“The company provided a place to live, as well as tools, work supplies, and food from the
company store. The new miner was charged for these advances, and the cost of transportation,
when appropriate, against the coal he produced. The miner, therefore, often began his mining
career in debt and… he had to produce a sufficient amount of coal to clear these charges from the
balance sheet. Paydays were, in effect, settlement days for many miners who… often found it
difficult to free themselves of credit dependency.” (Lewis, 12)

If the day did come when the miner was no longer in debt to the company, he began earning

wages in scrip, a company-issued currency which held absolutely no value anywhere except the

company store, and other company-ran ventures. The miner and his family were unable to search

the market for the best goods at the best available price, a tenet of commercial free-market

society. They were denied a right which workers were entitled to in the American economy. This

wasn’t just a few company towns and company stores scattered across the state. In 1920, 78.8%

of the mine workers in southern West Virginia lived in company owned towns. (Lewis, 3) Many
times the mine operators would be in charge of not only the physical plant and mine, but also the

social institutions within the town. The foreman of the mine often acted as “landlord, merchant,

postmaster, provider of entertainment, and sanitation officer.” (Lewis, 3)

The domination over local and state interests by capitalists who many times had never

even set foot in West Virginia began to wear thin in the minds of the coal miners. In 1923, non-

residents of West Virginia owned over 50% of the state’s private land, and by 1970 more than

two-thirds of private land in the state was owned by corporations with natural resource interests.

Even if members of a miner’s family wished to help contribute to the family’s wealth, it was

nearly impossible because “wage work for women and children was scarce in mine towns.”

(Lewis, 8) Coal workers continued to unionize, and continued to fight long odds to

improvements in their quality of life. The miners began to gain a sense of unity, though, as they

struggled against what was perceived as the evil of the company. This sense of unity is the

foundation for a strong sense of solidarity among all West Virginians which persists today.

While wages and quality of life presented issues which could develop resentment towards

the company and individuals over time, miners were threatened every day by problems with

mine safety. Since the Industrial Revolution, coal mining has been the most deadly occupation in

the United States of America. Over 100,000 miners have died on the job since 1900. One must

also consider the “hundreds of thousands of miners who were permanently injured or died a slow

death from black lung.” (Lewis-Beck & Alford, 746) Possible situations for disaster within a

mine include explosions, flooding, collapse, fire, and oxygen deprivation. In addition to these

dangers is the increased risk for respiratory disease such as black lung, fibrosis, emphysema, and

lung cancer.
 The most shocking aspect of this deadly work environment is the reluctance to safety

improvements historically shown by the upper management in coal companies. Indeed, in no

other industry with any form of regulation is “the clash of public and private purposes clearer

than that of coal mine safety;” this clash is sometimes referred to by critics as the battle of

“safety versus profit.” (Lewis-Beck & Alford, 746) It is true that with each new piece of mine

safety legislation, a corporation with interests in coal mining must undergo certain costs to meet

new requirements. Often, these costs are rather steep. This helps to explain why, more often than

not, people who run mining operations lobby the government extensively in opposition to new

safety legislation. It does not explain, however, how the operators can brush aside the value of

human life for the purpose of increasing cash value. This can have serious consequences, as there

is barely ever a strong impetus for safety legislation other than a recent mining disaster. The

most comprehensive mining laws to date were implemented with the passing of the Federal Coal

Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Unfortunately, this legislation was only put into motion in

the aftermath of the 1968 explosion of the Consolidation Coal Company Number 9 mine in

Farmington, West Virginia. (Lewis-Beck & Alford, 746) 78 coal miners died in the blast, and the

town of Farmington, as well as the rest of north central West Virginia, could do nothing but

mourn their fallen fathers, brothers, and sons. The only consolation for the families of the victims

of the Farmington disaster and other similar mining disasters is the hope that the loss of their

loved ones will lead to improved, safer conditions for those who continue to toil in the mines.

The lives of West Virginians will always be tied to coal. The state’s residents throughout

history “have been swept along before a torrent of political, economic, and social change,” which

was driven by coal. (Lewis, 1) Through the effort of previous miners and miners’ advocates,

conditions for miners have improved. Coal miners today enjoy the wages deserved by a skilled
worker in a dangerous workplace. The quality of life has risen for mining families, as they can

now spend official United States currency in the manner of their choosing. At the cost of too

many lives, mine safety laws have become strict enough that it has been over 40 years since

more than 100 miners died in a single year. There are still challenges to face for coal miners. In

the wake of recession and automation, unemployment has hit many coal miners. The number of

coal miners in West Virginia has dropped from 127,304 in 1950 to just over 20,000 today.

(Lewis, 13) This unemployment is just one additional factor in what has been an unusually long

restructuring of West Virginia’s coal economy. It was not the first issue to be raised when

questioning the degree of fairness with which we treat our coal miners, and it most certainly will

not be the last.

 References

“Coal Production Report,” Energy Information Administration Form EIA-7A, and U.S.

Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Form 7000-2, “Quarterly

Mine Employment and Coal Production Report.” 2008. Retrieved from

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table6.pdf

“WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINING FACTS.” West Virginia Mine Safety. 15 Oct 2009. West

Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Web.

http://www.wvminesafety.org/wvcoalfacts.htm.

Lewis, Ronald. “Appalachian Restructuring in Historical Perspective: Coal, Culture, and Social

Change in West Virginia.” West Virginia University Department of History. (1992).

Retrieved from http://www.rri.wvu.edu/pdffiles/wp9102.pdf

Lewis-Beck, Michael, and John Alford. “Can Government Regulate Safety? The Coal Mine

Example.” American Political Science Review. 74. (1980): 745-756.