Powerful Women in History: The Coal Protests of the 1970s
Introduction
The exportation of coal from the Appalachia is perhaps the leading source of economic gain for the region. In the past, coal provided an enormous source of power to those who operated mining facilities. These operators often took advantage of their newfound power by not providing adequate working or living conditions in their coal communities, resulting in many occurrences of strikes and uprisings for the better part of the 1970s. While a majority of those working in the mines and being affected by such abuse and neglect were men, it was the women of the region who arguably played the more crucial role in this undertaking and, thus, deserve far more respect and recognition for their efforts.
The Start of Coal Mining in Appalachia
Coal has always been present in Appalachia, and since the beginning of industry in the United States, it became apparent that this coal needed to be put to use. It was 1768 when actual production of coal in Appalachia first became a reality. After the revolution, it became obvious that people needed to be living near this valuable asset, so towns and cities sprung up in the region. After that, people started to move out west, until the War of 1812, when there was a greater use of coal for transportation. In the 1860s and 1870s, labor unions among the miners started to form despite fair living and working conditions. These unionizers were fighting for higher wages, but the large unions that were created began fighting with each other. Scholars at the University of Baltimore have concluded that it was not until 1890 that the two large unions that were left, the Knights of Labor and the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers, formed into one, national union, the United Mine Workers of America, or the UMW (Lasson, 1972). Various wars and industrial innovation caused coal to fluctuate in importance as the years passed, but in the 1960s, scholar Kenneth Lasson believes that the need for coal officially started rising due to a cyclical scarcity of other fuels (1972). This boom in the coal industry resulted in the formation of “coal towns” created by coal producers to allow workers and their families to live as close to the mines as possible while providing housing and stores for basic necessities. These coal towns may sound like an innovative idea, but the way they were run ended up causing an enormous amount of unexpected and unwanted turmoil for the coal producers in the impending years.
A Day in the Life of a Coal Miner
The life of a coal worker and his or her family was hard. Each day started at the break of dawn when the miner would get up with the sun and head to work. They had to change into dirty, coal-coated clothes, put on a hard-hat, and head down the elevator shaft into the mines. Their labor consisted of cramped quarters, back-breaking work, and deadly conditions for up to 18 hours each work day. Many miners lost their lives due to preventable accidents with equipment and explosives. The U.S. Department of Labor speculates that these days were 5–6 days of the week, each earning a miner less than $30 in the late 1960s (Brennan, 1973). It seemed like far too much work for far too little pay day in and day out for these workers, and their living conditions were not much better.
As stated earlier, many of the coal miners and their families were living in coal towns which were run solely by the coal company. These towns consisted of identical houses built side-by-side in endless rows. These houses were built rapidly and often did not have any electricity or running water. There were no elected officials or privately-owned businesses. According to an article from Kentucky Coal Mining History, towns were entirely owned and run by the coal company from the real-estate to the stores to the churches and schools (Johnson, 2015). The miners were paid with money that could only be used at the company store, preventing them from obtaining any goods or services outside of the community.
The Protests
In the early 1970s, the workers and their families could not take it anymore. Both working and living conditions were unacceptable, and it was time to fight for what they deserved. Most of the strikes happened in Harlan County in southeast Kentucky with the help of the United Mine Workers of America (“of America” being recently added to the title of the UMW) against Duke Power Company (Kopple, 1976). The miners were not only fighting for better conditions, but they were initially fighting for the recognition of their labor union. Without formal, legislative recognition, there was barely anything that the government could do in favor of the workers. For over 9 months, the protestors, both men and women, collected funds, petitioned at the capital, and even used their bodies to block cars driven by “scabs”, or outside workers coming to replace those on strike. Around a year after the protests began and after multiple interrogations and shootings, the government and the coal company finally acknowledged the labor union and changes started to — slowly — be made. Wages were increased, safety precautions were made, and the producers began to loosen their grips on the communities. It may have taken a great deal of time and heartache, but by the mid-1970s, the life of a coal miner and his, or her, family actually started to transform for the better.
Why Women?
All of the strikers’ efforts were deliberate and community-driven, but it seemed like the women were far more determined than the men. While there were women protesting who worked in the mines, a vast majority of those on the frontlines were wives, daughters, and other female family members of male mine workers. Beautifully depicted in the film “Harlan County USA”, it was the women organizing union members to be out on the picket lines at 5 in the morning. It was the women standing in busy roads singing and pleading for funds. It was the women putting their bodies in the middle of the street as a blockade to oncoming cars driven by unwanted scabs (Kopple, 1976). Why? After thorough research, I have concluded that there are essentially three influences that may have caused women to be so hard-set and motivated to triumph over the coal companies: pride, secondary benefits, and a better life for future kin.
Pride is a pretty common theme among those living in Appalachia. There is even an album created by June Carter Cash called Appalachian Pride. This album, produced by her husband, Johnny Cash, in the 1970s, describes the strong feelings and ties towards the region as being a unique and special place to live and call home (Cash, 1975). The strong sense of home and belonging in the mountains and valleys of Appalachia is unlike anywhere in the world. Many families in the region had, and still have, been part of Appalachia for generations. These women must have genuinely loved where they lived and wanted to make sure that their home was not taken advantage of, regardless of the risks.
The secondary benefits of having power and water in their homes was probably a major reason why women fought so strongly in the protests. While the working conditions that the men were in were rough and unsafe, living, cleaning, and taking care of kids in a house with no electricity or running water made the challenges of being a stay-at-home mother even harder than they already were. Being able to obtain those necessities was likely a powerful driving force for the women in those coal towns.
Finally, the women were undoubtedly striking so that their sons and daughters would not have to. Not many mothers want their sons in life-threatening mining situations or their granddaughters in homes where baths are taken in buckets. A scholar published in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism emphasizes that, even though the women did not have the privilege to write petitions or vote on change to happen, they wanted their families to witness the potency of pure rebellion for simple consistent actions (Moore, 1989). Making sure that their future generations did not have to work and live in the unfortunate situation that they had to was absolutely a priority for these female protestors.
Conclusion
Appalachia is a strong and special place, and those in Appalachia encompass a remarkable sense of resilience. Revolts against the coal mining industry were an unceasing occurrence throughout the history of the region, but the revolts of the 1970s definitely turned the tides of history. History seems to have ignored the true revolutions that Appalachia has gone through to obtain the living and working conditions that they deserve, and the women were unquestionably a major part in these endeavors. Whether it was for the tangible benefits or just out of sheer pride and love for the region, the women of Appalachia were tremendous in striking back against the coal industry, and their passion and spirit continues to live on today.
Works Cited
Brennan, Peter. “Wage Chronology: Bituminous Coal Mine Operators and United Mine Workers of America, October 1933-November 1974.” 1973. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_1799_1973.pdf.
Cash, June. “Appalachian Pride.” 1975.
Johnson, David. “Coal Patch Towns.” Kentucky Coal Mining History. 2015. Web. http://kycoal.homestead.com/kycoalmininghistory.html.
Kopple, Barbara. “Harlan County USA.” Cinema Five. 1976.
Lasson, Kenneth. “A History of Appalachian Coal Mines.” ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. 1972. University of Baltimore Law. Web. https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1789&context=all_fac.
Moore, Marat. “Hard Labor: Voices of Women from the Appalachian Coalfields.” Yale Journal of Law & Feminism. Vol. 2, №2. 1989: 199–238. Web. https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1020&context=yjlf.
