Taylor, P. F. (1979). Three Harlan County incorporated towns were not owned by the coal mines, they became a sanctuary for the evicted and starving miners. Harlan County War Photos View All Photos (10) Movie Info Nearly everyone in Harlan County, Ky., works in the coal mines for Brookside Mining. Melcher-Dallas 53, Diagonal 51, OT The Seco Train Accident September 20, 1917, New Bank in the Coal Country Installed in 1911, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/new-deal/national-industrial-recovery-act-of-1933/, https://pipiwiki.com/wiki/Battle_of_Evarts, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War, https://labornotes.org/blogs/2019/08/brief-history-harlan-county-usa, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-wagner-act-of-1935-national-labor-relations-act-2060509#:~:text=%20The%20Wagner%20Act%20defines%20and%20prohibits%20five,or%20administration%20of%20a%20labor%20organization.%20More%20, https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/05/archives/bomb-in-auto-kills-kentucky-official-harlan-county-attorney.html#:~:text=HARLAN%2C%20Ky.%2C%20Sept.%204%20%28AP%29.%20%20The%20death,his%20automobile.%20View%20Full%20Article%20in%20Timesmachine%20%C2%BB, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70804679/elmon-clay-middleton, https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/06/archives/kentucky-holds-four-in-auto-bomb-killing-harlan-prosecutors-death.html, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/?fbclid=IwAR21nYphw4Dul-_EwuAmSWgzsvPLNwsMM0FtV75j0y-mGUHq-lCZjJxZot8, The Flatwoods Monster: Weird Appalachia Cases, Rotherwood Mansion: Weird Appalachia Cases, The Brown Mountain Ghostly Lights: Weird Appalachia Cases. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139, by John W. Hevener p. 46, Which Side Are You On? http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/56171 Ft: Aussens@iter (tobias_weber), Gerd Kohlmeier, Audio Podcast WordPress Theme By VWThemes, The Harlan County Coal War (Podcast Episode), The Hatfields and the McCoys: After the Feud, http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284. Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century As the motorcade approached a single shot rang out in the air. $2. . There was an addition to where miners could choose their own representation for these negotiations. The question at hand: the rights of Harlan County . It is also possible to buy "Harlan County War" on Amazon Video as download or rent it on Amazon Video online. By LOUIS STARK. On September 29, troops were dispatched on behalf of the miners for the first time in the Harlan County War, the governor referring to the beatings and harassment at the hands of the mine guards as "the worst reign of terror in the history of the county. Phone (308) 928-2173 (Clerk's Office) Hours. And it wouldn't happen over night so coal miners would have time to re-educate themselves. Harlan County USA is a 1976 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple that chronicles a coal miners' strike in Harlan County, Kentucky. When drafting these articles, I found that many things have not been taught to the future generations about the struggles for coal miner rights have been in the Appalachian Mountains. Attempts to organize led to the dismissal of employees who were suspected of having leanings toward the organization and having them evicted from their family homes. 2, Which Side Are You On? The Brookside strike is vividly recounted in Barbara Kopple's masterpiece, the documentary "Harlan County, USA." NONUNION AND DEADLY Today, U.S. coal comes mostly from the Western plains, dug. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Rank-and-file miners responded with a series of wildcat strikes, in 1964, 1966, and 1971, and in 1969 they won the great West Virginia Black Lung Strike, one of the few political strikes in U.S. history. Sheriff T. R. Middleton replaced Blair under the pro-union campaign platform. So when the Rhinehart and Dennis Construction Company came looking for workers to build a hydroelectric tunnel on. They found sympathy there with spurned politicians and business owners who wished to see the company stores vanish.[4]. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. I'm one of them and I feel like I've got to be with them. In response to the violence, the Kentucky National Guard was called in. Paternalism is the practice of people who have a business or other authority to restrict the freedoms of those who are subordinate to them. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [25] Also, during the strike Florence Reece, wife of organizer Sam Reece, wrote the labor standard "Which Side Are You On? The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It is unclear who fired that shot but both sides claim that the other side did it. Only to be escorted to the county line and told not to return. Harlan County War (2000) is a television film directed by Tony Bill and written by Peter Silverman. Their foothold there ultimately ended because the local clergy who were the labor organizers found out that the union was communist in nature and held animosity toward religion. She was the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner and married to Sam Reece, an organizer for the radical National Miners Union, then embroiled in the bloody 1931 Harlan County war. The mine owners have as little regard as ever for the lives of miners and their families. Most accurate 2021 crime rates for Harlan, KY. They were convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder. June 17th of that same year, the first strike was over as the last miner had returned to work. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The film, which stars Holly Hunter, Kaminski's wife, is a fictional drama about a coal miner's wife who spearheads a year-long labor strike, and is set against the historical background of the 1970's Harlan County coal strike. An open shop is where union membership is allowed but not mandated to work at that location. The 1920s, a decade of defeat for American workers everywhere, left the UMWA in a shambles. I visited Harlan in 1974 with a contingent from the British miners union. The 'war' lasted most of. The Dreiser Committee also discovered the labor folk singer Aunt Molly Jackson and her younger half-brother Jim Garland, putting them on a tour of 38 states to raise funds for the strikers. 130-131, TROOPS WATCH AS HARLAN VOTES: Turbulent County Ballots Heavily but New York Times; September 8, 1935; pg. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. : The Harlan County Coal Miners, 193139, by John W. Hevener p.47, Which Side Are You On? Editor. However, wages at these mines came into step with the rest of the nation. Blair. Troops had to be called into the county three times to maintain order. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side, and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other. [4]:32 Only three of Harlan's incorporated towns were not owned by mines, hungry and evicted workers and their families sought refuge in them, primarily in the town of Evarts. Harlan County War (89) 6.4 1 h 44 min 2000 16+ A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly dying of black lung disease, joins the picket lines for a long, violent strike. It aired on Showtime. Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Harlan Campbell Jr - Trap Shooting My Way DVD at the best online prices at eBay! [1] Its county seat is Harlan. Established by a gathering of business leaders in Chicago in 1921, the Plan outlined a "multifaceted economic system [that emphasized] free markets, individual contract, management control, nonregulation of business, and vigilance against 'unsound' or radical thought." The United Mine Workers union also cited that they did not have the resources to help in the battle. This was thirteen percent of the workers showing up for their scheduled work times. In Harlan County there wasn't no neutral. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". Blair (Florence Reece appears in the film.) Director Barbara Kopple Stars John L. Lewis (archive footage) Carl Horn CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of willfully violating safety standards and spent a year in prison. By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, have drawn national attention with their direct action occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train until the miners get paid the wages they are owed for digging it up. They made several attempts at holding strikes against the coal companies, but these failed in Harlan County. Childers, K. (2014). ~~ David Sergent. [21] 1935 proved to be a turbulent year, even for Harlan; troops were deployed to maintain order in the county three times. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. On July 7, a group of deputies, enraged at a public celebration of the Wagner act, dispersed the crowd by beating several miners. One of the Deputies was Jim Daniels. The unrest continues in Harlan and surrounding counties as there have been many strikes. California labor activist Caroline Decker also raised money for the relief of the striking miner efforts. The coal miners, lean and tough from Kentucky mountain life, knew how to fight back. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! To prevent operating at a loss, on February 16, 1931, the Harlan County Coal Operators Association decided to cut all wages by ten percent. Again, Harlan County took center stage, this time at the Brookside Mineexposing, again, the poverty of coal country, as well as the vicious indifference to life of the owners, in this case Duke Power. It outlawed yellow-dog contracts, company unions, blacklists, and discrimination on basis of union activity, all tactics employed by coal companies. The ones who love it love the depiction of rough and ready union brothers and sisters ready to wage war with the coal company thugs. These events resulted in the county being called "Bloody Harlan." After the Battle of Evarts, May 5, 1931, Kentucky governor Flem D. Sampson called in the National Guard to restore order. I have attended the University of Kentucky. On February 16, 1931, to maximize profits, the Harlan County Coal Operators' Association cut miners' wages by 10%. The Kentucky mining camps still had the paternalism idea in their mists and the ever-independent Appalachian people were not having it. The Kentucky National Guard was called in. 18. Four men were arrested in connection with this murder. Main Office: 7435 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48210; (313) 842-6262.East Coast Office: 104 Montgomery St, Brooklyn, NY 11225; (718) 284-4144.Labor Education and Research Project 2005-2016. occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train. In "Bloody Harlan" in the 1930s, miners and union organizers faced bayonets and many died fighting the coal bosses, helping to fuel a national wave of organizing. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter The miners could be fired if they refused to spend their paychecks only in the store. [13], In the wake of the UMW failure, the openly Communist National Miners' Union (NMU) made a brief play for Harlan County. She becomes a member of the organizing committee and regularly joins the picket lines herself. . With the passage of these acts, there was unrest in Harlan County. A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly dying of black lung, joins the picket lines for a long, violent strike. Managers pleaded guilty to impeding the Mine Safety and Health Administrations enforcement efforts. [18] As national political support for the NIRA dwindled, capital gained the upper hand, and when the United States Supreme Court struck down the legislation's pro-union National Recovery Administration portion, shops with union presence in Harlan dwindled from eighteen to one. I Really Hate My Job (DVD, 2008) Neve Campbell . 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