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Working Class Rhetoric: An Exploration of The Mining Rhetoric of Southeast Kansas

Bulletin, 1925, June 25th, from Alexander Howat to members of District 14 of the United Mine Workers of America

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Poverty Reduction One of the ways in which union leaders helped to alleviate the financial woes of their members was to set up relief accounts. Within the Hearl Maxwell Collection, there are numerous letters from the various local union mining camps thanking the head office, District 14, for assistance in their difficult times. Help came in the in amounts as little as $7, but every dollar helped families get food or clothing. It is worth remembering that this money was collected and disbursed by members and union officials during a difficult economic time for coal miners.

In one particular case from the summer of 1925, UMWA Local 2397, of which Hearl Maxwell was an officer, they gave aid to a local in Henryetta, OK in the amount of $146.50. The very next week, Local 2397 had to ask for assistance from District 14 headquarters. This initial request was denied, due to other locals being in much more dire circumstances, but just a few months later, Local 2397 received aid in the amount of $75.

Over the time period that the Hearl Maxwell Collection covers, mention of the union dropped while mention of poverty and families rose.

Poverty reduction was a prominent issue for union miners in the 1920s. While the economic conditions made it difficult to control the financial woes, the UMWA leadership and its members did everything in their power, including sharing their last dime, to ensure that no one person or family went without in their times of need. That is why the miners of Southeast Kansas believed so fiercely in the brotherhood of unionship and why they fought so hard for reforms.
"Us" vs "Them" The relationship between unions and employers could be described at best as contentious and at worst openly hostile. Take the case of the Battle of Blair Mountain, in West Virginia. In late-summer of 1921, 10,000 striking coal miners engaged in warfare with thousands of police officers and strikebreakers (Patel). The battle was a victory for the coal company and had a detrimental effect on union membership in several states, including in Southeast Kansas. While this incident - the largest armed confrontation in American labor history – is unique, the mentality of “us vs. them” was pervasive in union-employer relations.

Judith Hoover recounts what was involved for any miner who wished to work for the Hatfield-Campbell Creek Coal Company (WV) in the 1920s:
One had to sign a contract that not only included questions about one’s age, weight, height, color, and scars or deformities, but also required an oath about the “rightness” of nonunion shops. First, the applicant had to agree that he was “not now a member of the United Mine Workers of America, the IWW, or any other organization of mine workers, and will not, during his employment, join or affiliate with any such labor organization.” Then the applicant had to agree that he was willing to sign because he “believed the preservation of the right of individual contract, free from interference or regulation by others, and payment in proportion to service rendered, to be in my interest, to the best interest of the public and of all industry.” Finally, the applicant had to agree that the company could “make deductions on pay roll for Medical Attention, Hospital and Burial Fund.” No amounts were listed for any of these deductions; the employee simply had to trust the company to decide on a reasonable fee (36-7).
This type of behavior by owners of coal companies is what drove men such as Alexander Howat to fight so fiercely for the rights of coal miners both in SEK and nationwide.

Not only were mining unions pitted against mine owners, there were divisive factions within the United Mine Workers of America. Alexander Howat stood in opposition against John Lewis due to disagreements regarding the rights of mine workers.

Sources:
Hoover. Judith D. “‘Miners Starve, Idle or Working’: Working-Class Rhetoric of the Early Twentieth Century.” In Who Says: Working-Class Rhetoric, Class Consciousness, and Community. Ed. William DeGenaro. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007. 32-46.

Patel, Samir S. “Mountaintop Rescue.” Archeology 65.1 (Jan/Feb 2012). Web – archeology.org. 27 April 2016.