Union leader Samuel Morgan Church Jr. (September 20, 1936-July 14, 2009) was born in Matewan. Both of his grandfathers had been miners, and his father worked as a miner before becoming a barber. Church’s family moved to Appalachia, Virginia, in 1944. Church attended Berea College for a year and then moved to Baltimore where he worked for Domino Sugar.
Church joined the United Mine Workers of America after taking a job as a miner with a Virginia coal company. In 1975, UMWA President Arnold Miller named Church to his staff. Church was elected vice-president of the UMWA in 1977, and in November 1979, he assumed the presidency following Miller’s resignation. During his three years as head of the union, Church worked to improve mine safety laws and to improve benefits for black lung victims and miners’ widows. In 1981, members rejected a contract that Church had negotiated and went on strike for 72 days. In November 1982, Church lost his bid for a full term to Richard Trumka.
He returned to work for a coal company in Virginia and remained active with the UMWA. Church died in Bristol, Tennessee. Following his death, Trumka paid tribute to Church saying, “He was a union man from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.”
This Article was written by Henry Franklin Tribe
Last Revised on November 03, 2023
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Sources
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Fink, Gary M, ed.. Biographical Dictionary of American Labor. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984.
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Cite This Article
Tribe, Henry Franklin "Sam Church." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 03 November 2023. Web. 20 April 2024.
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