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In the late 1800s and early 1900s, industrialization brought big investments to West Virginia’s industries. The population in the southern coalfields grew quickly, and people from many backgrounds moved to coal towns. Despite their differences, miners worked together to form unions and fight for better pay and conditions. Their struggle with mine owners became an important part of West Virginia’s and the nation's history.
While coal strikes were a big part of West Virginia’s labor history, other strikes in the state also got national attention.In 1877, a national economic crisis led the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to cut workers’ pay by 10%. Angry workers went on...
The Hawks Nest Coal Company strike in January 1880 was the first major coal strike in West Virginia where the state got involved. The strike began when union miners in Coal Valley (now Montgomery) stopped miners at nearby Hawks Nest from working, ...
The Hitchman Coal and Coke v. Mitchell case began in West Virginia in 1906 and became an important U.S. court decision. The Hitchman company in the Northern Panhandle only hired workers who promised not to join a union—by making them sign yellow-d...
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) was formed in 1890 and soon tried to unionize West Virginia miners through the efforts of national labor leaders such as "Mother" Jones (pictured). It was difficult because they met resistance from coal co...
The Mine Wars were a series of violent battles between coal miners and coal companies in southern West Virginia from 1912 to 1921. Miners wanted better pay, safer working conditions, and the right to join a union (the United Mine Workers of Americ...
Even though early union struggles didn’t succeed, they helped create strong local leaders like Frank Keeney, Fred Mooney, and Bill Blizzard. Later, Arnold Miller from Cabin Creek became UMWA president in 1972, followed by Cecil Roberts in 1995. Vi...
In the 1920s, unions struggled due to pressure from businesses and the government. But things changed after President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured at the Forest Festival in Elkins) was elected in 1932. His National Industrial Recovery Act in 19...
Some unions were close to disappearing, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal helped bring them back. This was true for West Virginia’s glass workers. By the 1930s, the Ohio River area had over half of the nation’s glass factories. Early ...
In 1935, UMWA President John L. Lewis (pictured) wanted to organize workers by industry, not just by skill, which led to a split from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). When W...
In the late 1930s, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee unionized most of the U.S. steel industry but failed at Weirton Steel. Instead, a company-backed union called the Employees Security League stayed in control. In 1950, it was officially rec...
Big chemical companies like DuPont tried to keep workers loyal by offering perks like sports leagues, picnics, and hiring relatives—this was called welfare capitalism. Still, unions worked to organize chemical workers. From the 1930s to 1960s, sev...
After World War II, labor and business relations became more stable, but changes in the economy hurt unions—especially in coal. Machines began replacing miners in the late 1940s, and mining jobs dropped from about 125,000 in 1950 to about 15,000 b...