The Right for Safety and Equality

The Right for Safety and Equality. . The primary goal of most coal mining companies in New River Gorge was to maximize profits and decrease costs. It was common for coal companies to put physical and social needs of their workers and families last. Safety, health, social service and collective bargaining (union) regulations were minimal to non-existent during the West Virginia coal boom from the late 1800s into the 1930s. , The fight for collective bargaining and unions resulted in a 21 year war between workers and mine owners. From 1900–1921, employees fought against private security hired by owners, resulting in the second-largest armed rebellion in U.S. history after the Civil War, the “West Virginia Mine Wars.” The battles and strikes of West Virginia miners were a key factor in the American labor movement and the formation of a vibrant, progressive and healthy American middle class. , (sidebar) , The expression “red necks” began when miners started wearing red bandanas around their necks to identify them as pro-union people in solidarity with the warring miners. Would you have been a “red neck”? , (sidebar) , Mother Jones. Leading the miners in their fight was Mary “Mother” Jones, an Irish immigrant who worked in southern textile mill towns and lost all of her family in a yellow fever epidemic. She dedicated her later life to championing safe working conditions, fair pay and benefits for miners and other working class people.