The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-08-24

Greensburg coal district of west
ern Pennsylvania for union recog-
milton that has sent families evict-
ed from company houses into
tents and living rations to 81 a
week for a man, SO cents for a
woman and | 5 cents for a child
shows how surely just one thing
must follow union at the top-and
that is union at the bottom.
On March some of the miners
of the district joined the United
Mine Workers of America. By
March 8, 80 of them had been dis
charged. That opened their eyes.
They began to look around to see
what the union had done for other
districts. They found that they
were getting So cents for mining
car of coal that ran in weight
from a ton and a half to two tons,
while other miners were getting
81 cents ton for mining coal of
the same kind under the same
conditions. They learned that in
organized mines mule drivers and
track layers were getting $2.64
for an eight-hour day, while their
mule drivers and track layers
were getting $2.25 for an eleven
hour day. Also that they were
paying s cents day for the
rental of safety lamp, while
union miners were getting them
furnished by their companies.
By April l $4,000 men had
walked out and 10000 had joined
the union.
JOS. Littlewood, president local
2406 Greensburg, who has
worked for the Keystone Coal &
Coke Co. % years, told how it,
happened that the men of the dis
trict had never organized before.
tits because we used to work
for men and not for a corpora
ton, and we could trust the en-
ployers to do what was fair for
u.s." he said.
Most of the men in this dis
trict are men who have been here
a long time. And it Is hard to
get over old ideas.
Five years ago the United Nine
Workers tried to organize us, butt
we didn't think a union was need
ed here. The old owners had sold
out and there was nobody wei
could treat with.
In March of this year we or
ganized and asked for union hours
and a union wage scale. / Joined
the union March A., On March 81
I was discharged. The only rea-
son given me for the dismissal
was that l had joined the United
Mine Workers of America. Att
that time there were about 1000
union men in the district. Byl
April 1 that number had grown to-
10000. Twenty-Five thousand
men are out now, and we are COL
ing to stay out till we get what
we think is right.
"Once they gave us a scent
raise and just afterwards they in
stalled the safety lamps and pow
der ordered by the state law. But
the company made us rent the|
lamps at 5 cents day, instead of
furnishing them.
1.-THE new powder had to bel
used in dangerous parts of the
mine. With key of the old
black powder, that cost $3.50, wei
could get out $50 wagons of coal.
1t takes $12 worth of the new
powder to get out the same
amount. But we are not tol
blame If parts of the mine are,
dangerous and IL 1t costs us more
to mine there, to say nothing of
risking our lives. Should not the i
company help bear the expense?"
President Littlewood also told |
what the miners got after they did
decide to organize.
THE tyranny didn't stop with
conditions BEFORE" he said. Zone
afternoon in April 200 people
were put out of the companyl
houses on Ammer Plane, south |
of Greensburg. They lay on the
ground all night. 1t was unusu-l
allX cold, and in the morning theyl
weA covered with blanket off
snow.
"Then the appeal went out for
tents. We sent for those used in
Alabama. We have 500 now in
use.
Then came injunctions. There
has not been threat nor a par
ticle of violence. yet we are ALL
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