The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-12
W. VA. MINERS
CONFERRING ON
new WAGE PACT
80, 900 Now Working in
Open Shop Mines
BY J. A. HAMILTON.
Especial 70 The Daily WorkeEl


slider the ratification of the new
three-year agreement, and other i'm
portant matters.
The $4,000 or so miners represent
ed here-20, 900 in Sub-District 4 !;
5000 in Sub-District 3-comprise al
most the whole union organization
in West Virginia. There are few
thousand members in the Kanawha
River Valley in the South; few
hundred in Masin County (Pomerot
Field) on the Ohio River; one
or two thousand in the vicinity of
Wheeling (the last in District 81,
leaving some $4,000 unorganized min
ers in this state, which in 1928 pro-
duced almost one-ffth of the coun-
try's bituminous coal (105, 100000
tons), and whose production has been
increasing much more rapidly than
the average.
Organized In 1918.
Sub-District No 4, taking In the
Morgantown, Fairmont and Clarks-
burg fields, along the West Fork and
MonOngahela rivers in the northern
part Of the state-is the baby sub
division in the miners union. 1t
dates back only to 1918, when the
miners in these fields were organ
lied simply by agreement with the
companies, without a general strike
being necessary. Much of Sub-Dis-
trict No. g. Grafton Philippi field,
east Of Sub-District No. had al
ready been organized few years
District IL began in the Kanawha
River Valley in Southern West Vir-
ginia. but open-shop campaigns have
almost wiped out the original part Of
the district, letting the burden fall
upon the infant sub-district, the
Northern field of maintaining the
cause of unionism in this beknighted
state. Several thousand men in the
Kanawha Valley have been on strike,
however, for several years paint
and Cabin Creeks) and rumors are
about that the union intends to put
on an aggressive organization cam
palgn.
Not In Central Competitive.
West Virginia is not included in
the Central Competitive field IN wage
negotiations but its scale is based
upon that of the competitive field.
However, the Northern W. Virginia
scale calls for 62.7 cents per ton for
loading in rooms after machine cut
ting Tin thick" veins formerly five,
now four feet or over as against
about "a cents in the Pittsburgh Dis
trict for thick vein, and higher rates
in some other sections; the day
rates are also about per cent lower.
On the other hand, the Northern w.
Virginia miners are not troubled
with the draw slate (slate which
overlies the coal and either comes
down when the coal is blasted or
must be pulled down for safety
which makes life miserable FOR the
Pittsburgh vein miners in the Pitts
burgh District and especially in East
ern Ohio; where they must handle
IL inches or less of this slate with
out extra compensation. The Pitts
burgh vein In w. Virginia runs eight
or nine feet in thickness, enabling a
foot or so of roof coal to be left to
hold up the slate. The Freeport and
Sewickley veins. which are also ex-
tensively mined in this field, do not
carry draw slate, altho the Freeport
has several inches of "bone coal
(slatey unburnable. heavy substance)
to be picked out of the middle Of the
vein.
New Scale Is Worse.
The new scale up for adoption is
in general the same but with num-
Der of changes almost all to the dis
advantage of the miners. The diff
ferential Of 1.3 cents per ton, and
8 cents per day, formerly allowed to
men in mines requiring closed lamps
(for safety from gas; storage bat
terry electric lights generally used)
was wiped out. This affects about 10
per cent Of the Sub-District 4 mem
bership employed in the shaft mines
in the Fairmont field, Pittsburgh
vein. 1t was also decided that thin
veins" are four feet or under instead
Of five. which will take 8 cents per
ton away from quite a few, especial
ly In the Grafton-Phillipi field.
These Bosses Won't Sign.
At present the New England Fuel
and Transportation Co., operating
two large mines at Louisville, and
Grant Town, employing together
about $50 men, 10 still adhering to
its refusal to sign the new agreement
and has its mines closed tight. Sew
eral other companies, mostly small
ones, have also refused to sign. There
have been since the 1922 strike in
few non-union miners in the Morgan
town and Clarksburg fields. OF
course, all the agreements signed so
far are contingent upon ratification
Of the scale by the convention.
Production Near Standstill.
Coal production in this region is
almost at a standstill, most Of the
mines being entirely closed or work
ing on a part-time schedule, there
being in the Fairmont region AZ
mines reported working yesterday
and 232 idle. Most Of the produc-
ton is said to be going TO the rail-
roads: the Pittsburgh vein and Sc
wickley mines Of Northern West Vir-
ginia furnishing an exceptionally
easily crumble into slack to be blown
out the snoke-stack bv the forced