The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-11-24

BREAKS down
union FRONT
Practice Extending in
Anthracite Mines
BY ART SHIELDS,
Federated Press.

SCRANTON, Pa, Nov. %. -(FP)-
Extension of the contractor system
this summer and fall in the big rail-
road company mines in the Scranton
and Wlkes-Barre district is breaking
down union standards and undermn-
ing the United Mine Workers of Amer
lea. Worst offenders are the Hudson
Coal. Pennsylvania Coal, Glen Alden
Coal and Scranton Coal companies.
More and more of the tonnage is
being taken away from the individual
miner and laborer and turned over to
these contractors who hire and fire at
their own sweet will All of the new
mechanical leaders that began to be
introduced this year are adopted by
contractors And a considerable minor
ity of the old fashioned kind Of mining
is now done thru contractors employ
ing from eight to a hundred and fifty
men. The contractor takes over sew
eral working places and sometimes
several whole sections of a vein on a
tonnage and yardage basis and hires
his labor on day rate. Some of the
contractors are such big operators
that they employ straw bosses known
as "pusher men" to speed the men
up,
Tony Rose.
Tony Rose, one of the biggest Penn
sylvania coal contractors, operates
several sections of the No Big Vein
On an open shop basis. Any of his
hundred and fifty miners and laborers
heard to favor uniOnism face dis
charge Richetto Mattiucchi, another
h.g Pennsylvania coal contractor, with
nearly a hundred men, is more toler-
ant. He permits his employees to be-
long to the United Mine Workers as
long as they do not "agitate" for un-
ion standards. But those tolerant con
tractors expect their men to support
the contractors interests at local
union meetings and the contractor
gang" are often a powerful political
machine in the union
Contractors have every reason to
seek control of the union and thus
stife protests. The contractors got
special privileges in the eollieries for
which they are reputed to grease the
palms of superintendents, They get
cars when the individual miner and
lsborer can't get them. They get favor
ed places to work in where the money
is big. Sometimes they show as much
as $3.50 net for a two weeks pay.
Revolt In Union.
Revolt against the contractors
breaks out in union meetings. Earlier
in November Mako Klinczh, rank
and file mine laborer at the Mayfleld
colliery pennsylvania CoaD was shot
dead at his local meeting. The victim
was a co-worker in the mine with
Joseph DZwonczyk, a miner, president
Of the local union. Dzwoncyzk was
lighting the contractors privileges.
The contractor gang brot charges
against him in the local but failed to
press them the evening they were to
he heard. Instead guns blazed out,
the shots missing the president but
Staying his laborer Many women and
girls were present in the hall at the
time and there was wild confusion.
Later the police arrested Louis Con-
sagra, a mine contractor and his two
nephews. "Santo" Consagra and JOS
eph Tuzzi for the shooting. Louis
Oonsagra had been suspected six years
years ago of a killing in the 1920
strike against the contractors.
That 1920 strike, led by Alex Camp
bell, lasted three months. At the end
the contractor gang Of SO who ruled
me Pennsylvania colleries was broken
Some contractors were driven out OF
the Pennsylvania coal towns. Others
had TO become individual miners. All
coal contracting was abolished tho
the system continued for rock work
In the last three years the system has
come back, and has been gaining
speed In the last few months.