Labor Day Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Events Across the State To Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Mine Wars, Battle of Blair Mountain

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain. While the anniversary is still weeks away, organizations and communities in southern West Virginia are already commemorating the centennial.

The Battle of Blair Mountain is one of West Virginia’s largest moments in American history.

As part of the Mine Wars, coal miners marched near the Boone-Logan County line from late August to Sept. 3. The march was the largest labor uprising in U.S. history.

It happened in the early 1900’s after coal miners in West Virginia endured years of dangerous conditions underground and brutal political and cultural treatment above ground.

By 1921, the miners decided to fight for their fellow miners in the Mingo County town of Williamson, who were locked up without trial. They were charged with violating martial law, an act that gives absolute power to the federal military during times of “war, rebellion, or natural disaster.” The battle ended when martial law was declared again, and U.S. Army troops disarmed the miners.

The uprising has been largely underreported but organizations and communities are hoping the events this year will provide more opportunities for people to visit and learn about America’s labor history.

Dozens of events are taking place online and in communities that played an important part in the Battle of Blair Mountain and the Mine Wars. Some of those towns include Matewan and Williamson in Mingo County, Madison, in Boone County and Welch in McDowell County.

Some of the groups working to organize the events include the Mine Wars Museum in Matewan, the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.

The next event is a performance of the play “Terror of the Tug” in Summers County at Pipestem Resort State Park amphitheatre on Saturday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. The main events are happening Sept. 3 and Labor Day, the first Monday of the month, Sept. 6. Some of the events include outdoor plays, reenactments, tours, virtual roundtable discussions and retracing the march to Blair Mountain.

The anniversary is Sept. 3, so Labor Day Weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the centennial. You can find a list of events commemorating the 100th anniversary at this site.

UMWA March Commemorates the Battle of Blair Mountain

It’s been nearly a century since thousands of pro-union miners marched into Logan County, West Virginia, to protest abuses by coal operators in what used to be largely anti-union territory.

Marchers were met at Blair Mountain in Logan County by an army of men, fighting on behalf of anti-union mine guards and local law enforcement. The battle was so heated that then-president Warren Harding called in Army troops to restore order.

This Labor Day, present-day members of the United Mine Workers of America marched from Marmet in Kanawha County to Racine in Boone County, to commemorate what they say was one of the greatest events in the nation’s labor history.

UMWA International President Cecil Roberts speaks to attendees of the 2019 UMWA Labor Day Picnic.

“This is the greatest insurrection in the history of these United States of America, other than the Civil War,” UMWA International President Cecil Roberts said. “We should be teaching this in every classroom in America.”

Unlike the reception union miners received nearly a hundred years ago at Blair Mountain, Monday’s march ended with a celebratory picnic at John Slack Park. Folk music played and veterans and union members alike removed their caps for the national anthem.

But Monday’s picnic wasn’t all about history. Roberts had much to say about the state of the country’s coal industry today, and his group’s concerns with mining jobs leaving the country.

“We don’t make anything here. We import things from China and every third-world country in the world,” Roberts said. “I say, make what we need in America. Protect coal mining jobs.”

Much of Roberts’ speech related to the upcoming 2020 election. He said elected officials should be held accountable for promises they’ve made regarding development of “clean coal” technology, which would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal.

“We have to develop the technology that we need to burn coal cleanly in America,” Roberts said.

But despite substantial federal investment, technology has not been adopted by the electric utility industry, which has instead opted for cheaper, cleaner natural gas and other alternative fuels.

Roberts also spoke against the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, a law restricting some labor activity.

“It needs to be abolished,” Roberts said. “When I hear one of these candidates say they are for that, then I will know that they really support organized labor.”

Roberts will speak Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Topics include legislation on climate change, and the “Green New Deal” proposal adopted by several Democratic presidential candidates, which envisions a large-scale transition from fossil fuels.

Emily Allen is a Report for America Corps member.

Labor Day Bell Ringing for 'Rosie the Riveters' Set

A West Virginia group dedicated to honoring the working women of World War II is sponsoring bell ringings on Labor Day in at least seven communities in the state.

“Thanks! Plain and Simple” says in a news release that bell ringings are planned for 1 p.m. EDT on Sept. 5 in Beckley, Buckhannon, Cross Lanes, Glenville, Grafton, Huntington, Morgantown and Nitro.

Millions of women worked at defense plants to supply the war effort. Their real lives were behind the cultural icon known as Rosie the Riveter.

The statement says bell ringings also are planned at other locations around the world, including at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

Group president Michael Kindred says the goal is to educate the public about “Rosies,” many of whom are still living.

West Virginia Museums to Let Military Members in for Free

Several West Virginia attractions are participating in the National Endowment for the Arts initiative to offer free admission to active-duty military members and their families.

The Blue Star Museums program includes more than 2,000 museums across the country offering the deal from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Participating state attractions are the Huntington Museum of Art, the Spark! Imagination and Science Center in Morgantown, the Watts Museum at West Virginia University, the Marion County Historical Society Museum in Fairmont, the Museums of Oglebay Institute in Wheeling, the Arthurdale Heritage museum and the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in Charleston.

Labor Day Traffic Up on Turnpike

Holiday travelers kept toll workers on the West Virginia Turnpike busy over the Labor Day weekend.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that toll workers handled about 32,000 more transactions that they did during the same four-day period in 2014. That’s an increase of 7.4 percent.

West Virginia Parkways general manager Greg Barr says the turnpike handled a total of 466,977 toll transactions from Friday through Monday.

The increase in traffic boosted toll revenues by 7.3 percent compared to 2014.

Parkways officials were surprised by the increase. Traffic over the Fourth of July weekend was up about 1 percent from the same period in 2014.

Overall, traffic on the 88-mile toll road is up about 33 percent this year.