Labor in the coal field, miners were ahead of their time

By: 
Sandy Vasko

    We often talk about the plight of the coal miners; long hours, little pay, dangerous working conditions.
    But they were not the only workers who faced all of those things. The men who worked for the railroads were the invisible workforce that kept things moving, and often paid the price.
    The Chicago & Alton Railroad was the first to come through the area in 1854, long before coal was being pulled from the earth. The only stopping point was at Stewart's Grove to take on more wood and water before moving on toward Springfield.
    That was to change in 1861 when we read, “Wm. Hurry, Esq. of the city of New York, a gentleman of wealth and enterprise, and the owner of a large tract of land contiguous to the railroad station at Stewart's Grove five miles southwest of this village, has recently, at the request of R. P. Morgan, Jr., Esq., his agent, visited these lands, with the view of satisfying himself of the expediency of making the preliminary explorations, and in case of their proving satisfactory, to proceed at once to open and quarry the coal at that point.”
    That was flowery language, meaning watch out boys, the coal fields are about to break wide open.  And they certainly did.
    The statistics for coal shipped by rail in 1873 were as follows; “As to the amount of coal shipped by rail from this region during 1873, we are given the following figures from 4 companies: C & W company 229,125 tons; Star Company mined 69,714 tons; Eureka 86,729; King's Shaft 16,650.”
    It wasn't long before there were railroad tracks everywhere you looked including Diamond, Braceville, Godley, Coal City and Gardner. Spurs led into every part of the city, making walking hazardous.
    In 1875 we read, “A Bohemian boy 14 year of age, whose name we did not learn, was killed near Crombie's shaft, on Monday, by falling or jumping from a car while in motion. His head was crushed by the car wheel, causing instant death. No blame is attached to the company, as they have taken every precaution to prevent children from playing about the cars. Were the city ordinances relating to playing about the cars and railroad, strictly enforced, serious accidents might often be avoided let the boys take warning and keep away from the cars.”
    Keeping away from the cars was a good idea, especially for those who worked on them. We read in 1876, “Thomas Murphy, yard master at Braidwood for the Chicago & Alton railroad, while chaining up a car, two weeks ago, was caught by the left leg near the hip, between the car couplings and badly mangled. Fortunately, no bones were broken, but the injured man will probably be laid up for several months.    
    In 1877 railway workers across the nation went on strike. In every case, the strikes were put down by state militias. There was no bargaining, as there was no one to bargain with, the railroad workers had not unionized.
    Miners in Braidwood had been talking unions since 1873. We read, “Mr. Richard Travellick, of Detroit, President of the National Labor Union, addressed a large meeting of miners here last week. “Dick” as he is familiarly termed, is an immense favorite here - labor reform.” A few weeks later they were organized.
    By 1877, when Dan McLaughlin, Mayor of Braidwood, also head of the Miner's Union, called for a strike, there was no doubt that he bargained on behalf of almost every miner in the coal field.
    As we know that strike lasted a very long time, but in the end resulted in more pay and less hours.
    By the end of the 1890's Braidwood was proud to boast that Local Union No. 396, United Mine Workers of America was very active in the area, having 20 years' experience under their belt.
    By 1898 railroads crisscrossed the area like a spider web, and it was then, finally, that rail workers organized. In fact, with coal mines shutting down, there were more railroad workers than miners.
    By the first decade of the 20th century, there was no doubt that the coal fields had become home to organized labor. And the miners had led the way.

 
 

Category: