On this day in labor history, the year was 1969.
That was the day President Richard Nixon signed the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act into law.
At least three key events served as the impetus for the legislation.
Beginning in the mid 60s, miners began staging numerous health and safety walkouts across the Appalachian coalfields.
Their working conditions were despicable.
Then, in November 1968, 78 miners were killed in a methane and coal dust explosion at Consol Mine no. 9 in Farmington, West Virginia.
Miners were outraged when UMW leader Tony Boyle provided cover for the company’s murderous negligence.
Then, in January, thousands of miners rallied in West Virginia’s state capitol, along with the Black Lung Association and the Disabled Miners and Widows.
They demanded legislation controlling coal dust and compensating black lung victims.
When the hearings dragged on, 30,000 miners walked out in a wildcat the next month, in what is referred to as the 1969 Black Lung Strike.
By March, the number would increase to 40,000.
The state law passed March 12. Fears of a nationwide health and safety wildcat strike prompted Congress to craft and pass the federal Act.
According to historian Paul Nyden, “the West Virginia Black Lung strike was the longest political strike in modern U.S. labor history.”
The Act created the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
It mandated annual inspections and increased federal powers of enforcement.
The Coal Act also required monetary penalties for all violations, and established criminal penalties for knowing and willful violations.
The Act developed improved mandatory health and safety standards and provided compensation for miners disabled by Black Lung disease. Miners continue to fight for better conditions, enforcement and compensation today.
July 2 - Denmark Vesey
July 1 - Crushing the Strike
June 30 - The Making of a Strikebreaker
June 29 - The Birth of a Working-Class Hero
June 28 - An Important Step for Labor
June 27 - Helen Keller, Labor Activist, is Born
June 26 - Gov. Altgeld Pardons Surviving Haymarket Prisoners
June 25 - The Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument
June 24 - Cutting Corners Costs Lives
June 23 - The Attack on Labor
June 22 - The Cuyahoga River Burns
June 21 -Molly Maguires Hanged in Pennsylvania
June 20 - The 1943 Detroit Anti-Black Race Riot
June 19 - Juneteenth
June 18 - Women Teachers Lead by Example
June 17 - A Horrible Tragedy on the Job
June 16 - London Working Men’s Association is Founded
June 15 - Metal Trades Department Established
June 14 - Miner Shot Dead, Trying to Organize
June 13 - Trouble in the Ranks
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