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The United Mine Workers used the 1931 wage reduction as a springboard for organizing in Harlan County. The operators fought back, however, and used spies to ferret out union sympathizers. Hundreds of men were fired and then evicted for wanting to join the UMW. Most of the displaced workers moved to Evarts, one of the three noncompany towns in Harlan County, and it soon became a center of union agitation. William B. Jones, the secretary of the local union, emerged as the leader of the organizing movement. Hungry strikers, fired by the operators, began raiding company-owned stores to feed their families. Miners were also suffering at the hands of mine guards and deputies who were employed by the operators to intimidate the workers. Rumors circulated alleging that company guards abused miners' wives and children and openly displayed firearms to cower any opposition.
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This section contains 146 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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