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Miner's Struggle Overrules Court

By VVAW

The first days of June were proud ones for coal miners and their millions of supporters around the country. In two cases the united strength of the rank and file backed down the courts and forced the release of jailed miners. These miners were jailed for what the capitalist class considers the greatest crime--fighting for the working.

Bruce Miller in Kanawa County, West Virginia had helped lead the Black Lung strike in March where 20,000 miners walked out fighting for Black Lung benefits. For this, Bruce was sentenced to 6 months by a federal judge. Immediately, the Miners Right to Strike Committee launched a campaign for his release and to raise funds for his defense.

He had served three months time when the same federal judge, K.K. Hall, sentenced 17 brothers and a sister from United Mine Workers local union 7626 at the Carbon Fuel mine in Republic, West Virginia, to jail for five days. These 18 miners were "guilty" of striking in support of another group of miners.

Repression like this has been coming down in the coal fields as part of the attempt by the capitalists to put down the wildcat strike movement and to undermine the right to strike. But through this repression many miners are seeing the connections between the courts and the coal companies, seeing that the judges do the work of the coal mine owners. Even Judge Hall admitted that, "The law is on the side of the coals operators."

But hardly had Judge Hall made this last sentencing than miners at all the Carbon Fuel mines in the country walked off that night. There was talk of the strike spreading even further as the word got around that 18 miners had been jailed. The result--in less than 24 hours Judge Hall reversed himself and released these 18 miners. These before the week was out Hall also had to release Bruce Miller as it was clear anger in the coal fields was a boiling point.

The struggle did not end with the release of the jailed miners. As The Veteran is going to press, there are 65,000 miners on strike, an action which began in Kanawa County in mid-July and is spreading to coal-fields throughout the region--Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania miners are already involved.

As reported by the unsympathetic media, the miners are demanding that their grievances be settled outside the courts--the same courts which work hand in hand with the owners to jail striking miners. Injunctions have been handled down and set aside as the miners take the struggle into their own hands. Arnold Miller, the head of the International Union, who had suspended miners from the Union around the strike activity, was called in by the coal operators to put a stop in the "wildcats" but as of the end of July, he has met with no success.

Despite all their efforts, the courts, the coal companies and Arnold Miller have not put an end to the miners' resistance. While miners haven't beaten back all the fines or jailings, one thing's for sure: the courts' actions haven't come close to stopping the wildcats. And what scares the capitalists even more is the growing contempt miners show for their "sacred court orders" and system of "justice." They fear the fact that thousands of miners will honor a picket line but won't honor a court order.