Today in Wheeling History: May 26—Delegates of Miners for Democracy begin convening at Wheeling College for the landmark convention that will nominate Arnold Miller as their reform candidate for United Mine Workers of America president (1972).
Over the weekend of May 26–28, 1972, hundreds of Miners for Democracy (MFD) delegates from across the coalfields descended on Wheeling College's fieldhouse for one of the most consequential labor conventions in American history. The MFD was a reform caucus born from tragedy—organized in April 1970 in the wake of the New Year's Eve 1969 murders of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) reform challenger Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, his wife, and daughter, a crime later traced to corrupt UMWA President Tony Boyle. A federal judge had voided Boyle's 1969 election victory over Yablonski on grounds of widespread fraud, ordering a new election under U.S. Department of Labor supervision.
Representing 16 of the union's 23 districts, delegates adopted a sweeping 34-point reform platform addressing mine safety, rank-and-file democracy, and the health crisis of black lung disease. Two men competed for the presidential nomination: Pennsylvania's Mike Trbovich, the MFD's chairman and the frontrunner entering the convention, and West Virginia's Arnold Miller—a 49-year-old disabled miner, D-Day veteran, and co-founder of the Black Lung Association whose face bore permanent scars from wartime machine-gun fire. Miller prevailed, with Trbovich accepting the vice-presidential slot and Harry Patrick nominated for secretary-treasurer.
That December, the MFD slate defeated Boyle by more than 14,000 votes—making Miller the first candidate ever to unseat an incumbent UMWA president and the first native West Virginian to lead the union.
To learn more: Wikipedia - W.A. Boyle (https://tinyurl.com/5n9b52k2), Wikipedia - Miners for Democracy (https://tinyurl.com/5bxszwjm), e-WV - Miners for Democracy (https://tinyurl.com/4m3mcasd), e-WV - Arnold Miller (https://tinyurl.com/6j4vnpdd), Labor Notes (https://tinyurl.com/hux78cvd), UMWA - History (https://tinyurl.com/yc8ebpcm)
Photo caption and credit: Miners for Democracy Press Conference, New York City, October 25, 1970. Leaders and supporters of the Miners for Democracy gather at the Commodore Hotel in New York City on October 25, 1970, more than a year and a half before their landmark convention at Wheeling College would nominate Arnold Miller for UMWA president. Left to right: Mike Trbovich, Joseph "Chip" Yablonski, Steven Kovich, Bill Finley, James Rogers, Lou Antal, and Joe Daniels. (Photo by Bill Andrews. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Public domain)
Over the weekend of May 26–28, 1972, hundreds of Miners for Democracy (MFD) delegates from across the coalfields descended on Wheeling College's fieldhouse for one of the most consequential labor conventions in American history. The MFD was a reform caucus born from tragedy—organized in April 1970 in the wake of the New Year's Eve 1969 murders of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) reform challenger Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, his wife, and daughter, a crime later traced to corrupt UMWA President Tony Boyle. A federal judge had voided Boyle's 1969 election victory over Yablonski on grounds of widespread fraud, ordering a new election under U.S. Department of Labor supervision.
Representing 16 of the union's 23 districts, delegates adopted a sweeping 34-point reform platform addressing mine safety, rank-and-file democracy, and the health crisis of black lung disease. Two men competed for the presidential nomination: Pennsylvania's Mike Trbovich, the MFD's chairman and the frontrunner entering the convention, and West Virginia's Arnold Miller—a 49-year-old disabled miner, D-Day veteran, and co-founder of the Black Lung Association whose face bore permanent scars from wartime machine-gun fire. Miller prevailed, with Trbovich accepting the vice-presidential slot and Harry Patrick nominated for secretary-treasurer.
That December, the MFD slate defeated Boyle by more than 14,000 votes—making Miller the first candidate ever to unseat an incumbent UMWA president and the first native West Virginian to lead the union.
To learn more: Wikipedia - W.A. Boyle (https://tinyurl.com/5n9b52k2), Wikipedia - Miners for Democracy (https://tinyurl.com/5bxszwjm), e-WV - Miners for Democracy (https://tinyurl.com/4m3mcasd), e-WV - Arnold Miller (https://tinyurl.com/6j4vnpdd), Labor Notes (https://tinyurl.com/hux78cvd), UMWA - History (https://tinyurl.com/yc8ebpcm)
Photo caption and credit: Miners for Democracy Press Conference, New York City, October 25, 1970. Leaders and supporters of the Miners for Democracy gather at the Commodore Hotel in New York City on October 25, 1970, more than a year and a half before their landmark convention at Wheeling College would nominate Arnold Miller for UMWA president. Left to right: Mike Trbovich, Joseph "Chip" Yablonski, Steven Kovich, Bill Finley, James Rogers, Lou Antal, and Joe Daniels. (Photo by Bill Andrews. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University. Public domain)
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