BY DANNY BOOHER AND SHELTON McCRAINEY
VIRDEN, Illinois - Dressed in full camouflage and walking
in formation, nearly 350 striking members of the United
Mineworkers of America (UMWA) marched into the downtown square
here October 11 for a support rally and commemoration of the
1898 "Battle for Virden." As they entered the square chanting
"We are Union!" and "Freeman, Freeman, can't you see, the UMW
will not leave!" the strikers were joined by a crowd of 600
supporters. The event in Virden was the first of two rallies
that day to support the striking mine workers.
The 350 miners struck the Freeman United Coal Company's three Illinois mines on September 11, after the company refused to guarantee health benefits for retirees.
Freeman United, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, dropped out of the Bituminous Coal Operators Association and their negotiations with the UMWA in June 1997, demanding a separate, "more competitive" contract. The old one expired August 1 of this year. The UMWA miners agreed to work for weeks, until it became clear that Freeman was not going to budge on its take- back demands. The strike includes UMWA Local 1969 at the Crown 2 mine in Virden, Local 12 at the Crown 3 mine in Farmersville, and Local 2488 at the Industry strip mine near Macomb.
1898 Battle for Virden
The rally in Virden was one of a number of events that
weekend to support the strike and to commemorate the
centennial of the Battle for Virden. One hundred years ago,
miners in Virden fought back against the Chicago-Virden Coal
Company's attempt to break their newly formed union. The
company built a stockade around the mine, hired armed guards,
and brought in Black coal miners from Alabama as strike
breakers in an attempt to use racial divisions to defeat the
miners union. As the company attempted to herd the train full
of miners into the fortress on Oct. 12, 1898, company goons
opened fire on the strikers and their supporters, including
miners from the surrounding area who came to defend the union.
The miners returned fire. In the battle that ensued, 12 people
were killed, most of them union supporters.
The events commemorating this anniversary were sponsored by a number of unions and other organizations, including the Mother Jones Foundation, Illinois Labor History Society, UMWA District 12, Operating Engineers Local 148, and the Madison County Federation of Labor.
The featured speaker for all of the events was UMWA international president Cecil Roberts. These included a dinner October 10 at the University of Illinois-Springfield honoring Mother Jones, a well known fighter for the rights of miners and all workers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. More than 200 people came to the event, which raised more than $1,000 for the Freeman strikers.
The next morning a ceremony was held at the "Miners Cemetery" in Mt. Olive, Illinois, where miners killed in the massacre, other union miners, and Mother Jones are buried. Family members of some of the miners buried there spoke along with organizers of the event. The mayor of Mt. Olive, a town of 2,800, told those gathered, "The town of Mt. Olive supports the miners on strike. We'll do anything for you."
Others in attendance were encouraged to say a few words. One of these was Bill Wheat, a member of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 974 from East Peoria, Illinois. Wheat is a member of the Tactical Response Team (Blue Shirts). He came in a car caravan with 15 other members of his local, which organizes workers at Caterpillar Corp. The Tactical Response Team was formed as part of the UAW's six-year battle against Caterpillar. Wheat explained, "What's happening to miners here is similar to what happened to us. I've walked many picket lines, including with miners.... Even though we have a contract, nothing has been settled at Caterpillar. We have a lot of people being injured inside."
Other unionists at the ceremony included members of the Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, United Steelworkers of America (USWA), Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers (OCAW), and several striking Freeman miners. After the event, participants caravaned 15 miles to Virden for the rally. Along the way, UMWA support signs could be seen in house lawns and on store windows.
Among the unionists who turned out for the support rally were workers involved in fights against the companies they work for. Five Teamsters from Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis came to back the striking miners and to win support for their contract fight. Dean Cook, an OCAW member locked out by Crown Central Petroleum near Houston, traveled to southern Illinois to show his local union's support for the miners and to explain the stakes in their struggle. The locked out Crown workers produced a button for the event that read, "DEFENDING WORKERS RIGHTS - The Locked Out Petroleum Workers in Solidarity with the Striking Miners." Also present were three members of the USWA Local 164 from Des Moines Iowa, who are on strike against Titan Tire.
Participants at the rally were taken on a walking tour of the site of the 1898 battle and treated to historic reenactments of the events. All were then invited to Farmersville for a rally and a hog roast later that day in the town park across the street from the UMWA strike headquarters The solidarity event was sponsored by the three striking locals.
Roberts was the featured speaker at the rally. The strike at Freeman "is a fight for every single member of the UMWA, and if we have to we will make it the fight of every UMWA local," the union president said. "We call on all unionists, regardless of what union you are a member of, to join us in this fight and support this strike."
Denny Skeldon, president of UMWA Local 1613 at Exxon's Monterey Mine in southern Illinois, presented a check for $5,000 dollars to the strikers' Miners Relief Fund on behalf of his local.
`Support for our strike has been great'
In the crowd were other miners from UMWA District 12 from
southern Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Paul Perrine, 42, is
a striking member of Local 1969 who has worked at Freeman for
21 years. He told the Militant, "The support for our strike
has been great. It has done a lot to bring us all together and
make us stronger." Perrine continued, "We've given our life
and our lives to the mines. Some of us have given 23 or more
years to Freeman, and they just pitch us out. We want some
dignity and respect. And i'LL tell you this, we are not going
to give up on this fight." Practically all of the miners these
reporters talked with expressed the same sentiments.
David Yard, a member of Local 1969 who is part of the union's outreach committee, described some of the solidarity strikers have won. "We received two truckloads of food from sister UMWA locals in Indiana last week. I just got back today from addressing the union meeting of UAW Local 751 at Caterpillar in Decatur, and they are going to do a food drive and organize plant gate collections to support our strike. Early next month we've been asked to come back and address Local 751's retirees meeting."
Yard continued, "We've gotten contributions from individuals, businesses in town, and other unions. We received a $1,000 dollar contribution from Teamsters Local 710 from Chicago, which organizes the UPS workers up there. We've gotten contributions as far away as Des Moines, Iowa. Tuesday we will be addressing Steelworkers Local 16 at Granite City Steel in Granite City, Illinois. Last week members from our Local 2488 over in Industry addressed a meeting in East Peoria of the Blue Shirts from UAW Local 974 at Caterpillar. They took a collection at that meeting and raised $200 and they promised to help us with our strike. That's why a lot of them came down here today."
Kenny Whetstone, a member of UAW Local 974 and the Tactical Response Team, told the Militant, "During our strike against Caterpillar the miners came to several of our rallies. This was an opportunity for us to come down and support them. We think it's important for all unions to support each others' fights."
At the Farmersville event, workers sat around tables enjoying the barbecue and music, discussing the day's activities, and getting to know more about each other. Barbara McCoy is a striking member of UMWA Local 1969. She's 52 years old and works at Freeman's Crown 2 mine, one of two women coal miners there. McCoy's uncle and grandfather were miners. "That's why I became a coal miner. I was in the right place at the right time," she said, noting that it wasn't easy for her as a woman when she first went into the mines. In the current strike, she said, some of her co-workers suggested she might feel more comfortable staffing the strike headquarters instead of the picket lines, in case there was any trouble. McCoy said she replied, "I am a coal miner, not the coal miners daughter." She went on, "I do the work, I make the money. My place is along side my fellow miners." McCoy said she is on active picket duty and helps out with other responsibilities for their strike.
The strike against Freeman United has entered its fifth week with no end in sight. In early October negotiations between the company and the union broke down with company representatives leaving the table.
The company has hired a security force called the Asset Security Team, a subsidiary of the notorious Vance International, to police the mining property. They shine spotlights on the pickets at night, and take photos and videos of the strikers and others who stop at the picket lines.
The strikers know they are in a tough fight. They have set up a support auxiliary and a food pantry and plan to keep reaching out for support from the community and other unions.
For information on the strike, to request a speaker from the striking miners, or to offer support, contact the UMWA Strike Headquarters, P.O. Box 107, Farmersville, Illinois 62533, or call (217) 227-3233.
Shelton McCrainey is a member of USWA Local 7999.