PART 1: Miller and his

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•A urallors Angry strikers invade UMWA headquarters capitalism he drive for the USA, of impepushes the towards attacks on we working-class.

Arnold Miller In a period of decline such as the 1950s and early 1960s, thousands of miners, widows and pensioners lost their cards.

'Although the industry recovered in the late 1960s, benefits were not paid at a level which protected the services against inflation.

In July 1977, the companies slashed the benefits on an unprecedented level.

When negotiations for the contract opened, the employers set put to destroy the system altogether.

On top of all this, the employers felt they could count on Arnold Miller-the UMWA President who had proved himself determined to oppose militant action in the coalfields-especially in the health care strike, in which Miller had ordered his members ' back to work.

In the event, when the strike on the contract began, the coal owners got a nasty shock. Not only did the miners stand firm for 110 days, but in the course of their struggle they rolled back the BCOA offensive.

And the strikebreaking role of UMWA President Miller was met with massive opposition from the. rank and file.

From the start of the strike, effective flying pickets began to operate. Within 6 weeks two-thirds of coal production was at a standsțill.

West Virginian miners mee The employer response was court injunctions against the picketing and physical attacks on the miners.

On January 6th, Mark Lewis, a 65 year old retired miner was shot dead by a company guard near Ivel, Kentucky.

On February 3rd, 23year old John Hull was killed by scabs at a mine near Petersburg, Indiana.

The first contract agreed between Miller and the BCOA was announced on February 6th.

Miller called it "the best agreement negotiated in any major industry in the past two years"

In reality it was a contract which gave in to to reject bosses contract every demand of the employers.

A full outline of this contract shows the aim of the employers in this strike.

The provisions were as follows:

* Automatic $20 a day fines for any miner who honoured a picket line.

Firing of any miner who has "picketed, threatened, coerced, fomented or otherwise been involved in the cause of an unauthorised work stoppage"

Elimination of the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds, to be replaced by commercial health insurance with paying up to $700 a year for services that had been free for decades.

* Drastic curbs on the power of union safety committees, which under the 1974 contract had been authorised to pull miners out of an area of "imminent danger"

Strict penalties for "absenteeism"

* Imposition of speed-up "incentive pay" schemes and seven day workweeks.

* Elimination of the cost of living escalator for wages.

* A twenty-day probation period for, new miners during which they would be deprived of many union rights.

* Cutting in half (from 90 to 45 days) the initial training-period of new miners. ties paid to the uni benefit funds on non-uni coal sometimes purchas by unionised companies giving the bosses a grei light to step up th practice.

* Increasing from 1,00 to 1,450 the number hours a miner must work a year to qualify for pensio credit.

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OCIALIST PRESS. Wednesday 23 August, 1978 suspected of being rigged and several years later Boyle was indicted for the murders.

"Miners for Democracy"

-HARTLEY ACT OURS ISTRIME PREDEND 11 VIl THER FILMI