Coal Mining in Appalachia

the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969

 Interview with Ken Hechler, US Congressman and West Virginia Secretary of State
In 1969, The United States finally became the last industrial nation in the world to limit the amount of coal dust in the mines. 

June 28, 2001   1:45 pm
Summersville, West Virginia

Ken Hechler told me: "Come on down to Cabin Creek, West Virginia, Kayford Property on Sunday.  A documentary crew from Asheville, NC and National Geographic Magazine will be there to conduct interviews with Larry Gibson and myself as well as take photos of mountaintop removal of Kayford Property."  He told me that  Larry Gibson, one of the owners of Kayford Property who still remains on the mountain.

We began talking about the Southern Appalachian coalminer and federal and state laws governing the health and safety of the  miners.  Ken told me of his involvement in getting the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act enacted.

He began:

     Tony Boyle, was such a contrast with John L. Lewis, as everyone recalled, it was on the issue of safety in the mines. Tony Boyle’s  appearance at the Farmington mine disaster which killed 78 miners at Consolidation, Inc. a mine  in Farmington was very upsetting to coal miners throughout the country. Boyle not only indicated that disasters like that were always associated with mining but he also indicated that Consolidation Coal Company was one of the safest coal companies and always cooperative with the United Mine Workers' concerns. This was very disturbing  because it was such a total contrast with John  L. Lewis who always thundered his opposition to those coal operators  who perpetuated the unsafe conditions in which miners worked.  

    The struggle for health and safety legislation began long before Farmington.  Many miners had been agitated for several years not only by the unsafe conditions in the mines but the lack of any limits on the coal dust which caused black lung.  Three doctors were leading the efforts to try to demonstrate that all this coal dust was permanently debilitating.  The three doctors were Donald Rasmussen, a pulmonary specialist in Beckley, Dr. I.E. Buff, a cardiologist in Charleston. and Dr. Hawey Wells, a pathologist.  

    All three of these doctors begin to organize meetings with the help of VISTA workers to focus attention on the need for strong health and safety legislation.  These efforts received a huge shot in the arm after the Farmington disaster which focused the attention of the entire nation on these problems in the coal industry.  

    I received a telephone call from Sarah Kaznoski asking me if I would come to Farmington to meet with the widows who had lost their husbands. I thought the meeting was primarily to enable me to console these widows but when I arrived they asked me a number of questions such as, "Why don’t you as a Congressman do something to insure that our husbands did not die in vain and also get Congress to act to protect both the health and safety of all coal miners".

    I asked them if they would help by coming to Washington at my expense to lobby members of the House and Senate as well as officials charged with regulating safety and to urge Congress to take action to put a ceiling on the amount of coal dust in the mines and to compensate miners who became afflicted with black lung. They agreed and on a number of occasions I paid the expenses for a large number of widows who were very effective in getting this message to members of Congress who came from non-coalmining districts.   

    The miners themselves began to organize. Meetings became increasingly larger.  For example, early in 1969 over 6000 miners attended a rally at the Charleston Civic Center demanding action.  

    I introduced the first bill in Congress to put a strict ceiling on the amount of coal dust in the mines of 3 mg per cubic meter, later to be reduced to 2 mg per cubic meter and to provide compensation to those who already had black lung.  

     The United Mine Workers leadership urged me to separate these objectives into two bills, one for health and one for safety and then to work only for the safety bill and to abandon the efforts to pass the bills to protect the health of miners.  I disagreed with this and insisted that now was the time to strike while the iron was hot and to go for the more stringent safety and health provisions in one law.  At this point the UMW began to denounce me and urge their members not to follow my advice. 

     The miners themselves supported my position and in the spring of 1969, 40,000 coal miners from West Virginia went on a wildcat strike against the United Mine Workers defying Tony Boyle who ordered that they should return to work.  At the same time the three doctors were stepping up their agitation for action by both the State Legislature and Congress.   

    The West Virginia Medical Association issued a report insisting that coal dust did not hurt miners and that cigarette smoking was the chief reason for lung diseases.  At a monster rally at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia I read the report of the WV Medical Association and told thousands of miners, "Do you know what this is?"  Then I raised a 12 lb slab of bologna to the cheers of the miners.   I had read the history of all previous efforts by Congress and discovered that after every disaster several Congressmen would introduce a strong piece of safety legislation but as it went through the legislative process it was always weakened by the pressure of the coal industry lobbyists and the failure of the union to be aggressive enough. 

     On May 30, 1969 Jock Yablonski announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United Mine Workers.  I attended every rally that Yablonski spoke at throughout the coal fields.  His candidacy was very influential in pointing out that coal miners, unlike Tony Boyle, and the union leadership were insisting on effective health as well as safety legislation.  

     The House committee on Education and Labor wanted to push for a watered-down consensus. But as a non-member of the committee I publicly criticized the loophole-written bill which they wanted to produce.  It was helped by Farmington widows, the three doctors, and those miners supporting Yablonski.  We were able to get through congress a powerful piece of legislation which covered both the most stringent safety regulations ever enacted plus the ceiling on coal dust in the mines and compensation for those miners with black lung.   

     Led by President Nixon and the Republicans in Congress strong opposition developed. The Republican House Leader, Gerald Ford offered a motion to remove the black lung provisions from the bill.  But even after we defeated this Republican effort, President Nixon threatened to veto the bill if it included these black lung provisions. 

     Just after Christmas in 1969 I put in an urgent call for the Farmington widows to come to Washington to insist that the strong health and safety provisions be retained.  At the same time I indicated publicly that if President Nixon vetoed this bill there would be a nationwide coal strike.

     Finally, President Nixon signed the bill with a blistering statement denouncing the black lung provisions.  Since the passage of the 1969 federal coal mine and safety act there has not been a single major disaster in WV coal mines.  

      This morning’s paper, June 28, 2001, indicated concern that six WV miners had been killed which of course is too many but nothing like the hundreds who used to lose their lives virtually every year in major disasters in WV. 

      Ken said he will have someone waiting for at the junction, Sharon Exit, on Sunday at 12:30 pm to show me the way to him on Cabin Creek, Kayford Property..

  end of interview