The 109 DayUnited IVIIne Workers' Strike

Selected Art ic les f romGETTING TOGETHER newspaper

Apr i l , 1978

MINERS DEFIED OPERATORS, GOVERNMENT, BUREAUCRATS

Longest U.S. coal strike endsThe longest coal strike in U.S. history and

one of the most militant in recent times endedon March 24, after 109 days of sharp struggle.Throughout the strike, the miners of the UnitedMine Workers showed the tremendous strengthof the working class in the strike — they unitedtogether, stood up against the coal bosses anddefied the authori t ies.

Tlie miners' strike dealt heavy blows to- themonopoly capitalist class. Coal operators lostove r $2 .8 b i l l i on i n d i rec t sa les a lone . O t l i e r

capitalists suffered heavy losses as well, such asthe ra i l roads wh ich los t some $660 mi l l i on incoal transport charges. Many utilities had to cutback on power supplies and even the big autogiants were forced to curtail some production.

These big capitalist forces tried everythingthey could to break the strike, but failed. Holding fast, the miners rejected two company contract offers out of hand, and fought backagainst the capitalists' violence and laws, andthe t reacherous UMW bureaucrats . The minersforced the coal operators to give in on a number of points to achieve the ending settlement.

The miners fo rced the coa l owners to backdown from the proposed "labor stability" provision, which would have fined and fired wildcat strikers. This was a victory for tlie miners,who have wildcatted with increasing frequency— over 5,000 in tlie past 3 years — due to thecoal operators' flagrant disregard for the miners' health and safety and the UMW bureaucrats' refusal to sanction such strikes. This wasan important success for all workers, since tlieright to strike is under attack throughout theU.S. at this time.

The miners also succeeded in winning an immediate wage increase from $7.30 to $8 anhour. Pensions from tlie 1950 agreement will beraised from $250 to $275 immediately, instead

Miners defy ing Taf t -Har t ley, March.1 9 7 8 .

of over tlie 3 year period that the operatorspreviously demanded.

But wii i le the coal miners achieved some advances, they also did not gain all that theyhoped for, particularly in the areas of healthand pension benefits. The miners did not winan equalization of pension payments. Pensioners who retired under the 1950 agreement willbe receiving $275, wliile those who retiredafter 1976 arc receiving up to $500 a month.

The new contract provides for a coiiunercialhealth plan witli a $200 maximum deductible.This is better t l ian the $700 deductible that thebosses originally demanded, but still a set backfrom tlie fully-paid independent health fundunder the old contract.

The vote on the f inal contract was c lose —57% of the miners voted for it, and 43% voted

2

against it. The miners' vote was divided overhow much more they could have won had theycontinued the strike, and how much longerthey could hold out This division reflects thefact that the miners' movement, while one ofthe strongest workers' movements in tlie country, is still spontaneous and witliout clear leadership.

Defying bureaucratsand government

But tliere can be no doubt tliat tlie minerswaged one of the toughest struggles of U.S.workers in recent years. The ntiners not onlybattled against the coal companies, but tlieyalso openly rejected the treachery of the UMWbureaucrats headed by Arnold Miller. Each timethe union chiefs tried to sell out the strike, tlieminers responded by defying the bureaucratsand widening the struggle. They relied on massactions and fought to keep the strike in theirown hands.

They gave tit-for-tat to scabs, goons, andpolice. Even the murder of 2 miners could notforce the miners to back down.

The coal miners boldly tossed aside the capitalists' laws, sending the ruling class into a helpless frenzy. The miners ignored the Taft-Hartleyback-to-work order in overwiielming numbers.In West Virginia, where one-third of all unioncoal is mined, only 30 out of 65,000 minerswent to work under the government order. Theinjunction was so ineffective tliat the government had to suspend it. A federal judge statedhe would not renew it because it was useless,and President Carter announced with cmbarass-nient that he could not pursue it any further. ACarter aide admitted, "Nobody can control tliem i n e r s . "

it is tliis strength of the miners which willcarry them forward in their continuing struggleagainst the capitalists. Tlie miners have returnedto work, knowing the power they hold in tlieirhands and ready to go to battle against futureat tacks .

Already, tlie coal bosses are expressing fearsof summertime wildcats, and the government is

Ful l a rmed power o f t fie s ta te d id no t s topthe miners' str ike.

hurrying around trying to figure out how toundercut the miners. Within two days of thesettlement, Carter announced that he wouldform a "Presidential Commission on the CoalIndustry" to address "long term problems"such as wildcat strikes and the role of coal iniiis energy policy. But the strike has strengtli-ened tlie miners and put them in a better position to deal with future struggles and attacks,and the capitalists know that the miners willfight.

(Jatfuary, 1978 issue)

■maA OMi jsBd aip jsnf ui panpf uaaq 3ABt|Ooe oj 3so]3 -saunu aijj in arp jjaam e sjauiiuom; aSejaAB aip uq 'iOisnpu! aqj in UAioiq-nsM SI ooj ajBj XiipiJoui puE juapiMB ai(_£

•JEaX qoBa Siainui QOO't'pajBiuijsa UE spH 'saun^oBui Sutnup aq; Xq dnpaups jsnp jBoa jfanp aip Xq pasnBO '3unj 5|aBia•asBasip Sun| JjOBiq aqj uiojj Suuajjns XpBajfBajB sjaJiJOM OOO'OS ajaqM XjwnpuiUE in lUBjJodun XpBopua aiE sjyouoq miBafj

'sjid aqj o}ui213Eq sja}(ioM aqj puB-jBopjiM s iaiuiuns gsBjijEaiq OJ sjauMo aqj qjiAi aAoiS in pUBq po)iioA\aq 'psajsui -JioEq Xauoui aqj ja3 oj SuTqjouauop sEq jaipM ppuiv Juapisaj j jng

' 9 0 0J3}}0 ioeJiuoD puoMs ujnq sjauiw ueiqae/Bctdv

,/sjuauiXBd naqj ut puiqaq sjBijop uoipiiu auoiaAO SI '[B03 pajEpqosuo3 'sjaq iqSu kuBduioaaqX •sjuouiXBd jpqj in piitqaq ajB uiaqjJO [IV 'spunj lEoipaui jno ojui sn paMo XaqjXauoui ind oj sanreduioa aqj jaS oj jauiiuns siipsJiaaM uaj jbao joj pajjEapipw a^„ -jBip auopuaAa jou aABq Xaqg jng -paanpoid pioa jo uoj/OaAa Joj punj aqj ojui sjuaa 08 Jnd o) pssod-dns ajB saiuBduioa aqj isjauiui aqj jo spaau aqjuo UBip jaipBJ jndjno auiui uo pasBq ajB spunjaqj OJ suoijnqujuoa XuBduioa 'juamaSuEuEjuauiafBUEUi-ojd b oj anQ 'diysjapBai uoiun aqjJO uoijBJoqEnoo ssEp aqi pire saiuBduioo aqj jooSBjoqES aqj Xq painsjp 'Xjdtua ajB spunj uois-uad puE paipaiu sjaqj0j\\ auipj pajiufi aqi•sjounu aip ujaouoo XpEioadsa qotqA\ aqujs ojjqSu aip puB spunj uoisuad pire lEOipaui aqj siji 'saSEM pasBajaili SuqjuEuiap ajB Xaqj qSnoqx•BOJB aqj jnoqSnojip sjautui Xq passaidxaSI juauipuas siqi ..joj aABq a^v -uim n.a^\„

•i|3iq Suiuunj si siauiiuaip JO XaiiBjiiiiu puE jijids aip 'pjoa si jib aipil noip piiy "uoiSaj siqj ui Xiuibiii pajBjjuoauoaajE 'pojidxa jobjjuoo aip uaqM 'i^gi '9 joq-luaooQ aauis uopcpossv siojBJodo [eo^ snou-nimjig aip isuibSe Sup(ujs sjauiiii 000'09I a'li'STl "! Suiuuii iBoa jo jjBaq aqj si srqj.

. j a q u j suo„ ajE sjainuj aqj joj 'uMop jnqs si uoij•onpojd JO jsoj "XEMXin! sXBp asaqj spEOJ aqjuo apjEJj ssaj si aiaqj jng •Jinaijjrp pAEJj aiq-qBUJ 'pojaAOD-aoi ajB ua\oi oj umoj iuojj 'auiiiiOJ auiui tiiojj SuiOB| spBOj auB|-3 aq_£ -pjBq jrqSEq Jajui^ 'Mous ipiM daap ojb Xqanjua^j uia-jsEa puB BiuiSjiy\ jsaA\ jo sipq UEiqaEiEddy aqjJO SUMOJ [Boa aqx - BirngjiA Jsbm "Jsqjnos

spi®!* POD UIfi|6i^ L|6no| ^sjduiy^

„ miA ON 'imiNOJ ON .V

Los Angeles demonstration suporting miners.(GBtting Together photo)

Explosions, cavc-ins, gas poisonings, floods andfire are regular occurrences, made so because ofdie owners' overriding greed for profits.

ilight to strikeUsing a Supreme Court decision which out

laws all strikes not explicitly sanctioned in aunion contract, the mineowners have increasingly used tlie courts against the union whenlocal strikes have occurred. The Miller leadershiphas obstructed rank and file demands for pro-tection of local strikes during the 1974 contractnegotiations, and Miller agreed not to permitlocal strikes. His policies, though, have notstopped the wildcats, which are at an all-timeh i ^ .

One hears opinions such as, "It doesn't matter so much if the strike clause is in the contract. We'll strike anyway!" However, die legalprohibition of strikes places an added burdenon. the workers, and this is sure to be a majorcontinuing issue among the miners.Tlie miners throughout the repon also pointout that Miller is inviting the coal companies todestroy their organization. In just the past fiveyears, the proportion of coal mined by UMWmemben has dropped from 70^ to 50% of the

national total. Tliis reflects the rise of nwi-union mines, and Miller's obstruction in organizing the new mines.

AH this, though, has not disheartened theminers. Instead, diroughout the country Uieyare relying on their own efforts to conduct thestrike. Miners in West Virginia are organizingcaravans to close down the non-striking andnon-union mines in neigliboring Kentucky.Some miners are packing their 44's to "sliootthe engines right out of the cars of the scabs."

The miners and their families have packed upstores of food and supplies to weather througlithe battle. They're prepared to continue tliestrike for months if necessary.

Tlie miners have a tradition of self-relianceand fighting spirit. Their enemies arc imposing:the coal industry is dominated by the largestmonopolies in the U.S. Tiiis includes oil(Exxon, Continental and Mobil), metals(Kennecott, Anaconda), steel (U.S., Bethlehem)and tiic utilities (Duke, Tennessee ValleyAuthority, American Power).

But powerful thougli the forces seem fo be,the coal is not coming out of tlie ground thesedays. The hills are quiet - without the workersthere is no rumbling of coal trucks nor therattle of machinery. Let Rockefeller get downinto the mines if he is so concerned aboutenergy suppLes. Let liim mine the coal becausethe miners refuse to!

(January, 1978 issue)

Coal and the energy crisisThe current miners' strike has significance

beyond the coal industry. Monopoly capitalistshave made increased domestic production ofcoal a basic aspect of their strategy for dealingwith tlie "energy crisis." They want to establish"stability" in the coal industry, and tliat, tothem, means breaking the resistance of theminers to exploitation.

Even before the oil crisis of 1973, tliemonopolists were worried about their energysupplies, especially petroleum. Noting that "theabundance of secure and inexpensive energy"has historically been crucial to U.S. industrialpower, the Chairman of Mobil OU recentlyvoiced the concern of his c lass when headmitted that the "era of inexpensive energy isp a s t "

Reliance on oil

The bulk of die cheap fuel supply wliichthe capitalists have relied upon resulted fromU.S. imperialist domination of international oilproduction following World War 11. The monopolists drained the oil-producing third worldcountries of their oil and used it to fuel U.S.manufacturing, utilities, transportation andbasic industries. Oil was a foundation for therapid expansion of the U.S. military (ships, aircraft, land vehicles, the space and missile programs). It made possible the growth of newpetro-chemical industries such as synthetics,plastics and rubber. Today it accounts for 65%of the energy used in this country. The U.S.uses more oil every year than France, Britain,Canada, Japan and Italy combined, and morethan twice the amount used by the entire thirdworld! Significantly, half of this is nowimported.

With the rise of the struggle of tliird worldcountries to take back control of their naturalresources, the U.S. monopoly capitalists suffer

constant headaches over the security, availability and expense of oU supplies. The Secretaryof Defense calls it "the single surest threat toour security" — meaning, of course, thesecurity of the capitalist system.

Crisis for capitalistsThe monopoly capitalists have several dif

ferent courses they could follow in dealing withtliis situation. They are continuing to pursueU.S. interests in the Mideast. They are steppingup domestic oil production as in the Alaskanfields. Nuclear and solar energy also presentpossibilities but these are. too technologicallyinfeasible, politically troublesome or unprofitable for the capitalists to rely upon at thist i m e .

Coal is anotiier story. The U.S. has some ofthe world's largest coal deposits, representingmore potential energy than all of the rest of theworld's oil reserves combined. However, whilecoal production has remained fairly steady forthe past 20 yean, it has accounted for a declining proportion of energy resources consumed inthe U.S. This is an indication of the monopolists' massive reliance on petroleum sinceWorld War II .

Now President Carter proposes a substantialexpansion in coal use. By 1985 the governmenthopes to see coal production more than double.But obstacles stand in the way of increased coaluse. Environmentalists want to limit stripmining or impose further pollution controls oncoal burning. Tlie monopolists themselves cannot agree upon an energy policy for allocationof resources. And even to meet Carter's proposed goal, the capitalists would have to spenda huge amount of capital: coal companies willhave to invest an estimated S23 billion to opennew mines, while the utilities will have to put in$73 billion to convert present facilities over to

tmpry coi! chutes shorn the impact of the strike on this importantsource of energy for the U.S monopoly capitalists. (Getting Togetherphoto)

coal use.But the most Important obstacle to tliem is

the staunch resistance of the miners to capitalist exploitation.

Militant struggleThe miners have consistently wagetl militant

struggle against the coal owners. Miners' struggles for safer working conditions and betterhealth and pension benefits have been particularly sharp over the past several years. Last yearthe miners staged an unprecedented number ofwildcat strikes amounting to over 2 millionworking days lost for production.

The owners' association cites this "laborinstability" as "one of the principal reasons"for a lack of "business confidence" in coal as anenergy source. This simply indicates the extentto which coal owners have been hurt and theirprofit plans disrupted by tlie miners' struggles.The owners' objective in the current strike is towage a counter-offensive to "whip the minersinto line." This is one reason why the strike isespecially critical.

The strike is also being closely watched byother sectors of the monopolists to see if domestic coal can truly become a "secure" and

"reliable" fuel source for imperialism. Energysupply is of direct importance to tliem, ofcourse, since tlie great portion of energy is usedby the capitalists. 99% of coal goes to theutilities (with most of the electricity allocatedto business and factory uses), steel and othermanu fac tu re rs .

No so lu t ion

But however much the monopoly capitalistshope coal may solve the "energy crisis," thenature of the imperialist system itself ensuresthere will be a continuing fuel problem. Sinceenergy materials are a commodity used for profit by the capitalists, energy will always besquandered. Rational use and development ofenergy is impossible as long as energy is regulated by money interests.

The coal industry, which declined in relativeimportance in the economy in the I950's and1960's is sure to become an arena of intense

strug^e in tlic up<oming years, and tlie struggles of the miners definitely will have anincreasing impact on tlie workers' movement int h e U . S .

(January. 1978 issue)

A r n o l d M i l l e r :a wolf in sheep's clothing

Few things have been as obvious during thecoal strike as the treacherous role played byUnited Mine Workers President Arnold Miller.Working hand-in-glove with the coal operatorsand the White House, Miller has repeatedlytried to jam a contract down the miners'throats which is even worse than the one theyhad before the strike.

Miller's actions from tlie very moment hetook office stand in sharp contrast to the "militant" image he cultivated when he first ran forUMW President in 1972.

.Miller: The capitalists' "alternative"

By the time Miller ran for office, UMW gangster President Tony Boyle was rapidly losingcontrol of the union. The miners' stru^e hadturned the union into a battleground. Minersopenly defied the murderous rule of Boyle, andwildcatted by the tens of thousands in WestVirginia, demanding workmen's compensationbenefits for black lung victims and basic healthand safety conditions in the mines. They demanded the right to elect their district offrceisand vote on their own national contracts.

In order for the capitalists to regain control,a federal court ordered a special union electionin 1972, and the Labor Department spent S4million supervising it to make sure lioyle didnot stay in power through vote fraud. The capitalists' "alternative" to Boyle in this electionwas Arnold Mi l ler.

Miller portrays liimself aS a "worker" comingfrom the "grass roots," but he has long been aservant of the capitalist class. Disabled by blacklung disease, Miller retired from the mines in1965 and tried to make it as a bourgeois politi-

Arnold Miller: tervant of the capitalist class.

cian. lie ran twice as a Democratic Party candidate for the state legislature, and was on thepayroll of his local government War on Povertyoffice. But he found that he could advance himself much faster riding on the coattaiJs of thegrowing UMW rank and file movement. He became active in the Black Lung Association andbuilt up ties with many pensioned and disabledminers to advance his own career. When thespecial election came in 1972, he used these tiesto promote his candidacy for the UMW presidency.

He was quite suitable for the capitalists, forwhile he mouthed militant words and posed asa champion of the workers' demands, he sou tto co-opt the miners' movement. When minersaimed demands at the union bureaucrats, likemembership ratification of contracts, Millerboastfully made it sound like it was his endorsement rather than the organized strength of theminers which won the demand. As for miners'demands against tlie coal operators, Millerclaimed these could be won without realstruggle. Miller wanted the miners to rely juston himself.

Vdth Miller's election, the UMW remained inthe hands of tlie same class force that TonyBoyle represented. Like Boyle and other unionbureaucrats, Miller is part of the labor aristocracy — that section of the working class whichhas a stake in the continuation of the capitalistsystem.

The labor aristocracy exists only because ofmonopoly capitalism. The capitalists bribethem with part of the superprofits obtainedfrom imperialist plunder abroad and fromsuperexploitation of oppressed nationalities athome. Tlie labor aristocracy produces both theBoyles and the Millers and constantly generatesnew capitalist agents who strive to keep the'workers' struggles within the boundaries acceptable to the capitalist bosses - by any meansnecessary.

Tile trade union bureaucrats can never leadworkers' struggles to victory, for they work forthe capitalists. They are the capitalists' mouthpieces within the unions. Arnold Miller's treacherous actions serve as an important lesson -that "militant" trade union bureaucrats arethe same as the old "conservative" bureaucrats.The coal miners arc rightly seeing that tlieymust persevere in their struggle and neverleave it in Miller's hands. Tlie miners' opendefiance of Miller is a blow to the capitdistclass, and advances the class struggle to regaingenuine workers' control of the trade unions, toreplace the bureaucrats with revolutionaryworking class leadership, and to make tlieunions in this country once again tlie fittingmass organizations of the working class.

(April. 1978 issue!

OVER 100 YEARS OF STRUGGLE

Miners' militant historyCoal miners have an unparalleled history of

struggle. They have experienced much sufferingand battled heroically against the brutal conditions in the industry. They have died by thethousands in mine disasters and from black lungdisease. They have known plummeting wages,massive layoffs and terrible privation every timethe fluctuations of an unstable capitalisteconomy have lessened the demand for coal Inno other industry do the contradictions between the workers and capitalists stand moren a k e d .

There were strikes in the coal fields as earlyas 1848. In Tennessee during the 1890's minerswaged open warfare during the Coal Creek Rebellion. The Tennessee Coal and Iron Companyhad contracted with the state government tolease out convicts, mostly Blacks, for use as

T9/9 Ludlow minen'ttrike.

strikebreakers. The miners responded by anningthemselves, marching on the prison stockades,freeirjg the convicts and burning tlie jails to theground. Eventually tliey succeeded in gettingthe convict-lease system in Tennessee abolished,striking a blow not only against the mineownersbut also against an institution which was a bastion of national oppression of Black people.

Ludlow Massacre

The miners also shed much of tlieir ownblood in battles with the coal operators. Amongtheir best-known martyrs are the twenty people, mostly women and children, wlio died inthe 1919 Massacre at Ludlow, Colorado. Afterthree years of fighting for union recognitionfrom the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel andIron Company, Ludlow miners and their families were evicted from company-owned shacksand forced to set up a tent colony. Rockefeller's hired thugs strafed the tents with machinegun fire and then put them to tlie torch. Tlievictims perished in the flanics or were shotd o w n .

Experiences of tliis sort tempered tlie minersand deepened their understanding of the strug-^e against exploitation. They were among thefirst to organize in an industrial union, bringinglogether all coal miners under the United MineWorkers of America (UMWA). Tliis was at atime wiien most trade unions were stillorganized along narrow craft lines. In 1931,when coal owners forced them to the edge ofstarvation, striking miners in Harlan County,Kentucky, braved the bullets of sheriffsdeputies and company thugs and fought fortheir lives. Tlie Harlan strike, battled with fiercedetermination by miners and their families, wasa landmark U.S. labor struggle and continues toinspire the working class to this day.

"Captive mines"During the Great Depression the miners

rapidly built up their union and tlien tackledthe auto, steel and rubber barons, the owners ofthe so-called "captive mines" in which companies like U.S. Steel produced coal for their

own use. The miners helped form the Congressof Industrial Organizations to break the openshops in these mass production industries.

In the 1950's, however, the demand for coalfell off as other forms of energy were increasingly used in its place. The UMW's autocraticpresident Jolm L Lewis took steps to protectthe profits of llie coal companies by sacrificingthe jobs of some 300,000 miners, many ofthem Black. He openly encouraged mineownersto mechanize and ruthlessly suppressed wildcatstrikes. Tlie companies rewarded him withsweetheart contracts, while the hills of Appala-chia and the streets of uptown Cliicago werefilled with miners thrown out of work by tlieintroduction of the new machines.

In 1959 Lewis retired, hand-picking hissuccessor, a gangster named Tony Boyle. UnderBoyle, conditions in tlie mines and in tlie unionworsened. Introduction of new machinerygreatly increased the level of coal dust in tliebadly ventilated mines. One miner now recallsthat it was "so bad the only thing you could secat a distance of three feet was the light fromanother miner's lamp." Tlie miners, forced tobreathe the dust, fell from black lung inunprecedented numbers.

Boyle tolerated no opposition in the union.In 1969, when Jock Yablonskl challengedBoyle for the presidency of the UMW, Boylehad Yablonskl, his wife and daughter murdered.

New struggleAt tills time, the miners began launching a

new wave of rank and file struggle. In the wakeof a November 1968 disaster at Mannington,West Virginia which killed 78 miners, the BlackLung Association was formed to figlit forimproved health and safety conditions. Threemonths later 44,000 West Virginia miners, 95%of the miners in the state, launched a historiceighteen-day wildcat strike demanding workmen's compensation benefits for black lungvictims. Their struggle also helped force federallegislation to tighten up health and safety standards in the mines.

In 1972 Arnold Miller capitalized on the

1 0

opposition to Boyle and was elected UMW president. Once in office, however, he proved himself to be little different from previous bureaucrats. Tiie right to strike over local grievances,which has long been a basic weapon of theminers, especially against being forced to workunder unsafe conditions, was under attack fromthe companies and the courts. Each local strikebrouglit lawsuits, court injunctions and rincsc a l c u l a t e d t o d r a i n t h e u n i o n ' s H n a n c i u lresources. But Miller refused to insist tliat thesestrikes be protected under the national con

tract. Instead, he has tried to stamp out ailwi ldcats and saddle the miners wi th a bureaucratic grievance procedure which forces them tokeep working even when llieir lives are in dang e r .

Mitler's'actionshave only served to intensifythe struggle in the coal fields. The current strikehas shown once again that miners have noIntention of relying on the UMW bureaucracyto fight their battles for them, but arc resolvedto take their destiny into their own hands.

(April, 1978 issue)

From the Chinese Reuolution

C h a i r m a n M a o w i t hthe Anyuan miners

One of tlie first organizers of the mine-workers in China was Chairman Mao Tsetung.Shortly after the founding of tlie CommunistParty of Cliina in 1921, Chairman Mao led17,000 Anyuan miners and railway workers in asuccessful strike- demanding back pay, liigherwages, benefits and political rights. ChairmanMao calculated that each miner produced over$70 worth of coal for SS per month in wages.

Tiie coal mines of Anyuan ui southernHunan were owned by German and Japanesecapitalists. In a series of strikes, the miners displayed tremendous strength, unity and endurance . D ie fi rs t worke rs ' s t r i kes in Ch ina took

place at the Anyuan mines, whose miners weresome of tiie first to grasp Marxism-Leninism.Witli his brother Mao Tsemin (who was yearslater executed by the Kuomintang), ChairmanMao organized seven miners into a party cell,wliich was instrumental in leading a generalstrike throughout Hunan in sympathy witii theminers and raiiworkers. Chairman Mao waschairman of the Hunan branch of the Al l -Cl i inaLabor Federa t ion .

C h a i r m a n M a o w i t h m i n e r t .

Chairman Mao worked in the pits side byside with t l ic miners. A resident recol lects howChairman Mao crawled through the small tunnels where ten-year old cliildrcn puslied thecoal carts.

Chairman Mao also organized a labor ni^t-schooi to help the mineworkers "acquire necessary knowledge and strengthen tlieir resolve tochange society." The student card bore a hammer and sickle and a five-pointed red star for an

insignia.The textbooks, written in concise, everyday

language, linked Marxism-Leninism directly tothe workers' struggles. Old workers in Chinatoday still remember some of the texts and howtliey influenced tlie revolutionary struggles ofCl i jna.

One text read: "When one robs a few, it iscalled robbery. Wlien one robs great numbers, itis 'making a fortune'." Miners recounted bitterfamily histories: "Tlie father digs coal in thepit, the son drags it out. While the coal pilesinto a mountain, the father and son go hun-gry."

The school taught that in order to emancipate themselves workers must meet reactionary

violence with revolutionary violence. The"Workers' School Song" went:

It is rve workers who create the worldIt is we workers who change society.Ife rush on the enemies,Capture and kill them,Open up a bright path,Wipe out all crime and evil;We will break this world's cage!Vanguards, charge! Charge!

Led by Chairman Mao, this fightingcall of theawakened Anyuan mineworkers became amarching song of the entire Chinese workingc l a s s . ( J a n u a r y, 1 9 7 8 i s s u e )

C O N T A C T G E T T I N G T O G E T H E R A T :in tlte East:P.O. Box 378E s s e x S t a t i o n

Boston, Mass. 02112

P.O . Box 118Canal Street Stat ionN . Y. , N . Y. 1 0 0 1 3

In (he South:P. O . B o x 111 5 7S t a t i o n A

Atlanta, Ga. 30310

* * * *

In the Midwest:P.O. Box 87192Main Post OfficeChicago, III. 60580

In the West:P. O . a o x 2 6 2 2 9San Francisco, Ca. 94126

P.O. Box 23246Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

P.O. Box 160071Sacramento , Ca . 95816

Support GETTING TOGETHERI w o u l d l i k e t o :

S u b s c r i b e : $ 5 . 0 0 o n e - y e a r i n d i v i d u a l

$7 .50 one-year i ns t i t u t i ons

N a m e : -

S u s t a i n ; - p e r

O rde r pub l i ca t i ons :

Enclose check or money order payable to GettingTogether Publications. Add $.25 for malting andhandling for new publications.

A d d r e s s : .

C i t y ;

S t a l e ; Z ip Code :

Send to; Getting TogetherP. O . B o x 2 6 2 2 9

Sen Francisco, Ca. 94126

labo r dona ted