What took the coal miners so long?
The coal miners have finally turned on Obama
That’s not the mystery. The mystery is why they ever supported him in the first place. He kept many things a secret during his 2008 campaign, but his plan to bankrupt the coal industry was not one of them.
Did he hypnotize them? And who finally brought them out of their trance?
The unions are behind it, of course, but why did they support Obama in the first place? I know that unions are reflexive, automatic Democrats, but surely if a candidate threatens to destroy your own industry it might give you pause about supporting him?
NEO: The mystery is why they ever supported him in the first place.
they were just following orders and up close people telling them things that would keep them from acting.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada
Affiliation AFL—CIO, CLC
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL—CIO) is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of fifty-seven national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers (as of June 2008, the most recent official statistic). It was formed in 1955 when the AFL and the CIO merged after a long estrangement.
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The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), commonly known as the Wobblies, is an international industrial union formed in 1905. The origin of the nickname “Wobblies” is uncertain
membership declined dramatically in the 1920s due to several factors. There were conflicts with other labor groups, particularly the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which regarded the IWW as too radical while the IWW regarded the AFL as too staid and conservative Membership also declined in the wake of government crackdowns on radical, anarchist and socialist groups during the First Red Scare after WWI. The most decisive factor in the decline in IWW membership and influence, however, was a 1924 schism, from which the IWW never fully recovered
In 2012, the IWW moved its General Headquarters offices to 2036 West Montrose, Chicago
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The Roots of American Communism, by Theodore Draper; The I.W.W., by Paul Brissenden
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-roots-of-american-communism-by-theodore-draper-the-i-w-w-by-paul-brissenden/
Draper shares the commonly held but erroneous belief that the IWW practiced violence and sabotage on a large scale and that these are what is meant by “direct action.” The Wobblies certainly talked a lot about sabotage and violence, but in practice they were less given to these methods than were many AFL unions. Most of the violence in IWW strikes was directed against the Wobblies; they were, indeed, pioneers in the use of mass non-resistance. And “direct action”–as distinguished from political action–usually meant simply the strike, the sitdown, the slowdown (which the Wobblies called “sabotage”), the boycott, and similar methods.
Art,
IIRC Wobblies turns of the IWW’s refusal to back Wilson’s war: WWI in this case.
Wilson had a full hard-on going after the IWW.
He was more than willing to trash the US Constitution to do so.
On the matter, much has been written.
Pre-peating Barry, Wilson organized for America (Wilsonian America, that is) by enlisting a motley army of finks — high and low.
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The IWW was wildly over-represented by inflamed Irish miners — especially out West.
Ireland, of course, was never on board for either WWI or WWII — both being seen as British power destroyers. (Which they did. Britain has gone from the apex to wingman status.)
Are you sure the miners supported Obama and not just the very rich leadership? Last time I checked Obama ran a poor second to death in popularity out in West Virginia.
Neo…
The coal miners defected from Barry pretty much straight away.
West Virginia, previously an automatic (D), is now considered an automatic (R).
Likewise, Louisiana (D) is turning into Louisiana (R) on the strength of Barry’s EPA handling of the state’s primary wealth engine: oil and gas.
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The Democrat party obtains its voting bloc the Roman way: they buy it.
EBT cards and cable TV.
Bread and circuses are so ‘yesterday’s, yesterday.’
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The ancient Roman economic engine collapsed when the yeoman farmer became so taxed that he dropped out and self-selected slave status. (!)
[Under Roman rules, slaves paid no taxes. Further, being a slave did not automatically make your children slaves, too. Although one could argue that the Roman central government had reduced even Roman ‘voting’ citizens to economic slavery. (cf 0-care: the most aggressive tax enacted outside of wartime emergency.)]
blert:
The union supported him. And now the union doesn’t.
The coal miners in West Virginia turned on him earlier than miners in other places. I’m in a hurry today and don’t have time to research it right now, but that’s my recollection.
And they still elected a Democrat, Manchin, to the Senate in 2010. As Bugs would say, what a bunch of maroons.
Well, they were in the dark underground, so it took awhile to actually open their eyes and see the light re: “the lightworker”.
blert
maybe i dont get it. but what does that history have to do with the history of communist infiltration of the unions (especially the teachers union, run by bella dodd who was head of CPUSA) and others, and how that leads from the LID to SDS and to their fealty to Obama (who they now realize did not deliver for them)
the question was why didnt they act earlier
and when you have to change sides to act, that is a reason to be quiet at first, then noisy later
Ghosts of Leninist past: a review of The Roots of American Communism
http://libcom.org/blog/ghosts-leninist-past-review-roots-american-communism-07102013
for some reason, no one wants to believe those who change sides from deep in the movement… there is a long famous list of these serous changers (neo doesnt go through them at all, she seems to prefer the newer ones)
The IWW and the Russian Revolution
In the I.W.W., the Bolshevik revolution also struck a responsive chord. In the Cook County jail in Chicago awaiting sentence after the mass trial, Harrison George wrote the first pro-Bolshevik pamphlet by an American – The Red Dawn -, based on information furnished by Russian cellmates
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Along with Harrison George’s pamphlet, another pro-Bolshevik pamphlet published by the IWW at the time was Industrial Communism by Harold Lord Varney.
they now have a movie of that title to help blur things and a remake. but if you search right you can read this:
The red dawn : the Bolsheviki and the I.W.W. (1918)
https://archive.org/details/TheRedDawnTheBolshevikiAndTheI.w.w
another one of those out of print books scanned like the one i suggest for the hayes tilden elections…
this link will take you to a lot of them
https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Communism+–+Soviet+Union.%22
industrial communism is still sold, and printed, and its harder to find a free copy. (i have read both when i was younger from actual paper copies)
the IWW did wise up… (which is what i think blert is referring to)…
The fact that the Russians and the CPUSA insisted that the IWW dissolve into the AFL didn’t help. Eventually, after a war of words between IWW and Communist publications, a few thousand Wobblies left for the CPUSA. By the 1940s, a mere letter from the director of a library in the Soviet Union triggered a scathing response and indictment of the USSR by the editor of the Industrial Worker.
The topic of ‘American soviets’ or ‘American workers councils’ has interested me for a few years now. Fred Thompson mentions them in a not very positive light in his history of the IWW7. Calling it a ‘fad’ and charecterizing them as the radical left ‘playing with Soviet terms’….
as i pointed out… they are now resurecting old soviet terms that people have forgotten.. like maximalists… which to each other is known, and known around the world, but not known by the rubes they are playing
anyway
there is a lot of links and names of things in the article that people may find interesting… a whole section of history and facts and so forth that somehow has faded over the years in the publics minds, but not the fanatical fans minds…
the article does mention the new left, and so on.. so this stuff is well known… and de rigour…
WV miners vote their paycheck. Union bosses can not, at least for now, monitor what they do in the voting booth. Joe six pack union members should be strongly courted by the right. By and large, they are pro 2nd, not interested in LGBT marriage, and pro-life.
The unions didn’t get taken over by the Left until 1995, during the combination of AFL and CIO I believe.
The coal miners were said to be Democrats, but had conservative values. It looks like the ideological fault lines have intersected. Such as with Leftists who hate and don’t hate Israel mixing together.
On wikipedia, they called 1995 a “constitutional amendment”. Judging from what happened afterwards, it was really a coup de tat.
They didn’t gain control of all unions automatically, but the pressure that could be brought to bear behind the curtains via the puppet strings increased gradually until it crushed local resistance.
The coal miners may have enough individual influence to make their unions bend, temporarily, but that still remains to be seen how they can resist the larger Left’s union arms.
You are confusing Unions with people who work.
Union “workers” generally don’t.
They don’t have to. They vote for Democrats to steal money from the real people who work, and give it to the Union people who don’t work.
Typical Union “work” situation is the road job where one guy at a time does any actual work, and five connected mobsters – I mean proud union workers – watch and hold flags or something.
Union people are bums. Total bums. All of them. There are no exceptions.
USA recently ran an article about eastern Kentucky people, with a look toward their health woes & how this *may be* a harbringer for The entire US population because there are high obesity rates there & many smokers & miners with all their ailments.
IT seemed like they wanted to drum up support for how Obamacare would be so beneficial for these people.
Interestingly there is alot in place all ready, they have a clinic that has been there 45 yrs that treats anybody
if you can pay or not, plus a program out of UK that gets the people free Rxs & free glucose meters. Interviews with the clinic people finds that they are
skeptical that their people will get better care from
what they see coming out of DC & some who resent the Gov interference calling it unconstitutional.
Rugged people there, & how will gov run health care
be even an iota better than what they have done with the VA all these years ? You can t throw money at a problem that needs actual *trained medical
personnel * You can t conger up skilled people out of thin air !
Molly, the Left’s system of healthcare is no different than what farmers give to pigs and livestock.
That’s how the Left thinks of all of us. Free healthcare. But watch out for the meat wagon…
Probably true, behooves us to
*take care of yourself*
Ymarsakar
the point of my putting that information up was so that you and others would not separate the past history from current history. they have NEVER been anythng else. if russia was going to do operations in the us, unions is a great way to fund it. a ongoing funding for all manner of things from the workers money, and the more you unionize the more control you have. read the list and you will see that healthcare, and the other things you mentioned are under these same unions.
teachers unions gave them control of schools and made 100k per student not enough. trucking unions gave them control of shipping, and on and on it goes. with their majority focus on the largest ones.
your statement that the left did not take over them makes absolutely no sense unless you did not grow up in the US and know the history (other than zinn)
go here for a bit on the years after i mentioned above
Communists in the United States Labor Movement (1937—50)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communists_in_the_United_States_Labor_Movement_%281937%E2%80%9350%29
the only time it seems like they were kicked out was during the huac and mcarthy era
when and if you read it, remember that the points or goals they state are not meaningful
The Communist Party and its allies played an important role in the United States labor movement, particularly in the 1930s and 1940s, but never succeeded, with rare exceptions, either in bringing the labor movement around to its agenda or in converting their influence in any particular union into membership gains for the Party. The CP has had only negligible influence in labor since its supporters’ defeat in internal union political battles in the aftermath of World War II and the CIO’s expulsion of the unions in which it held the most influence in 1950.
the point is only valid if the intent was to bring the labor movement around, and not just take money to change the socity by changing education and so forth. and the CP after the early days never sought to get many members. it found that it was better if people were not a part of it, and it was left ambiguous to appearances. another change from the huac era as such cards were a form of proof.
while you look for hard evidence there is none or almost none in a movement, as all you need is a culture who would naturally do what you would want if you told them. ie. you can have saboteurs and agit prop and have them rile up things and potentially get caught… or you can create general hate of the society itself and some will act out by commiting sabotage. the first there is hard proof, the second there isnt. either way, the sabotage was accompilished.
Art…
I can’t quickly pull it up, but IIRC, those that converted trees to charcoal used trick ‘chairs’ that consisted of a round platter of wood o’ertop of a single pole.
This get up was designed to wobble.
The fire attendents would sit side by side — for days at a time on just such ‘wobblies’ — watching the slow burn of the assembled wood cuts as they carbonized.
Should a sitter fall asleep, he’d fall on his keister — and wake up. Two fellows would always attend — so that the other fellow would kick some keister, for sure.
This was necessary because any burn through of the covering soil would cause their entire (week long) effort go up in smoke.
Consequently, the stools, those workers all gained the slang sobriquet of wobblies. (It was a craft that led to hard drinking Irishmen, to boot.)
Naturally, any tiring, boring, interminable blue collar labor task was prone to pick up such a slang ‘handle.’
As for the IWW, it’s speciality — organizing wise — was just such low skill workers.
I can’t find any easy account as to how the term jumped to the IWW, but this angle is as likely as any, and better than most.
There were other stupefyingly boring jobs (18th-19th Centuries) that also required wobbly stools… like watching the steam pressure/ water level/ fire status of a stationary boiler.
Screwing up these triggered boiler explosions. It’s the single most dominant reason why the first steam engine was the (Thomas) Newcomen (vacuum based) Steam Engine.
Most prior attempts killed inventors! No-one realized just how touchy a steam engine can be if the water level dropped too low. (Runaway steam pressure)
The very first inventors didn’t have a water level gauge — and until it blows up — running low on water looks all good — performance wise.
[Cue “China Syndrome”]
If they were thinking they would stop being Democrats. Surely you noticed that when you became neo-neocon?
THANKS BLERT!!!!
it wasnt clear to me that you were informing us as to how they got their names… which was why i was confused.
thank you so much for respecting me enough to take the time and show me that. i LOVE to learn and its really great when someone can teach me something new. i actuallyh could not find the information you were cluing me in on!!!!!!!!!
🙂
Union coal miners are the stupid morons everybody thought they were!
A.Men
no… they are men who often have families and die to suppor them… i guess that makes them stupid morons in your book… but that makes them brave heroes in my book. being a hero is about being afraid, and knowing how bad i can be, and you still go into it – for another.
i know… its something that you probably have no concept of – cowards rarely do, and the often die many times before they actuall expire.
sad excuse for a troll…
your statement that the left did not take over them makes absolutely no sense unless you did not grow up in the US and know the history (other than zinn)
That’s not what I stated. And I wasn’t relying to your information either. I was dividing up the Left’s operations in a time scale, around 1995.
That doesn’t mean “did not take over”.
artfldgr,
I will defind a.men. I have the credentials to do so as I have taken fire and been pinned down in New Orleans when the Howard Johnston was fired by a sniper. Then I loaded people into my ambulance under fire. That being established, I feel that all union members are stupid clods. They only vote their own interest and do not understand the necessity of making sure that all freedom is maintained and that liberal politics have never, ever worked in the history of mankind. The table would be much better if they voted for less government.
I feel that all union members are stupid clods. They only vote their own interest and do not understand the necessity of making sure that all freedom is maintained and that liberal politics have never, ever worked in the history of mankind. The table would be much better if they voted for less government.
you obviously have not been on old time welfare or starving with the only choice of having a paycheck was being a union member..
ie. if its the only job you can get and you have a few kids and a sick elder… and the house payments are due…
Your a clod for not letting them down, and doubly so cause you did not let them die while you take a stand.
got it.
art,
No, I worked at a job for $$10,000 and had to moonlight for 72 hours at a time. I had a wife and two kids in Dallas, Tx. I know what it is like and say you don’t join a union.