Why are the Windber Miners Out?

Joseph Foster, a former employee of the Berwind-White Company, and a former resident of Windber, testified that he was "chased" out of Windber three times, because he had once advocated the election of a man for county judge who had been opposed by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. That as a consequence of his said political activity, he not only lost his job with the Berwind-White Company but no other coal company in the county would employ him, and he was compelled to leave the Borough and secure employment elsewhere.

From Personal observation I have grew into manhood and watch the Struggle of the miners of Windber along with myself.

At the age of 11 years I began to work in the Berwinds and White coal mining company's mine which is known as Eureka No. 32 at Windber, Pa. about 26 years ago with my father as a helper to him. In a period of 4 years together with my other duties as a coal miner, I was checking up the weights put on the tonnage sheets produced by father and I each working day. During this period I have discovered that when the union miners got a raise in tonnage rate the same proportion was raised also in the Berwinds mines but the weight on each car of coal produced was decreasing. This did not increase our weekly earnings as was enjoyed by the union miners. This became disgusting to me as well as a number of my fellow miners. I tried to be patient and endure the humiliating thought that I was daily being cheated of a portion of my labor until one day we lost a car of coal. The foreman told me to wait a day; it may have been possible that the motorman did not pull out that day; so I have waited for days patiently for my lost car which would have weighed 1 ton according to their weights. I again made inquiries to the weight master and his answer was in profane language; "get out of here, I have no car for you; you have not lost no car or coal." Then when I told father that the weightboss did not fix the car he gave me hell. Then I reached the limit of my endurance, enraged over the treatment given to me by the weigh master and the thought always present that daily being cheated and also losing the car after I done all that could be done, I flung my shovel up against the side of the working place and said, "I am finished loading in these mines for ever."

I went to Eureka No. 34 as a Spragger. I spragged there for two years then I got on a job as night motorman. Then it was when my troubles began with the mine foreman. He gave me a partner who did not understand American. That made it miserable for me. With this man I had to work from 10 to 12 hours a night and only received 10 hours pay. Then I saw that all I had left was to quit my job if I didnt wish to work 10-11 or 12 hours a shift for 10 hours pay so I quit for I thought that again I was robbed.

I left Windber and enlisted in the army for three years. When I reached home I found that my father had not been working for two years on account of being hurt at mine, Eureka No. 34, by a fall of rock and this accident happening to my father made him look ten or fifteen years older, therefore the Berwind and White coal mining company would not hire him on account of his old age. At that time they had plenty of men for work was kind of slack and they would not hire old men. Therefore there was nothing else left for me to do but stay home and work for this company so that I might support my father and mother and little brother.

I succeeded in getting a job running a motor at mine Eureka No. 31. I ran there for a while until one day my motor broke. Its shoes were worn down to a dangerous condition. I asked the repair men foreman to repair my motor but he said, "run it as long as you can for we have no extra motor in the barn." So on the following day at dinner time as I came out with a trip of cars, my brake give away and the motor run over the scales. I jumped off and ran over to the weigh master and I asked him "how much did that weigh?" He not knowing what went over the scales he said "One ton five." I told him he was lying that the motor was supposed to weight thirteen ton.

I was discharged immediately and the following day I was hired out at Eureka No. 34 as an extra motor man and spragger. I worked there for a few days when they found out in the general office that I was working at thirty-four mine. They sent word to the mine foreman to release me and to tell me to go back to thirty-one as this company is in the habit of not hiring any one that was working in any other mine that belongs to this company unless he is not known or he changes his name. Therefore if I wanted to remain at my home in Windber all that was left for me is to go back to Eureka No. 31.

When I did go back the boss give me a job as track layer and he told me to work on the track until he could give me my motor back for he had a motor man on my motor. So I worked one day on the track, one day braking, one day as motor man, and as a wire man and a pipe fitter, one day as motor boss and one day as a repair man, and so one, but when I received my first pay I received track layers wages which was the smallest paying job amongst all other work I had been doing. As I only worked one day on this job as track layer I know I was entitled to more. I went to the mine foreman and asked him how was it that I was receiving only track layers wages as I only worked one day on the track. His reply was "I hired you as a track man and I can only pay you track mans wages." Then thats where I quit again.

I laid around for a few weeks then I went up to No. 35. The motor boss saw me walking around and came up to me and asked if I was looking for a job. I said "fine" if he needed a man. So he said "sure I need a man like you on the night shift motor." He took me up to the mine foreman and they fixed it up between themselves so the mine foreman did not have to give me a slip to take to the general office to get the general superintendent signature for fear that he would not let me go work there.

During my work on night shift some of the loaders at that mine came to me on the tipple and asked me about how much these coal cars would weigh and I told them to come on with me that I would show them and I weighed about 3 or 4 cars and they weighed from 19 to 21 hundred. One of these men told me he only got from twelve to fourteen hundred during the day so the same man and his buddy went home and got there mining lamps and went in the mine and took their tools out and I have'nt seen these 2 men up to this day.

Once as I got out on the tipple one of the company officials came up to me and said "how do Joe, how are you voting?" and as I told him how I was going to vote he left me with out saying a word as this was contrary to the company wishes as it was customary for the company to know how any man voted that was under their employ every time election came around. So it was not long after the election I was discharged for the Judge I was voting for won out. Therefore I took it as granted that I was discharged on account of the election.

I went away from home for about one year and a half then I succeeded in getting a job in Eureka No. 35 repairing machines. I was then in charge of eighty-six machines--pumps, hoist, electric drills, punchers, sprinkling machines and seven telephones which I had to keep in motion. Until the third year on this job the mines began to work slack, then the mine foreman took my helper away and left me alone on the job. It was enough work for 3 men for these days I had so much work that I worked from 10 to 13 hours and only received ten hours pay and the foreman made it so hot for me that I was compelled to quit again.

I got married a few months before knowing that. I had to make a home of my own. My little brother Steve had grown up to be sixteen years of age. Therefore knowing that there was some one to support father and mother I told the foreman that I was through with the Berwind and White coal mining company "until they get union in this town."

I moved in to the union field of District No. 2 U.M.W. of A. at Emeigh, Pa., from there to Nant-y-Glo, Pa. I lived happy with my family not knowing much about trouble until one day on April the 6th in the evening about 10 o'clock when I was having a social game of cards in the hotel lobby at Nant-y-Glo. There was a committee of 3 men came to me and tapped me on the shoulder. One of them was my brother Steve and he said, "Hallo Joe, come out side I want to tell you something." He explained to me that they came out on strike and they needed help to join the union. As I had no power I took them up to William Welsh, our Board Member. Sunday a few of us oorganizers went up to their meeting and we met about 4 thousand men in a farmers field and the men asked me to stay and help them on with the organization. Mr. Brophy sent me back on Monday the 10th of April when I held the first meeting at 4th St. in Windber and I obligated somewhere around about 3,500 men. Gee, but these men were glad to see me and to know that they were all union men now.

At the men's meetings they yelled out loud, "we are no longer slaves and we are done loading three ton for two. We will never return under a scab system. We want union to protect our rights."

This is my first experience at this work. I must say that writing a story is a harder job than a day's work.