Sadly, Harlan Countys troubles persisted through most of the 1930s, still known throughout the region as the Bloody Harlan years. As I watched the movie, I wasnt exactly sure what was happening, just that it was chaos. It had a great impression on me throughout the rest of my career. My Land Is Dying-- Harry Caudill 10. The miners lay in ambush for cars carrying company men, and shot at them. Previously, he was a film critic for The Globe and Mail newspaper from 1995 to 2015. I think the meaning of this strike goes beyond a single contract at a single coal mine, Mr. Miller told a newsconference. Barbara Kopple: I guess that day was the scariest moment because I went up to one of the organizers and said, Do you think theyre going to shoot at us today?. I heard about Harlan County Miners for Democracy. Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2017-2021. Todd Melby: I want to ask you also about opening shots and closing shots and the importance of them. On July 1, Blackjewel LLC abruptly shut down its six Harlan mines, filed for bankruptcy, and sent the miners home without pay. Hes driving the pickup and there is a passenger in the pickup and youre learning in from the passenger side. "[12][13] He protected the miners despite the fact that a bomb had killed Harlan County Attorney Elmon Middleton several weeks earlier.[14]. Marshals office is situated. Afterward I tore a sheet from a calendar on the wall and wrote the words to 'Which Side Are You On?' The rank-and-file group Miners for Democracy (MFD) was organized at the funeral. Barbara Kopple: Yes, to the picket line where they were bringing in the scabs. An open shop allows union membership but does not mandate it. Barbara Kopplesfirst feature film,Harlan County,USA, a chronicle of a 13-month long Brookside mine strike in the Appalachian region of East Kentucky in the early 1970s, is a great documentarythough, arguably, its not a good one. There are plenty of such careerists in movements nowadays. There's no such thing. Reacting to the unrest created within Harlan's impoverished labor force, the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) attempted to organize the county's miners. 3 min read. Barbara Kopple: A 10-minute reel of 16-millimeter film. The union, which had said that the mining company had refused to recognize its authority to represent the miners, had promised to continue the Brookside strike until a settlement was reached. Staff at the Harlan Hotel seemed pleased to show us the bullets still embedded in the failing faade of the aging building. Boy, that Freedom House sure sounds like a bunch of fascists, dunnit? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Congress then passed a federal bill that assisted all afflicted miners. Check out American Dream, which also won an Oscar, if you haven't (but I imagine you have!). Mr. Bruner was . <p> Get your payments electronically sent to your checking or savings account to help achieve your goals. The owners of the mine, Eastover Coal Company, a subsidiary of Duke Power Company, refused to sign the new contracts, which would have established a UMWA local in Brookside. The union staff, now led by a Montana official, Tony Boyle, encamped in the union offices and rarely ventured into Appalachia, where the depression of the 30s seemed never to have ended. Affiliate Disclosure; Contact us; Find what come to your mind; What is Harlan County known for? A goddamn fella when he tried to do somethin. [6][7][8] The most violent attack by mine workers occurred on May 5, 1931 and became known as the Battle of Evarts. Shortly after the end of the strike, the UMW faced another national obstacle when their contracts across the country expired. However, it was only -after- the . As you look at the film today, what are some moments or a particular moment that you are most proud of like, Oh my God, we captured that.. The Global NonviolentAction Database is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationallicense unless otherwise noted. Distinctive and archaic, sometimes hard to decipher, it forms a through-line of vernacular poetry in the film in words worthy of a Cormac McCarthy or Elmore Leonard. How many miners died in the Harlan County War? The troops promptly escorted the union men to the county line. How long did the Harlan County strike last? What happened to Billy C Bruner? The number of miners murdered by mine guards remains unknown. 8 How many miners died in the Harlan County War? The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. I was told if I was ever alone at night that they would kill me, so I promised the head gun thug, Basil Collins, he wouldnt catch me alone at night. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, it had collapsed. It was just like in the old days -- if the company kills a man, the company gets let off. In response to the violence, the Kentucky National Guard was called in. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky during the 1930s. After a month of negotiations with no success, the 180 miners walked off the job and began what would be a 13-month-long strike on 26 July 1973. Persons per household, 2017-2021. On 24 August 1974a mine supervisor named Billy C. Bruner shot and killeda 23-year-old striker, Lawrence D. Jones. Several members stabbed a local sheriff when he dragged a woman violently off the road on 28 February 1974. Throughout the strike, the campaigners set up picket lines to try to prevent replacement workers from working at the coal mine. -What happened? Still, the Wall Street bankers and East Coast industrialists who owned the vast seams of the Southern coalfields would not give up without a fight, and Harlan remained Bloody Harlan. Armed company guards and sheriffs deputies patrolled the steep mountains and narrow valleys of the Kentucky Appalachians. The Kentucky National Guard was called in. Youll either be a union man or a thug for J. H. Blair /4 . Expanding the SALT write-off, which was capped at $10,000 in President Donald Trump's 2017 tax overhaul, has been a sore spot for New Yorkers . Dr. Harlan J. Bruner is a Neurosurgeon in Lawrenceville, GA. Find Dr. Bruner's phone number, address, insurance information and more. Todd Melby: Ah, smart! Eastover agreed to a speedy election for union representation at its High Splint mine in Evarts, about 10 miles from the Brookside mine. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Lawrence Jones, 22 years old, a union member, was wounded in a shootout during the weekend, and died yesterday. Mr. Bruner was wounded . [4]:5688 Their attempts at strikes, while weak in surrounding counties, were utter failures in Harlan, where only a fraction of the workforce walked out in 1931 and 1932. You all look the same when you came out.. For coal miners, having a union is still the most important thing, just as it was in the 1930s, the 1950s, and the 1970s . Some good doc pro, @marriska.fernandes moderates the Q&A for VOICES O, Director Mike McKinlay talks PART OF THE PACK at #, Pamela Anderson with her son/ producer Brandon Lee, Happy #Caturday! Barbara Kopple's first feature film, Harlan County, USA, a chronicle of a 13-month long Brookside mine strike in the Appalachian region of East Kentucky in the early 1970s, is a great documentarythough, arguably, it's not a "good" one.. (Robert Gumpert / Appalshop Archive). This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Probate records are held by the Harlan County, Kentucky Genealogy Clerk of Court and are housed at the Harlan County, Kentucky Genealogy Courthouse. Striking miners in the coalfields of southern West Virginia forced the Republican governor to sign a bill that allowed compensation for black lung disease. Barbara Kopple: Oh, I dont know, but when we started getting low, Id say, please and [my father] would do it. Three company men and one striker were killed in the exchange. Martin County, Kentucky Currently, Martin Countys population is one of the poorest in the United States. 3. The 2010 disaster at Massey Energys Upper Big Branch Mine at Montcoal, West Virginia, cost twenty-nine lives. Murdered while on a picket line in Harlan County KY, After his death an agreement was signed between the miners and the union! (Photo by Bill Bruner/The Flume) 82.7%. Before long, most of the remaining workforce had gone on strike in solidarity. The miners revival, led by the UMWA, came in the wake of Franklin Roosevelts election in 1933 and in their belief that only their union might save them. She talks about hiding behind cars on the picket line for protection from the "gun thugs." She talks about a standoff against Basil Collins and the scabs and gun thugs. I can't understand how people sell out so completely. We could shoot things. I think with Harlan County there are so many moments that its hard to pick just one. Wow. It was the latest violent incident in Harlan County, long a scene of labor unrest. Todd Melby: His name is Basil Collins. By the end of the year, the UMWA was once again the nations largest union; it would go on to bankroll the organizing of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the labor upsurge of the 30s. The union staff, now led by a Montana official . Is it easy to get an internship at Microsoft? We would drive to Tennessee to get the film. Martin County An MFD victory in the union election followed, and the miners movement became an archetype for rank-and-file organizations in the 70s. At the peak of the first strike, 5,800 miners were idle and only 900 working. Strike benefits are $100 weekly for a family, $90 for a couple, and $80 for a single man. My songs always goes to the underdog to the worker. Barbara Kopple: Yes and know that if you are passionate enough about it, people will help you. Maybe shot all to hell. [9] Several events broke the NMU's foothold, local labor organizers, many of them clergy, learned of the Communist leadership's animosity toward religion and denounced the organization, Young Communist League organizer Harry Simms was killed in Harlan and the American Red Cross and local charities, who had been unwilling to take sides in a labor dispute, began giving aid to blacklisted miners who were unemployable as the NMU's financial troubles necessitated the closing of its soup kitchens. Eastover agreed to drop all charges against the striking miners in court and before the National Labor Relations Board. Bill Bruner. . Which side are you on? save the topic. Also, the organizers told me way after the film that there had been a price put on my head to shoot me. With contributions by John dos Passos, Samuel Ornitz and others, Dreiser produced a report called Harlan Miners Speak: Report on Terrorism in the Kentucky Coal Fields. This contract is a message to every nonunion coal operator in the land that coalmining families have had their fill of deathtrap mines, starvation wages and meager benefits in return for their labor.. No concessions were given by the mine operators and UMW membership plummeted. R S. Warsaw. By the end of the campaign the miners had been subjected to over 90 arrests and 40 acts of violence. Barbara Kopple: I never felt that. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Barbara Kopple: I dont know. IN PROSECUTING ATTORNEY FOR THE 54TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT CONSISTING OF THE COUNTY OF KOSCIUSKO Michael L Miner R 2. During the 20th century, it was often a center of labor strife between coal mine owners and union workers, especially in the Harlan County War of the 1930s. Nationalism, the new issue of Jacobin is out now. Leave a review. From the heights, we immediately crash to the lowest point when 23-year-old Lawrence Jones is murdered by the company gun thugs, leaving a 16-year-old wife and infant child. Why, Freedom House even criticizes the U.S. for not living up to its own principles! Updated November 23, 2021 12:21 PM. Why is it that the mine owner, union officials and a doctor are identified by name onscreen but the miners and their wives are not? WILLIAM BRUNER OBITUARY. In 1969, Tony Boyle was challenged for the UMWA presidency by Jock . Barbara Kopple: No, I never thought about it costing. For the episode of Justified, see, Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Murder of workers in labor disputes in the United States, List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States, "Hall of Fame: Power of Arts & Creative Expression -", "TROOPS WATCH AS HARLAN VOTES: Turbulent County Ballots Heavily", "TROOPS AGAIN MOVE ON HARLAN COUNTY: Occupation of Kentucky Area", "Prepare to Meet Thy God: War in the Harlan County Coal Fields", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harlan_County_War&oldid=1133850196, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 20:44. I visited Harlan in 1974 with a contingent from the British miners union. In Harlan County there wasn't no neutral. Barbourville -- William "Ed" Bruner, 62, Hopper Funeral Home. On July 7, a group of deputies, enraged at a public celebration of the Wagner Act, dispersed the crowd by beating several miners. Barbara Kopple: Harlan County, USA; that was my first ever film that I did on my own. She also sang it in the 70s in Harlan County. With a population of 1,504, Harlan has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. POV Magazine The hardest thing was getting funding to keep going. Power Company of Charlotte N. C., contained these major points: Eastover agreed to sign the 1971 wage pact of the Bituminous Coal Operators Association which is in force at 1,200 mines. #cats #GreyGardens #LittleEd. 7 Who was killed in the Battle of Harlan? Sometimes, we hear her voice off-camera, asking questions, including a scene where she confronts the chief company enforcer, Basil Collins. In 1932, only in anthracite country had the union held its own. On top of that, we learn later, the . Hes asking you for your press pass. It outlawed yellow-dog contracts, company unions, blacklists and discrimination on basis of union activity, all tactics employed by coal companies. California labor activist Caroline Decker first became involved in union activities during the Harlan County War, when she and her sister participated in relief activities for striking miners. Alas, catastrophe awaited, this time in the booming 50s. New machinery would transform underground mining but at the expense of the coal miners themselves. [10] The Kentucky National Guard was once again called in on December 8, 1934, requested by UMW organizers who had been threatened by bosses and deputies. So did Barbara Kopple withHarlan County,USA. The strikers were not themselves entirely nonviolent. Which side are you on?. . Our new issue on nationalism is out now. CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of willfully violating safety standards and spent a year in prison. (Kopple says she and her crew were beaten until the strikers rescued them.) Billy Carroll Bruner, 39, a foreman at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the . Throughout the campaign, strikers and supporters sang songs such as "Which Side Are You On?" [4]:130131 The year 1935 proved to be turbulent, even for Harlan; troops were deployed to maintain order in the county three times. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. An incredible woman named Florence Reece wrote a song called Which Side Are You On? and it pertains to almost every single struggle, whether its a labor struggle or something else. Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On gives the iconic singer her due. Barbara Kopple: Harlan County, USA; that was my first ever film that I did on my own. This was partially successful until County Judge F. Byrd Hogg, a mine owner himself, issued an injunction against the miners allowing only 3 people to picket at each of the two entrances to the mine. Despite headway by the unions, the battle for Harlan County between labor and capital continued. POV engages filmmakers and film lovers in conversations about the art of non-fiction. That made me think a lot too. I had a purpose. They believed that the strikebreakers would be more hesitant to use violence against women. A miner was killed by a company foreman. Todd Melby: Oh my God, yes. [4]:32. Welcome to Beba's world: we're all just visiting. Today, US coal comes mostly from the Western plains, dug out by huge earth-moving machinery and carried to the coasts on mile-long, dust-spewing trains. [4]:46 They operated under Sheriff J. H. Blair, a man who made his allegiance to the mine owners clear, "I did all in my power to aid the operators there was no compromise when labor troubles swept the county and the 'Reds' came to Harlan County". Several men were arrested for violating the injunction and were sentenced to three months in prison. Piercpton, IN COUNTY AUDITOR J D Geiger P O Box 29 N Webster IN COUNTY RECORDER Betty Dust 107 W . In your mind you're on one side or the other. Get our print magazine for just $20 a year. Before its conclusion, an unknown number of miners, deputies and bosses would be killed, state and federal troops would occupy the county more than half a dozen times, two acclaimed folk singers would emerge, union membership would oscillate wildly and workers in the nation's most anti-labor coal county would ultimately be represented by a union. Computer and Internet Use. William "Bill" Henry Bruner Junior, 77, of Henryville, IN, passed away at 6:48 PM on Friday, August 28, 2020, at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, IN. The workers' salaries were comparable with other miners throughout the country, so the issue of salary was not addressed. Barbara Kopple: Low coal, so people were crawling. At that point a young UMW staffer named Bernie Aronson, part of the union reform movement, appears: As I watched this I thought: Bernie AronsonBernie Aronsonwhere have I seen that name before? Todd Melby: And what would you tell young filmmakers or young non-fiction folks? The name comes from the nearly century-long and sometimes violent struggle between coal companies and workers seeking to unionize. I didnt get hurt because they kicked the Nagra. The film struck a popular chord, crossing over into commercial theatresa real-life morality play of heroes and villains, suspense, violence and triumph. The miners lay in ambush for cars delivering materials to strikebreakers and shot at them. Without external sources, viewers are unlikely to see the causal links between the 1968 Farmington Mine disaster, the murder of Joseph Yablonsky and the 1972 election of reformist Arthur Miller, whose efforts to bring the Brookside miners into the national miners union precipitated the strike. Named Billy C. Bruner shot and killeda 23-year-old striker, Lawrence D..! Were arrested for violating the injunction and were sentenced to three months in prison or savings account to help your. 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