Did Coal Miners "Owe Their Souls to the Company Store"? Theory and Evidence from the Early 1900s

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The data in this report comes from the NIOSH Coal Workers Health Monitoring Program (CWHSP). Since 1970, NIOSH has operated CWHSP and has tracked the burden of black lung disease among underground coal miners. Through this program, coal mine workers can regularly take chest X-rays and detect early signs of black lungs. In this study, researchers at NIOSH studied X - ray data collected by CWHSP from underground miners from 1970 to 2017. "Breathing coal mine dust is the only cause of black lungs, it is totally preventable," Dr. David Blackley said. Epidemiologist and coauthor of the study. "This study further demonstrates that effective dust control methods and protective measures can reduce coal mine dust exposure while early detection of the disease is important to protect the health of miner workers. "

Decades ago in the early twentieth century, coal companies owned most of the town in the center of Appalachia, so "mine security guards" - basically private paramilitary forces - oversee this area. These troops were widely endorsed by the West Virginia state government that declared martial law four times to suppress miners' strikes in the beginning of the 20th century. (In the face of the resistance of the workers, thousands of miners worked together to defeat the particularly brutal magistrate in Logan County, even the governor even dispatched bombers.) History of the labor movement

But, in fact, that word is absolutely different. "Country man" is rooted in a completely progressive working class history. In the 20th century, a multi-ethnic mining workers union challenged their rights in the state of West Virginia, one of the largest labor uprisings in American history. Owners of coal companies pay wages to workers rather than dollars and require coal miners to shop only at authorized company stores. To make workers even worse, the shops of the company often exaggerate the price of necessary goods. The miners, many of whom are immigrants and colored people - are fed up and officially start fighting their working conditions. To treat each other as an ally, they connected a red scarf around their neck, and the word settled. Redneck Revolt follows this tradition, and the participants will identify protest actions and local activities with a red head scarf.