I don’t believe that anybody in the trade union movement wins anything at all without being militant. You get as much as you are prepared to take. Arthur Scargill
The trade unions and the Labour Party ... failed miserably. Instead of giving concrete support, and calling upon workers to take industrial action, they did nothing. Arthur Scargill
Coal mining is the basic industry of Britain. The coal mines of the country employ 750,000 men ... The miner works in a cramped position. He has scarcely room to swing his pick. William Coldstream, John Grierson with music by Benjamin Britten, Coal Face documentary/film
On the 17th of January 1969 Barbara Castle published her vision for industrial harmony in Britain In Place of Strife. It promised pre-strike ballots and a cooling off period before strikes could start, and that settlement would be imposed on wild-cat strikes. Moderate by today’s standards; most of Wilson’s cabinet saw all of this as extreme and divisive. And the union leaders regarded In Place of Strife as an outright assault. Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain, BBC 2007
But for Heath there was no escape. On the 9th January 1972 the National Union of Mineworkers demanded a pay increase of 45%. When this was rejected they began their first national strike since 1926. The miners began a mass picket of the largest coke distribution depot in the country at Saltley in Birmingham. ibid.
This battle she was determined to win. The confrontation when it came was ugly and very violent. Ancient, county and regional rivalries resurfaced. Yorkshire men against Lancashire men. South Wales against Nottinghamshire. Southern police against northern strikers. And it was also medieval ... The worst pitched battle took place here Orgrave where seven thousand well-prepared police took on five thousands strikers. ibid.
But Churchill was not a splendid Chancellor. He had one great decision in front of him and he got it wrong. In March 1925 he summoned four economists to dine at the Treasury to thrash out the burning economic issue of the day – the Gold Standard ... Globalisation with Britain at the centre ... The radical young economist John Maynard Keynes thought that going back to gold would devastate Britain’s already weakened industry. By instinct Churchill was also against ... And hell it was. The return to the Gold Standard made British exports more expensive, including coal ... An industrial dispute was coming to the boil. The mine owners stood firm. Then at one minute to midnight on the 3rd of May 1926 the TUC called a general strike. Andrew Marr’s The Making of Modern Britain, BBC 2009
The violence and intimidation we have seen should never happened. It is the work of extremists. It is the enemy within. Margaret Thatcher
West Virginia, the heart of Appalachia. Where miners carve a hard living out of solid rock. The risks are high. But so are the rewards. Working in tunnels half their height these men chase a high-grade seam of coal. Sons. Fathers. Brothers. Coal miners. Coal s1e1, Spike 2011
With an investment of $4 million Tom and Mike bought mining equipment and hired 35 local miners. They’ve got 1 month to turn a profit or go out of business. ibid.
The men are cutting into Westchester mountain. ibid.
The Continuous Miner’s ripper-head is spiked with tungsten-carbide teeth. ibid.
The coal-seam was formed by compression which means it bends and twists. ibid.
Half a ton of slate barely missed them. ibid.
Running coal and lots of it is the only thing that’ll keep the company alive. ibid.
The day-shift has been pumping out coal all week though not enough to make up for the night-shift’s short-fall. ibid.
They will barely be able to pay the bills. ibid.
All mining is brought to a stop when a team of state inspectors arrives unannounced. ibid.
‘We’re just country people trying to give our families what we never had and try to make better for our families.’ Coal s1e2, Jerry Edwards, section foreman day shift
The miners are in a race against time to find the course of the smoke. ibid.
‘Just another day in paradise.’ ibid. miner
Without Andy the day crew’s chance of getting seven cuts in looking slim. ibid.
‘I’ve had three heart attacks. Nobody wants an old man any more.’ ibid. Randy
‘I went all the way through college. I went through one door and out the other.’ ibid. miner
A storm slams into the mine. ibid.
Flooding has blown the pump. ibid.
The rainstorm flooded the well, shutting down the pump. Now they have to work out why. Coal s1e3
Being a Bolter is like living as a marked man. While the Bolters work, the mine’s roof is unsupported. Which is why Hank’s job has the highest death rate of any position in the mine. ibid.
Death by falling rock is a reality in every mine. ibid.
Death by falling rock is a reality in every mine. Coal s1e3
A massive two-thousand-kilowatt generator has arrived on site. It should put an end to the power outages. Coal s1e4
With the belt-move turning into a financial disaster, Mike looks for somewhere to lay the blame. ibid.
A mountain of company debt has become due. ibid.
Coal’s not the only thing to be found in these hills. They are also known for some of the best hunting in the United States. ibid.
The night crew turned a belt move into a comedy of errors. ibid.
The next ten hours are critical. ibid.
Roof-bolting is the deadliest job in the mine. ibid.
They filled forty trucks in a single day and nailed their first profit. Coal s1e5
The most deadly part of the mountain ... Now they are directly below a valley. ibid.
The men really are between a rock and a hard place. ibid.
Mining, physical pain and prescription drugs have been known to go hand in hand. ibid.
Five out of ten men haven’t shown up for work. ibid.
Despite being down five men they’ve had the best shift of the week. ibid.
‘When you’re a coal miner you just about have to be a jack of all trades.’ Coal s1e6, Andy the legend
‘Sometimes you know you’re better off getting these young drug-free boys that need a job.’ ibid. Big Cheese
The blow to the [continuous] miner appears to be fatal. The continuous miner is dead, and that could mean the end of Cobalt Coal. ibid.
The cardinal rule of roof bolting is don’t rush it. ibid.
A small mining company is chasing a high-grade seam of coal. The risks are huge. But so are the rewards. Coal s1e7
Someone has betrayed them. ibid.
They just financed a $600,000 Continuous Miner. Now they need another $60,000 to cover the payroll, and hook up their more powerful generator. ibid.
No water means no mining. ibid.
If the company has to survive it has to hook up the new generator. ibid.
‘It’s ten thousand dollars’ of equipment.’ ibid. Big Cheese
Randy is carving through the coal. By the end of the shift he’s knocked out seven cuts. ibid.
Black smoke is pouring from the generator. Coal s1e8
Tom can’t afford any more downtime. ibid.
‘We hit water!’ ibid. miner
Every miner here has had the experience of hitting something unexpected. ibid.
Coal drove the economy of the industrialised world. ibid.
Heavy snow has started to fall. ibid.
Eddie Branch, the night crew electrician, just called to say he’d taken a job from another mine. ibid.
Methane is a silent killer that can be found in any mine. ibid.
On 5th April 2010 ... The worst US mining accident in thirty years rocked the industry to its core. ibid.
A late miner means loss of profitability. Coal s1e9
The new mining team is burning through the coal. ibid.
The powerful unihauler is making an immediate impact. ibid.