Retiree, Charles Bottinelli talks about his life as a coal miner, which began at age 16. He recounts not being paid for "dead work" and being charged for dynamite. He describes techniques and machines that were used, such as the puncher and cutter. These led to miners being paid by the hour rather than by the tonnage. The only way families survived was through credit given by local businesses during the summer, when there was little work, and by gathering discarded coal in the winter. He talks about differences between the IWW and the U.M.W.A and recalls the Wobbly-led strike of 1927, which many people supported but the Denver Post did not. He gives an account of the Columbine Massacre, where guards killed and wounded striking miners. He lauds the decency of Josephine Roche, president of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company. After two bad accidents, he quit mining.
description
Retiree, Charles Bottinelli talks about his life as a coal miner, which began at age 16. He recounts not being paid for "dead work" and being charged for dynamite. He describes techniques and machines that were used, such as the puncher and cutter. These led to miners being paid by the hour rather than by the tonnage. The only way families survived was through credit given by local businesses during the summer, when there was little work, and by gathering discarded coal in the winter. He talks about differences between the IWW and the U.M.W.A and recalls the Wobbly-led strike of 1927, which many people supported but the Denver Post did not. He gives an account of the Columbine Massacre, where guards killed and wounded striking miners. He lauds the decency of Josephine Roche, president of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company. After two bad accidents, he quit mining.
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