Word: buttings
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
CASTLEWOOD, Va.--The soft, rolling, misty hills of southwestern Virginia seem an unlikely setting for a battle. But in Dickenson and Russell Counties, the nine-month United Mine Workers (UMW) strike against the Pittston Coal Company often became as hostile as any war.
But this outpost, set among the mines, was softer than most military bases. Dozens of encouraging banners from universities and labor organizations hung on the walls of the shelter, which provided almost all the amenities anyone could want under the circumstances. A well-stocked kitchen. Warm blankets. Scathing hot showers...
The Pittston coal strike may have received national and international attention, but the ranks of the combatants are drawn strictly from the local area. The miners are particularly bitter about what they call the biased response of state and local authorities to their protests.
As part of their protest strategy, strikers attempted to slow production by driving very slowly on roads leading to the coal mines. But the state soon responded with strictly enforced minimum speed laws.
The battle may be over now that the UMW and Pittston have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike. But as negotiations inched along in late December, the miners seemed dedicated to preserving the camp as a symbol of their struggle to maintain their way of life.