how much did coal miners get paid in the 1980s

Shows the average weekly wages of NY factory workers every month over a 14 year period. Shows wage rates for engineers, conductors, passenger baggage men, coal passers, firemen, switch tenders, hostlers, signalmen, station agents, telegraphers, machinists, car cleaners, and more. These figures are shown by occupation, sex, and region. There was little prospect then that coal would be in demand as it is today or that the daily wage of miners would be multiplied 8 to 10 times by 1974. Every day his lifes in danger, Source: page 13 in. Includes many brand names. Source: Missouri State Dept of Agriculture. Published by the National Industrial Conference Board. Use "search in this text" feature to navigate (or contact us for assistance). Wages are shown in French francs. 358, Average hours and earnings by occupation and district. Tables 6-13 show farm land prices by county in IA, MN, ND, ID, OH, KY, NC and TX. Source: BLS, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. Mentions the wages paid to both skilled and unskilled workers in francs. Union wages by occupation and city, 1922-1928, Women's median wages by state and industry, 1910s-1920s, Cigarette packs - Average retail price by brand, 1929, Average college expenses and tuition by institution, 1928, Family budgets by income group, 1918-1930, https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages, Common labor - Average entrance wage rates, 1926-1934, Union wages by occupation and city, 1920-1921, Steam fitters' and sprinkler fitters' helpers, Structural-iron workers: finishers' helpers, Union wages by occupation and city, 1929-1930, Captains, masters, mates, pilots, and engineers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Gang foremen, Maintenance-of-way employees: Assistant gang foremen, Maintenance-of-way employees: Iron workers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Masons, bricklayers, and plasterers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Section laborers, Maintenance-of-way employees: Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen, War and postwar wages, prices, and hours, 1914-23 and 1939-44, Urban Negro weekly earnings by sex and occupational class, 1925, Negro wages by occupation - Chicago, 1920, Teacher salaries by race - North Carolina, 1922, Teacher salaries by race - Texas, 1925-1926, Accountants, auditors, bookkeepers, etc. Shows mining wages in Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Shows the hourly and weekly wages for 12 principal industries throughout Germany. $180 - $5k. Source: BLS, Shows the average wages of Spanish agricultural workers in different cities. That the presidents persistent nostalgia for a yesteryear America had such visceral effect on rural voters only betrays the entrenched anxiety of a region where decline is a multi-generational way of life. Board a ship to cross the wave; Wages are shown in both US and English currency. Prices are shown in Latvian rubles. Starts on p. 44. Each table is for a different New Zealand city. In the late 1800s mining was rough physical labor. Shows the wages of Japanese mining workers by gender and age. Source: BLS, Shows clothes prices paid by working class families in Great Britain. After they loaded coal from the fallen pillars, the colliers and their helpers pushed their cars out into the main entry as fast as possible before sections of the roof collapsed. Shows average value for farm land and buildings from 1850-1982. The survey covered 114 different cotton mills in 12 different state, and generally divides tables by occupation, sex, and year or occupation, sex, and state. Must use "search in this text" feature to navigate. These deposits could produce firedamp, which contained methane and sometimes carbon dioxide that seeped out of the coal seams. Shows the daily wages of Chilean miners between 1911 and 1924 in both pesos and the U.S. dollar. Source: U.S. Congressional Serial Set vol. Typical compensation for directors, camera men, editors and more in, Shows typical earnings for reporters, feature writers, sports editors and others, in. Source: BLS, Shows the average price of foodstuffs and other common goods in the federal district of Mexico. Wages are shown in Dutch guilder. A mail order catalog for the Fall/Winter season, 1920-1921. "75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935" Priced by the single unit. This article reprinted from a January 1923 edition of, This source quotes medians (the mid-point, with 50% falling below the line), first quartiles (25% falling below) and third quartiles (75% falling below). 412. Retreat mining required the rapid destruction of these pillars, each containing tons of valuable coal, before the mine collapsed. MORE PRICES in the U.S. Scroll forward and back to see the various cities for which average food prices are available. Source: BLS. Wages are shown in Italian lire. Source: BLS Monthly labor review, Oct 1927, Shows the average daily wages for 14 different occupations in the Florence district. Taking a mine car out of turnconstituted another grave offense. Wages are shown in both German marks and contemporary U.S. dollars. The coal industry required more labor than southern West Virginia could supply. Source: Shows wages, hours and earnings for mechanics, pipe fitters, welders, tinsmiths derrick men, drillers, firemen, engineers and more. Shows data for 12 cities located in NY, OH, PA and MA, including NYC, Boston, Philadelphia and more. Report published in 1925 mainly covers wages in manufacturing industries. Firedamp, described as the monster most dreaded by the practical miner, could explode if ignited by sparks or powder blasts, which would send fires raging through mine shafts with hurricane force. But on some weeks, a miner might work only two or three days because the railroad failed to supply enough coal cars, or because the mine needed repairs. Prices on pp. From, Earnings forveterinarians with governmentjobs, in scientific labs, in sales, or working as. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin #682, chapter 9: "Monthly earnings of professional engineers," pp. Appalachian coal production has been on shaky ground almost since the industrys inception in the mid 19th century. Data is broken out byoccupation, sex and district. Stealing another mans coal was considered a terrible crime. A thief could commit this offense easily, simply by removing one miners brass check from his coal car and replacing it with his own; but the miners often detected this kind of trickery and banded together to demand the thiefs termination. Rompers, night gowns, baby shoes, accessories (diapers, baby bottles, etc. Also shows average family size in each state. Email: concannonm@missouri.edu One-page table shows average charges for residential electricity each year from 1924-1934, for cities over 50,000 in population. Inside workers are further classified as (1) miners and laborers who cut and load coal onto conveyors or into mine cars, and (2) all other employees whose occupations relate to transportation, timbering, pumping, ventilation, and other general underground work. Wages shown in contemporary US dollars. Workers focused on the pace of work, safety, and wages. Tells cost of public transportation and railway fares as well. But you get a certain amount of desperation, where youre willing to believe stuff even though you know in your gut its not true.. Expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence. Bonus. They designed complex ventilation systems with fans and interior doors to keep dangerous gases from causing explosions. Managers liked immigrants because they worked for low wages. Boys discovered that serious men turned into jokers when they toiled underground. The lawmakers apparently agreed with West Virginias Republican governor, G. W. Atkinson, who said in 1901: It is but the natural course of mining events that men should be injured and killed by accidents.. Wages shown in 1930 US dollars. Source: BLS, Shows the daily wages and hours of workers in 4 different industries in Madrid. This was the room and pillar method of mining common in the Appalachian bituminous coalfields. COST OF LIVING Next came preparations for extracting the coal. After a temporary escape to attend grammar school, it was the world he reentered in 1900 as an eighteen-year-old man willing and able to load coal for a miners pay. After checking in, they climbed up a steep trail from the office to the portal of a mine. Includes breakouts for those who lived with the family and those who did not. Source: BLS. Compares wage rates and hours of work for the WWI and WWII eras, focusing specifically on the manufacturing, mining, railroad, printing and maritime industries, as well as farm labor wages. Income statistics of full time professional women were published in study by the Association of Business and Professional Women. Shows average value of mortgaged homes, average debt remaining on the mortgages and average interest paid on mortgages annually, for 68 cities of 100,000 or more population. Source: BLS, Shows the earnings over different times for both government employees and manual workers in Hamburg. Dresses, dresses (in color), coats, bonnets and coats, hats, shoes, girl's toys. Fearful of the danger, frightened by the blackest darkness he could imagine, and repelled by the coal dust that clung to him like a layer of skin, Washington vowed to get an education and rise out of the coal pits, just as he had risen up from slavery.. As former miner Gary Bentley of Kentucky remarked in a recent New York Times article, Its not going to make a comeback. School and office supplies: Shows the average daily wages Greek workers were receiving in metal mines, lignite mines, smelting and refining plants, and quarries. Covers more than 1,200 cities. Miscellaneous: by OCCUPATION $20.00 per week. 7-8 in: Extensive, 219-page report published in the Bureau of Labor StatisticsBulletin no. Keep your hand upon the dollar, April 26, 1942. Watch the rocks, theyre falling daily, They provided their own equipment and often hired assistants; managers extended credit for supplies like dynamite. Shows the weekly wages of various occupations in Swiss farming as well as the daily wages of day laborers. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review, July 1930. Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), A Novel of Putin's Russia That Got Its Writer Beaten Up, What Should You Read Next? In 1925, motor vehicles were scrapped at an average age of 6.5 years. The correct use of explosives depended on the miners skill and knowledge of how to drill, how much powder to use, and how to damp a charge properly. Source: U.S. Dept of Agriculture. Tells cost of public transportation and railway fares as well. Wages are shown in French francs. Wages are shown in Japanese yen. It was usually undertaken by women, and sometimes children. Source: Report of the Salary survey commission to the Pennsylvania General assembly, 1929. You are viewing the article: how much did coal miners get paid in the 1950s at Cheraghdaily.org. After the top fell, they returned to break and load the fallen coal before another layer of the top came crashing down with a tremendous roar. This table covers pages 357-360 in this source. Between 1880 and 1920, southern West Virginias population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to the coal industry. Source: Covers elementary schools and junior high schools in American cities with populations of 2,500 or more. Source: BLS, Shows the average daily wages for various occupations in 6 different industries in Japan. Fixtures, chamberpots, bathroom soaps, towels, toilet paper. Manufacturing wages -- SEE box further below. Managers concentrated on business decisions, such as arranging transportation and selling their product. Source: Shows the daily or monthly wages of 13 occupations in the treaty port. Wages shown in 1930 US dollars. Lists the price of bricks, flooring, framing lumber, rough boards, Portland cement, roofing material, house paint and more. In 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency commissioned photojournalist Jack Corn to document the plight of the American coal miner in Appalachia. A standard tune in miners lore began with lyric, Youve been docked and docked again, boys / Youve been loading two for one, and asked what the miner had to show for working so hard. Unskilled labor hired by cities for construction, repair or cleaning of streets. along with the country of origin, value in that country, transportation charges, duty charges and retail price in the U.S. Includes a photo of most items. Miners spent their entire shift underground, taking lunch, drinks, and snacks with them. Sporting goods: Shows the average weekly earnings by industry and occupation. Wages are shown in contemporary US dollars. asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT as 89W detailed information as may be readily available showing the numbers and groupings of employees in the coal mines working at the surface and face, respectively, whose basic rates of pay on 1st November 1973 were below the national average wage of 42 per week ; and how far . During the first three decades of the 20th century, African Americans comprised about 25 percent of all southern West Virginia miners. Shows average wages (with and without board) by province. Source: BLS. Source: Describes the labor policy of Australia in the 1920's and throughout the rest of the early 20th century. The strike was officially called to a halt on March the 3rd 1985. Source: 1930 Census of Agriculture. Still he ventures to be brave. Source: For each college, this table shows tuition for residents and non-residents by course of study. Using a thin iron needle about the thickness of a pencil, he shoved a cartridge of black powder into the hole and pushed a little clay into the hole with a damper; then he carefullywithdrew the needle and inserted a wick of waxed paper, a squib, that would burn down to the black powder. Since money wage rates of foreign countries have little meaning for economists in America, only the real wage rates are given.", Shows the average hourly and weekly wages of various occupations for both skilled and unskilled laborers. Shows the hourly, daily, and biannual earnings of different occupations in the Missouri coal industry between 1890-1922. Shows data for Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroitand otheradditional cities on pages5-9. House paints, paint brushes, doors & windows, wrench sets, home improvement tools, steel safes, fencing, garden tools, wrenches & other assorted tools, water pumps, plows, milk cans, gasoline-powered generators. Source: Shows the earnings per hour and week for sawmill workers over a 20 year period. 613. Covers occupations in the building trades, metal trades, printing trades, coal mining and more. Immigrants in southern West Virginia comprised some 25 nationalities, including Italians, Hungarians, Poles, Austrians and Russians. This source lists actual salaries paid to administrators in various lines of business. Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission report. Source: One-page table shows 80 years of average retail prices for bread, milk, eggs and other common food items. Source: Lists prices of typical food items, housing expenses, clothing, fuel, light and more. Former Timeline picture editor. U.S. coal mining employment change by state Q4 2011-Q4 2016 ; Wages are shown in Mexican pesos. Source: BLS, Shows the average wages for an 8 hour work day in Riga within various industry groups. When young Frank Keeney walked through a mine portal in 1892, perhaps an older miner, maybe a neighbor, offered him some words of consolation or, at least, instruction as they traveled in and outof the mine on what was known as a man trip. Or he might have heard some words of warning from the older boys who led the mules and coal cars back and forth through the door he tended. Wages are shown in yen. And your eye upon the scale! This booklet shows prices for hotels and amenities such astelephone, restaurant meals,haircuts, bath house, etc. TRANSPORTATION See table 164 for average annual wage. A strong, skilled coal loader might fill five or more cars in a day. Link navigates to a record containing multiple years worth of this publication. Tomorrow night at 9pm PBSs American Experience will broadcast The Mine Wars, based on the book. He later recalled his terror at being lost in a maze of underground rooms when his lamp went out. From the Newcomb-Endicott store, Detroit, Michigan. Coal Miners Between 1880 and 1920, southern West Virginia's population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to the coal industry. Time became important to managers as they changed their labor model. Aboveground, many miners suffered at the hands of the company men who short-weighed tonnage a man had loaded or docked his pay because slate was found mixed in with the coal. Covers Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. "A good hotel room costs only $4-5 per day while a hospital charges $6 and $7." Shows average annual expenditure for food, rent, clothing, and medical care per family member. Bathroom: The struggle between workers and managers in the workplace played out vividly in the Pennsylvania coal mines. Wages are shown in pounds, shillings, and pence. Source: Median wages for butlers, chauffeurs, gardeners, furnace men and "house men" employed to work in private households in Philadelphia in the late 1920s. The mine operators assumed that if they paid a worker according to the number of tons he loaded, they would foster a competitive climate underground; and in a sense, the tonnage system worked this way. Here Are the Best Reviewed Books of the Month. Shows wages for common and semi-skilled workers in manufacturing and construction industries, in baking, agriculture, metal and printing trades. over the years. Compensationby job titlefor New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco and more cities. After the Civil War, industrialization meant a nearly limitless demand for anthracite and bituminous coal, and hundreds of thousands of new jobs spurred a population boom in the region, which stretches from western New York state to Alabama. The workday ended at 5:30 in the evening when the sunlight had already faded over the mountains. 297. In the US, coal mining is a shrinking industry. ), carriages, cribs, high chairs, etc. Source: BLS Monthly labor review, Apr 1926, Shows the average retail prices of various foodstuffs throughout Switzerland. Montgomery Ward catalog shows prices of radios and radio supplies on 60+ pages. Source: BLS, Shows wages of various industrial and agricultural gender, in both Romanian leu and contemporary U.S. dollars. Mr. Wages are shown in 1930 US dollars. Part of a section on Negro women's wages. Safety sign in eight languages, about 1910. Source: BLS, Shows the wage scale for various occupations for Japanese and Chinese workers in Dairen. In 1900 almost 2 percent of Americans were coal miners. Covers the states of NH, VT, MA, CT, KY, SC, AL, MO, KS, IA and OH. The carpenters, mechanics, mule skinners, and other mine employees, who enjoyed no such latitude, were known by pit-face miners as company men. By contrast, the pit-face miners saw themselves as autonomous workmen who labored for themselves as well as for the company. Source: BLS Source: BLS, See fairly comprehensive coverage of this topic in Appendix 23, "Charges for various kinds of medical services" in, Fee schedules established by the Ohio State Medical Association for. In West Virginia, where mineswere cut near the mountaintops, the overburden was looser and more prone to collapse than in the deeper shaft mines of the North. Source: BLS. Use the following hyperlinks to see values for AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY. This answer is: Study guides. Lists single-unit prices for barbital, benzoyl peroxide, benzocaine, aspirin, quinoline, and more, showing proprietary and coined drug names. Literary giants have thoughts on the new edits to Roald Dahl's works. Source: U.S. BLS Bulletin, no. Source: Click "more" for direct links to each occupation. See list of the most common occupations for women in 1910 and 1920 (source: Census Bureau). Wages are shown in both Francs and contemporary US dollars. by RACE Also shows the averagecost to rent farm landor pastures by the acre, by county. Table shows average tax by acre for each state in 1929. 285, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. By 2003 that number had dipped to just 70,000. Shows the average daily wages paid to masons, electricians, bricklayers, bakers, blacksmiths and more. Cabinets and cookware. Check the, Shows the daily rate of Utah coal mining workers in a variety of jobs and occupations. Shows the average daily wages of Japanese and Chinese workers in various occupations for the South Manchuria Railway Co. Wages are shown in both contemporary yen and US dollars. Source: Extensive article provides wage detail by occupation and city. Includes a table showing. Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson is back. It also summarizes the years from 1907-1922. Wages are listed in Mexican currency with exchange rate for calculating amounts in U.S. dollars. Shows brand names. Believed to be the worst coal mine disaster ever, an explosion at the Bnxh mine in Liaoning province killed 1,549 people in 1942. Green miners like Frank Keeney also learned that surviving underground required men to depend upon each other and to honor the wisdom of the most experienced men. Click for more info about the kind of home a family earning less than $2,500 annually could buy in 1928. Source: Hotel rates can often be found within the advertisements throughout the pages of the. FromTHE DEVIL HERE IN THESE HILLS(Atlantic Monthly Press), now out in paperback. About half of the surveyed penal institutions gave prisoners some compensation, based on its use as incentive toward good work and better behavior, and to provide the convict with a small way to provide for his family. Lists annual pay for individuals occupying administrative and supervisory positions in the executive and judicial branches. When a miner and his helper approached the entry to their room, danger lurked in almost every move they made. Under these terms, a hard worker could earn $2.00 for ten to twelve hours of labor, if the work was steady. Source: BLS, Shows the average retail prices of food, clothing, and fuel prices in Shanghai. Under these terms, a hard worker could earn $2.00 for ten to twelve hours of labor, if the work was steady. Children's: . The need to correct these abuses led the UMWA to demand the employment of a check-weigh man whom the miners could trust. Table 41 in this source shows the average salary for all teachers in elementary and secondary schools in New York state, not including NYC. This was the world Frank Keeney entered as a boy. Shows salaries for teachers ofkindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school, vocational school, college, and normal schools (teacher training academies). Separate listings forinspectors, police superintendents, captains, sergeants, privates, etc. From, Average monthly wages by state,with and without board. HOUSING, FARMS and UTILITIES Wages shows in 1930 US dollars. Wages are shown in Austrian kronen. University of Missouri, Columbia As a rule he is paid so much per car, and a definite number of cars constitute a day's workthe number varying in different minesaveraging from five to seven, equaling from twelve to fifteen tons of coal. Heed no operators tale! With industrialization, workers lost control of when to start, eat, and end their day. Shows the standard wages for different shift at ports in Antwerp, Belgium. Source: Bulletin #269 of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, "Farm Family Living Among White Owner and Tenant Operators in Wake County," pages 24-28. Wages are shown in Spanish pesetas. Includes breakouts for adults and. Others opened large wooden doors just before speeding cars passed through. Describes the labor policy of Great Britain in the 1920's and throughout the rest of the early 20th century. In West Virginia's colliers, miners were paid 49 cents per ton of clean coal, compared with 76 cents in the unionized mines of Ohio. Sometimes they hired guards or brought in government troops to maintain order and control strikers. Shows the "living wage" per week for different metropolitan areas of Australia. Survey covered only white families over a certain. Source: BLS. Wages are shown in Czech krone. The craftiness and deftness of the best colliers was most evident when they performed the riskiest task of all. "In this region, I presume that a fee of $200 would be a pretty fair estimate of the surgeon's charge for operation and the after-treatment there would be between the operation and the death of the patient." The miners dressed in overalls, or bank clothes, for working the coal banks and wore cloth caps fitted with small oil lamps that lit their way in the tunnels. Source: Shows pay for state carpenters, stage electricians, props men, show directors, agents, ushers and more. Shows data for unskilled male laborers in each of 13 industries, as well as an overall average. 8836. Source: BLS. Shows average dollar amount spent annually in categories such as food, clothing, maintenance of health, personal goods, furniture and more. Source: BLS, Shows the cost of foodstuffs, clothing, and other necessities in Hungary. This series of tables shows the wage distribution and average weekly wages of a variety of industries and occupations in Missouri in 1921. An experienced miner would often work calmly under conditions that would terrify a novice, wrote a veteran of the bituminous mines. 45-57. NOTE: Forhouseholdincome data for 1929, we recommend a1934 Brookings Institution report titled America's Capacity to Consume. Wiki User. Report published in 1923 tells wages by race and by industry. Under other circumstances, mine tops fell without warning. Wages are shown in both Italian lire and contemporary U.S. dollars. More passenger air fares from other sources: Household items: No. Three decades earlier a boy about the same agea newly emancipated slavehad worked in the same minefield. A trapper like Frank had to pay close attention to his duties, opening and closing the doors regularly to keep the air moving and to allow coal cars to pass back and forth. Tables are broken down by type of job, gender of employee, and geography. Wages shown in litas, and US dollars in parentheses. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), The American Twins, Harpers Weekly, 1874, African American History Curatorial Collective. Industrial home work was most common in clothing manufacturing and tobacco industries (rolling cigars, etc.) Trump blames his predecessors environmentalism for the loss of jobs in Appalachia, but the reality is a long-running product of market forces, not liberal tree-hugging. Miners would lie on their backs and use a pick to undercut the coal. Source: BLS, Shows the average wage rates for 19 different occupations in Hamburg, Germany. Source: U.S. BLS. Shows police department salaries for cities over 100,000 population. All of these mines included a main entry, or portal, and a second tunnel, or monkey drift, which provided workers with ventilationa barely adequate suction through a surface grate created by a coal fire that burned all day. Issues of Telephone engineer & management detail rates for telephone service in many states. Links to government documents and primary sources listing retail prices for products and services, as well as wages for common occupations.