Newsreel, 4 minutes
A strike in the coal industry during World War II leads to government intervention. After the war, another strike creates a pension fund. This video, made by the the United Mine Workers union UMW), features the union president, John L. Lewis, including congressional testimony. You can spot a brief shot of Congressman Richard Nixon at one point. Coal was a key industry in this era, supplying steel mills, railroad locomotives, electrical generators, and homes for heating.