Post by Logico on Aug 19, 2011 18:35:48 GMT -5
With the the broad assault on public sector workers and now private sector workers (as evidenced by Verizon's strike), there's a lot to be talked about when it comes to this age of austerity. However, some of the poorest of the poor in America (Appalachia) are still being attacked 90 years after some of the bloodiest battles with coal company goons and police. Now not only are they attempting to erase the history of some of the biggest worker uprisings in American history but they're attempting to destroy the very communities that fought back decades ago with mountain-top removal mining.
As if the cultural amnesia of workers struggle in this country isn't bad enough, it seems as if coal companies want to erase all physical evidence of what happened when they came into some of the poorest communities in America to exploit and literally kill workers when they wanted to unionize to better some of the worst working conditions in the country. This area continues to have counties with the lowest income and literacy rates in the country, and worse than some third world nations.
But now people are rising up again calling it the second battle of Blair Mountain. The mining struggles are unfortunately struggles that even dedicated leftists tend to ignore, let alone mainstream America (perhaps because of the traditional conservatism and racism in the area?). I can't find anything about this ongoing struggle in the socialist worker. Why not? We're not just talking about an attack on workers rights but the destruction of communities.
youtu.be/YQWTGtJwbw8
Here is a rare CNN piece, www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/13/blair.mountain.history/index.html?hpt=us_bn1
As if the cultural amnesia of workers struggle in this country isn't bad enough, it seems as if coal companies want to erase all physical evidence of what happened when they came into some of the poorest communities in America to exploit and literally kill workers when they wanted to unionize to better some of the worst working conditions in the country. This area continues to have counties with the lowest income and literacy rates in the country, and worse than some third world nations.
But now people are rising up again calling it the second battle of Blair Mountain. The mining struggles are unfortunately struggles that even dedicated leftists tend to ignore, let alone mainstream America (perhaps because of the traditional conservatism and racism in the area?). I can't find anything about this ongoing struggle in the socialist worker. Why not? We're not just talking about an attack on workers rights but the destruction of communities.
youtu.be/YQWTGtJwbw8
Here is a rare CNN piece, www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/13/blair.mountain.history/index.html?hpt=us_bn1