Employee Relations Influenced by the Matewan Strike - Essay Example

Employee relations - Matewan strike Introduction The potentials of individuals to support their rights in the workplace are often limited. In previous decades, these potentials were not even recognized, in many countries worldwide; in this way, any relevant effort would be led to a failure. The Matewan strike, as part of the efforts of miners in USA to secure their right to fair wages, can be characterized as a critical event in the history of labour rights. In Matewan, miners proved that workers are not just units that can be used for promoting the interests of the capital. Moreover, in Matewan it was made clear that the reactions of individuals to social and economic events cannot be standardized. The owners of the coal mines in Matewan would wait that miners in the region would be satisfied with the increase of their wages, meaning that no further action would be taken. The decision of the miners to proceed to the improvement of their living conditions and fight for their dependency verifies the view of Brecher (1997) who noted that ‘in periods of mass strike, workers act outside of institutionally prescribed roles’ (Brecher 1997, p.275). The above issue is discussed in this paper. Emphasis is given on the role of the miners in Matewan in the change of the employment relationship but also in the change of their position as members of a particular society. 2. Matewan Strike - West Virgina 2.1 The Matewan Strike as a critical labour dispute 2.1.1Background of the strike In the beginning of the 20th century, coal mining in West Virginia resulted to significant profits for those involved in the process. In 1911, the production of coal in West Virginia has been estimated to 60,000,000 tons – from just 609,000 tons in 1870 (Lynch 1914, p.626). Initially, the performance of West Virginia has been considered as low – compared the other, northern areas. As a result, the northern areas had the major stake of the exportation of coal internationally. However, gradually, as the production of coal in West Virginia has been increased, the superiority of the northern areas in regard to the export of coal to foreign markets has been eliminated. Despite the difficulties involved in the coal mining in West Virginia – mostly due to the geographic characteristics of the region – it was made clear that West Virginia could be a strong competitor for the international energy market, being able to compete its rivals in the northern areas (Lynch 1914, p.627). In the context of the above competition, in the sector’s Conference held ‘every two years’ (Lynch 1914, p.627), the miners and the coal operators - strong conflicts were developed mostly because of the fear of the coal operators of West Virginia that their market share could be reduced. It was for this reason that the coal operators in West Virginia had repeatedly refused to accept the union in their area. It should be noted that in West Virginia miners were not unionized, at least not officially, in opposition with miners in the northern areas, who were unionized (Lynch 1914, p.627). However, miners in West Virginia wanted to fight for the increase of their wages; even if they were not officially unionized, they were members in a union, which was not recognized by the coal operators in West Virginia. As a result, a series of conflicts developed between the miners and the coal operators on the basis that the latter were refused to meet with the representatives of the former for discussing the increase of wages. A strike, which began in 1902, was the first reaction of the miners to the violation of their rights. The strike was successful only in the Kanawha district. But even in that region, the power of the union over the coal operators was reduced; the crisis was transferred in the Cabin Creek region where the conflict between the coal miners and the coal operators was extremely strong, as reflected in the events of the strike of 1912 in the above area; in the above case, the intervention of the military was considered as necessary. Through the years, the conflicts between the miners and the coal operators become quite strong, resulting to the ‘Matewan massacre’ in 1920. The Matewan massacre can be characterized as the consequence of the Matewan strike, a strike that began in July 1920 and was quite successful; in fact, the above strike led to the increase of wages by 27%. The decision of the miners to establish their own town, in the context of their victory, becoming independent from the companies that controlled coal may be considered as a victory of the miners a victory which was, however, stigmatized by the Matewan massacre in May 1920. 2.1.2 Characteristics of the strike – parties The strike began in July 1920; it was in that year that the miners in Matewan, along with other miners in other regions also, attempted to press the coal operators in their area to accept the increase of their wages. The union, as represented by its president, John L Lewis, achieved a significant victory; the wages of the miners was increased by 27%, a fact that helped miners to feel their power, as members of the society. The United Mine Workers of America, the union that represented miners across USA, has asked the coal operators in the region known as ‘the central field’ to negotiate regarding the level of wages of miners across the specific region. Initially, the discussions were led to a failure, a fact that caused a two-month strike of the miners in the above region. The coal operators accepted the proposal of the union and decided to increase the wages of miners by 27%, a fact that was considered as the miners’ great victory. It should be noted that at Matewan, the coal operators have been negative to a perspective of accepting the proposals of the union. 2.1.3 Key points and demands of the strike At a first level, the strike was based on the demands of miners for the increase of their wages. However, after the initial victory of the union, the miners decided to fight for their independency from the coal companies. The demands of the miners were then transformed, being purely economic at the first level. In fact, miners in Matewan decided to establish their own town, with all facilities and authorities and become independent from the coal companies. The Matewan strike helped the miners to reveal their need for democracy. 2.1.4 Role of the management In 1900s, the fields of the Mingo County, where Matewan belongs, ‘have been occupied by absentee owners’ (Wheeler 1976, p.76). These owners have repeatedly denied negotiating with the union in regard to the wages of miners. Moreover, in Matewan, the coal operators used armed men to secure their rights, ‘the Baldwin-Felts guards’ (Wheeler 1976, p.76), a fact that shows the lack of willingness of the coal operators to communicate with miners, who have been the key factor in the production process, meaning that without the workers, the coal mines would have no value for their operators. 2.1.5 Role of the union The United Mine Workers of America, the union representing the miners, has been highly involved in the sector’s labour issues; it was in 1898 that the union entered, for first time, the specific area (Lynch 1914, p.627). Under the pressure of the above Union, ‘a conference was held every two years’ (Lynch 1914, p.627), as already noted above; during the above Conference miners and operators developed their views on critical issues of the sector. Particular emphasis has been given on ‘the increase of wages, the limitation of work hours and the improvement of the working conditions’ (Lynch 1914, p.627), including health and safety. In the case of the Matewan strike, as part of the strike developed across the so – called ‘central field region’ the role of the Union was significant. It was through the above Union that the increase in the level of wages of miners was achieved. Because of the above victory, miners in Matewan realized their power as members of the society, as this power was reflected, at that time, in their membership in the particular union, being considered as a social institution. 2.2 The Matewan strike evaluated through the literature 2.2.1 The strike as a tool for transformation of the roles of workers and management The strike is considered as a common method for the promotion of the employees’ rights (Gennard and Judge 2005). The terms of strike and the level under which this is acceptable within each society are differentiated in accordance with the local laws and the local social ethics and values (Farnham 2000). This means that strike is not always welcomed or allowed as a tool for promoting changes in the role of workers and the management (Hollinshead et al 2002). In the case under examination, before the strike, the role of miners and management in coal mines across USA has been standardized; the conflicts between the two sides had not resulted to significant changes in terms of the conditions of life or the interests of miners. Through the strike, the role of the above parties has been differentiated. Miners have realized their rights and their power; management, on the other hand, have started to realize that the resistance towards the claims of the miners would not lead to a positive result in terms of the progress of production. In other words, each of the above parties realized its actual position and power within society, even if this fact was made clearer in the long term. As a result, the power of the miners to ask for the recognition of their rights has been increased. The change in the distribution of power between the two parties, as a result of the strike, is reflected in the following fact: because of the strike the wages of miners was increased by 27%, a unique achievement compared to similar efforts up to then. Also, in the context of the strike miners were urged to fight for their social rights in general, as this trend is reflected in their decision to establish their own town. Without the strike and the support of the union, as the supporting social institution, the miners would not have taken such decision. At this point, the following question should be set: what has initiated workers to fight for the change of their role in the employment relationship? In accordance with Brecher (1997) employees try to ensure that ‘at least part of their lives will be independent from employers’ (Brecher 1997, p.282). The above need explains the efforts of miners in Matewan to secure the independency of their lives from the coal operators. 2.2.2 The role of the strike in the transformation of social institutions Social institutions have been traditionally used for promoting specific social interests (Rees and Porter 2008). Their role within each society is not standardized, being able to act more or less independently in accordance with the local legal framework (Lewis et al. 2003). Also, the level at which employees trust social institutions as potential supporters in conflicts between employees and employers is differentiated in each country under the influence of the local social beliefs and culture (Hirsch 2003). However, in the case of Matewan strike, social institutions were given a different role. Indeed, in the above case the union had a crucial role in the achievement of a significant victory of the miners. At the next level, this victory, as explained above, has helped miners to understand their position and their power in society. Thus, union has become the tool for the transformation of the role of miners in the society of that period, since it was only because of the victory of the union that miners in Matewan decided to ask for the recognition of their rights as members of the society and as key participators in the production process. In this context, the Matewan strike set the basis for the transformation of the role of social institutions, from organizations serving in general the social interests, to initiators of radical social changes. 2.2.3 The role of the strike in shaping the employment relationship Employees often use strike in order to achieve specific benefits (Hutt 1973), which, in most cases, are economic ones. In the case of Matewan, the conflict between the miners and the coal operators has changed the employment relationship in the following way: through the strike workers in Matewan realized that they have significant power; they can influence the production process and, thus, they can control the growth of the capital. From this point of view, the Matewan strike helps employees to understand that their position towards the employer can be more powerful that they would initially imagined, meaning especially the role of employees in the development of each organization’s activities. In accordance with Brecher (1997) when ‘strikes seriously disrupt production for a significant period of time, they generally result to the state intervention’ (Brecher 1997, p.280). This phenomenon has been verified in the case of the Matewan strike, where the intervention of the state led to the Matewan massacre, as explained above. However, the above event did not negatively affect the willingness of the miners to continue their effort and to change their role in the society, including the workplace. 3. Conclusion The role of important social events on the form of social and economic relationships is often critical (Mathis and Jackson 2010). This fact has been made clear in the case of Matewan strike. Initially, the strike was developed in order to help employees (the miners) to achieve specific economic benefits, a target common to strikes related to various industries. As proved through the context of the strike, as analyzed above, the potentials of miners to achieve their target could be characterized, at least in the beginning of the strike, as quite limited. However, it was proved that individuals when having the support of social institutions can proceed to significant initiatives for promoting their rights. The Matewan strike also verified the following fact: the relationship between the management and the workers is not static; it can be changed following the social and economic trends of each era, always under the terms that the interests of both parties are equally taken into consideration when having to reach an agreement. References Brecher, J. 1997. Strike! Cambridge South End Press. Farnham, D. 2000. Employee relations in context. London: CIPD Publishing. Gennard, J., and Judge, G. 2005. Employee relations. London: CIPD Publishing. Hirsch, S. 2003. After the strike: a century of labor struggle at Pullman. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. Hollinshead, G., Nicholls, P. and Taliby, S. 2002. Employee relations. Essex: Pearson Education. Hutt, W. 1973. The strike-threat system: The economic consequences of collective bargaining. Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute. Lewis, P., Thornhill, A. and Saunders, M. 2003. Employee relations: understanding the employment relationship. Essex: Pearson Education. Lynch, L. (1914) The West Virginia Coal Strike, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 626-663 Mathis, R., and Jackson, J. 2010. Human Resource Management. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Rees, D., and Porter, C. 2008. The skills of management. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Wheeler, H. (1976) CollegeMountaineer Mine Wars: An Analysis of the West Virginia Mine Wars of 1912-1913 and 1920-1921, The Business History Review, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 69-91 Read More