In honor of Labor Day Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin describes the conditions of coal miners in the 1910s. Everything in town was controlled by the company and the worker never made enough money to pay for his housing, clothing, food, and tools for himself and family. The result was he could only go into debt to the company and essentially become a slave. This resulted in riots, attempts at union organizing, and the West Virginia Mine War and its Battle of Blair Mountain.
According to Burroway, Labor Day is to honor the labor union.
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