During 1902 the essential instability of the arrangement led to sharp
friction. The miners claimed that many operators violated the unwritten
agreement. The operators, on their part, charged that the union was
using every means for practically enforcing the closed shop, which was
not granted in the understanding. In the early months of 1902 the miners
presented demands for a reduction of the hours of labor from 10 to 9,
for a twenty percent increase in wages, for payment according to the
weight of coal mined, and for the recognition of the union. The
operators refused to negotiate, and on May 9 the famous anthracite
strike of 1902 began.
It is unnecessary to detail the events of the anthracite strike. No
other strike is better known and remembered. More than 150,000 miners
stood out for approximately five months. The strike was financed by a
levy of one dollar per week upon all employed miners in the country,
which yielded over $2,000,000. In addition several hundred thousand
dollars came in from other trade unions and from the public generally.
In October, when the country was facing a most serious coal famine,
President Roosevelt took a hand.
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