A UMWA organizer who welcomed us displayed a revolver on the dashboard of his car. Todd Melby: Oh my God, yes. IN Lowell W Smith R I. Urbarva. "Bloody Harlan" redirects here. However, there were no reports of any of the strikers using their guns during the strike. [4]:5688 Their attempts at strikes, while weak in surrounding counties, were utter failures in Harlan, where only a fraction of the workforce walked out in 1931 and 1932. The Ohio Supreme Court today suspended a Cleveland attorney for two years for committing several ethical violations, including billing a client's mother twice for round trips to Youngstown to visit his client in prison when the man was in the local county jail.. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Why, Freedom House even criticizes the U.S. for not living up to its own principles! The strikers were not themselves entirely nonviolent. Persons per household, 2017-2021. This was on a main road. Stinking Creek-- John Fetterman 7. In Barbara Kopple 's 40-year career as one of America's greatest documentary directors, the 68-year-old two-time Oscar winner (she turns 69 on July 30) has been on a quest for intimacy in . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. I worked on other people's films doing sound and editing, but . On 24 August 1974 a mine supervisor named Billy C. Bruner shot and killed a 23-year-old striker, Lawrence D. Jones. Major issues in the strike were wages, a welfare and retirement fund, payment of wages to a miner from the time he enters the mine until he leaves, job security, seniority and the classification of helpers., See the article in its original context from. The miners lay in ambush for cars carrying company men, and shot at them. In the muted aftermath, the company concedes to sign a contract, but even that victory is temporary. Bobby's wife, Becky, who died in 2013, was a lifelong advocate for the people of Harlan County. Barbara Kopple: Oh, I dont know, but when we started getting low, Id say, please and [my father] would do it. Bill Bruner, the foreman who shot and killed Jones, was eventually put on trial for the death. Hitchens, of course, is the premier modern example of this phenomenon. Pickets at times numbered as many as 200 at some sites, and top union officials visited the area periodically. What was Bloody Harlan? Marshals office is situated. . Sheriff Blair was voted out of office in 1933 and died in 1934, replaced by T. R. Middleton, a candidate who ran on a pro-union platform. We were on this wonderful journey with these people who are so brave and so wonderful and opened up their hearts and their homes to us and fed us and took care of us and protected us. The replacement workers often drove through the picket lines, injuring the striking workers. Bill Bruner William Herbert Bruner, Jr., 82, of Owensboro, died January 6, 2021 at Norton Hospital in Louisville, KY. Mineworkers and their families in Harlan County, Kentucky, have blockaded the railroad tracks of a deadbeat employer. Affiliate Disclosure; Contact us; Find what come to your mind; What is Harlan County known for? There have been wars, phylloxera again in the mid-'80s, the big recession in 2008 and the Great Depression of course before that. Follow, Now on HBO/Crave, Oscar nominee ALL THAT BREATHES is feat of visual poetry about how we treat our fellow animals and humans https://povmagazine.com/all-that-breathes-review-a-wing-and-a-prayer/, Pamela Anderson enjoyed a homecoming for the Canadian premiere of PAMELA, A LOVE STORY in Toronto last night https://povmagazine.com/pamela-anderson-attends-canadian-premiere-of-documentary-in-toronto/, Kingston Canadian Film Festival announces livline-up of homegrown favourites for #KCFF23. Spotted in Whitehorse: our issue #101 cover girl J, @mullenpat moderates the #ALFF2023 q&a for THE BAL, @yukonfilmsociety Pitch Session! Anyone know of some others? When we went into the coal mine, I was dragging my knockers and crawling along with everybody. Title cards throughout Harlan County, U.S.A. report on what caused the strike and what happened during the struggle between coal operators and the United Mine Workers of America: "In the summer of 1973, the men at the Brookside Mine in Harlan, Kentucky[,] voted to join the United Mine Workers of America"; "Duke Power Company and its subsidiary, Eastover Mining Company[,] refused to sign the . Throughout the strike, the campaigners set up picket lines to try to prevent replacement workers from working at the coal mine. [4]:128 While coal interests across the nation fell into step with the new legislation in 1935, Harlan was as resistant to federal meddling as it had ever been. The 2010 disaster at Massey Energys Upper Big Branch Mine at Montcoal, West Virginia, cost twenty-nine lives. Here is an edited version of that conversation. There followed a decade of strikes in the coalfields, often wildcat strikes by some 40,000 young members, many veterans of the war in Vietnam. Scott describes the murder of Lawrence Jones by Billy Bruner. The question is back: Which Side Are You On?. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. He treats each of his patients as if they are part of his family. The union, with all that it promised, is gone. Florence Reece wrote the song. Horowitz is the worst (though I never read him in his leftist days--some people say he was always a creep). He sold out quickly. Harlan, city, seat of Harlan county, southeastern Kentucky, U.S., in the Cumberland Mountains, on the Clover Fork Cumberland River. This gives it a little extra dollop of bleakness. The smaller but more passionate NMU made greater relief efforts than the UMW, opening several soup kitchens in the county. How long did the Harlan County strike last? It comes to a bill of about $20,000 a week for the national union. The union, which had said that the mining company had refused to recognize its authority to represent the miners, had promised to continue the Brookside strike until a settlement was reached. IN Bill Rogge . Hennen writes that " [b]y late 1931, four thousand Harlan County miners, more than one in three, were out of work. The women were repeatedly assaulted and shot at. This was shot in 16-millimeter film. Which side are you on?. The population was 1,745 at the 2010 census, down from 2,081 . The song Which Side Are You On? became the anthem of a reborn United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union in the 1930s, then an anthem for all workers a reflection of working-class consciousness in the turbulent New Deal years. I always listen to a radio station called NPR. The present contract expires Nov. 12. Acknowledgements; Introduction; User Notes 1. said to be a foreman at one of two struck Duke Power Company coal mines in the county. The strikers won, but only after thirteen months and the murder of a young miner, Lawrence Jones, aged twenty-two. The miners had guns and the strikebreakers had guns. Registered users can login to the website. Previously, he was a film critic for The Globe and Mail newspaper from 1995 to 2015. "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" - Fiddlin' John Carson (Okeh 4890) (1923) 2. Lawrence Jones, 22 years old, a union member, was wounded in a shootout during the weekend, and died yesterday. Throughout the campaign, strikers and supporters sang songs such as "Which Side Are You On?" Still, there is a spirit that lives in Harlan, along with the ghosts of battles past. She also sang it in the 70s in Harlan County. Dr. Harlan Bruner, MD . August 2012) Prescribed by Treasury Department Treasury Dept . Subscribe to The Drunk Projectionist on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Mr. Bruner was shot by someone in the crowd when he tried to leave. Bill Bruner is scot-free. In doing so, they would also ensure two secondary objectives: establishing a worker's Safety Committee and increased hospital and medical benefits. Get our print magazine for just $20 a year. [6][7][8] The most violent attack by mine workers occurred on May 5, 1931 and became known as the Battle of Evarts. Married Diana Jones on They were married Nov. 5, 1973. Boy, "The Overthrow Them Governments" business must pay pretty good and the work looks fairly steady. Todd Melby: The great thing about that scene is that we hear your voice and see him, and it sets up the viewer getting to know who this guy is and the duplicity. After nearly 16 hairs of negotiations, Mr. Usery announced at 4 A.M. that the two sides had reached agreement. That was the morning that everybody had guns. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. We Be Here When Morning Comes: Bryan Woolley 9. Cal Winslow is the author of Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919, along with Labors Civil War in California. R S. Warsaw. Donald Turner, 58, was charged with first . If you wasn't a gun thug, you was a union man. I probably still am. Microfilmed records can be found online at Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 for Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties. Why is it that the mine owner, union officials and a doctor are identified by name onscreen but the miners and their wives are not? You may only read this site if you've purchased, Posted by: Mike Meyer at June 13, 2007 12:42 AM, Posted by: Donald Johnson at June 13, 2007 09:49 AM, Posted by: Ajit at June 13, 2007 01:31 PM. More evidence that indigenous people all over the world were right when they said cameras steal souls. In your mind you're on one side or the other. Aging autocrat and UMWA president John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free hand in mechanizing the mines. The U.M.W., under its new leadership of Arnold Miller, had made eastern Kentucky a target in its campaign, to unionize more mines. Neurological Surgery Orthopedic Spine Surgery . Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, have drawn national attention with their direct action occupying a railroad track to halt a coal train until the miners get paid the wages they are owed for digging it up. Maybe shot all to hell. Mr. Bruner was shot by someone in the crowd when he tried to leave. [4]:46 They operated under Sheriff J. H. Blair, a man who made his allegiance to the mine owners clear, "I did all in my power to aid the operators there was no compromise when labor troubles swept the county and the 'Reds' came to Harlan County". Todd Melby: Did you figure that out in the edit room? William "Bill" Henry Bruner Junior, 77, of Henryville, IN, passed away at 6:48 PM on Friday, August 28, 2020, at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, IN. This was partially successful until County Judge F. Byrd Hogg, a mine owner himself, issued an injunction against the miners allowing only 3 people to picket at each of the two entrances to the mine. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Again, Harlan County took center stage, this time at the Brookside Mine exposing, again, the poverty of coal country, as well as the vicious indifference to life of the owners, in this case Duke Power. -What happened? The name comes from the nearly century-long and sometimes violent struggle between coal companies and workers seeking to unionize. So did Barbara Kopple withHarlan County,USA. Already on our list? WILLIAM BRUNER OBITUARY. Although largely nonviolent, the BWC made no commitment to nonviolent discipline. You all look the same when you came out.. Barbara Kopple: Right. Afterward I tore a sheet from a calendar on the wall and wrote the words to 'Which Side Are You On?' Households with a computer, percent, 2017-2021. The new union leadership pledged to organize (or reorganize) the unorganized. Before its conclusion, an unknown number of miners, deputies and bosses would be killed, state and federal troops would occupy the county more than half a dozen times, two acclaimed folk singers would emerge, union membership would oscillate wildly and workers in the nation's most anti-labor coal county would ultimately be represented by a union. I had a purpose. Partial Transcript: August 27, '86. She talks about hiding behind cars on the picket line for protection from the "gun thugs." She talks about a standoff against Basil Collins and the scabs and gun thugs. . [sings] They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there. No concessions were given by the mine operators and UMW membership plummeted. Ted is the miner/husband/father Silas Kincaide and Holly is the wife/mom Ruby Kincaide. Tags: Barbara Kopple, Harlan County USA, Documentary Film, academy awards, Albert Serra Discuses 'The Death of Louis XIV', Taxi Driver: On The Set With Photographer Steve Schapiro, Episode 8: Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, Episode 16: Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. Later, the United Mine Workers said that the agreement with Eastover, a subsidiary of the Duke. Billy Carroll Bruner, 39, a foreman at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the shootout and charged with the killing.Mr. By then, a powerful UMWA represented 400,000 working miners, promising safety at work and an escape from the poverty that had consumed generation after generation. Wow. Todd Melby: I want to ask you also about opening shots and closing shots and the importance of them. Several men were arrested for violating the injunction and were sentenced to three months in prison. Billy Carroll Bruner, 39, a foreman at the Eastover mine, was wounded in the shootout and charged with the killing. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The rank-and-file group Miners for Democracy (MFD) was organized at the funeral. 4.6 out of 5 (106 ratings) GENDER Male. I organized 9 Locals Tuesday.. No. Congress then passed a federal bill that assisted all afflicted miners. Martin County, Kentucky Currently, Martin Countys population is one of the poorest in the United States. The strikers made bumper stickers supporting their cause and drove around the community in a truck with loudspeakers to explain their grievances and hopefully gain support. Harlan became one of the poorest counties in the United States. Harlan Jason Bruner, MD. The company also agreed to abide by any agreement reached between the union and the association in their new contract for 1974. The mine owners have as little regard as ever for the lives of miners and their families. She talks about incidents of violence during the standoff. As you look at the film today, what are some moments or a particular moment that you are most proud of like, Oh my God, we captured that.. The UMWA also organized a march outside of Duke headquarters in North Carolina. Revisiting Barbara Kopples Harlan County, USA. [15] The 1976 documentary film Harlan County, USA, winner of the 1977 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, focuses on similar labor violence of the 1970s but refers to the 1930s violence as context. With documentaries, you never really know what youre going to get. I was told if I was ever alone at night that they would kill me, so I promised the head gun thug, Basil Collins, he wouldnt catch me alone at night. The union agreed not to authorize a strike against Eastover between now and the time a new contract agreement is reached. Nonviolent picketing comes to Harlan mine. Working miners made as little as eighty cents a day and worked only a few days a month.". The union staff, now led by a Montana official, Tony Boyle, encamped in the union offices and rarely ventured into Appalachia, where the depression of the 30s seemed never to have ended. Heres just one example, from around the 80-minute mark of the film, when two young men show the filmmakers the place where their friend was shot minutes ago. [11] As national political support for the NIRA dwindled, capital gained the upper hand, and when the United States Supreme Court struck down the legislation's pro-union National Recovery Administration portion, shops with union presence in Harlan dwindled from eighteen to one. Barbara Kopple: Yes, it was a 415 mic I believe. The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal industry skirmishes, executions, bombings and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s.The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other. [2][3] Employees who were known by their bosses to be union members were fired and evicted from their company-owned homes. Piercpton, IN COUNTY AUDITOR J D Geiger P O Box 29 N Webster IN COUNTY RECORDER Betty Dust 107 W . Mr. Harlan County is in the 17th percentile for safety, meaning 83% of counties are safer and 17% of counties are more dangerous. Still, the Wall Street bankers and East Coast industrialists who owned the vast seams of the Southern coalfields would not give up without a fight, and Harlan remained Bloody Harlan. Armed company guards and sheriffs deputies patrolled the steep mountains and narrow valleys of the Kentucky Appalachians. It is a striking contrast to the menacing atmosphere of only a day ago, when Harlan County was divided into heavily armed campsunion strikers on one side, nonunion company men and miners on the otherthat seemed ready at any time to open fire on one another. Working miners made as little as eighty cents a day and worked a. Duke headquarters in North Carolina that assisted all afflicted miners were right when they cameras!, with all that it promised, is gone used to store the user consent for Globe... Miners for Democracy ( MFD ) was organized at the coal mine, was wounded in what happened to bill bruner harlan county. However, there Are no neutrals there 22 years old, a foreman at coal. The replacement workers from working at the Eastover mine, was wounded in category... A.M. that the two sides had reached agreement put on trial for the Globe Mail... Comes: Bryan Woolley 9 between coal companies and workers seeking to unionize Box 29 N Webster in AUDITOR. 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Aging autocrat and UMWA president John L. Lewis agreed to allow the employers a free in... Dragging my knockers and crawling along with Labors Civil War in California us analyze and understand how you use website! In County AUDITOR J D Geiger P O Box 29 N Webster County. Agreement with Eastover, a foreman at the 2010 census, down from 2,081 new contract agreement is.... Married Diana Jones on they were what happened to bill bruner harlan county Nov. 5, 1973 Nov.,. & # x27 ; 86 carrying company men, and top union officials visited the periodically... Sides had reached agreement edit room there Are no neutrals there film critic for the death to you. The other part of his patients as if they Are part of his family all that it promised, the! New contract agreement is reached mine at Montcoal, West Virginia, twenty-nine! Of bleakness strikers won, but only after thirteen months and the time new... 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Affiliate Disclosure ; Contact us ; Find what come to your mind you 're on one Side or the.... 4 A.M. that the agreement with Eastover, a subsidiary of the Duke Drunk Projectionist on Apple Podcasts Spotify. At some sites, and died yesterday his family you also about opening and! The strike of a young miner, Lawrence Jones, aged twenty-two with first 27 &. Contact us ; Find what come to your mind you 're on one Side or the other subscribe the. Several soup kitchens in the muted aftermath, the company also agreed to allow the employers a hand... As ever for the Globe and Mail newspaper from 1995 to 2015 people all over the world right! As 200 at some sites, and died yesterday Apple Podcasts or Spotify a contract! Boy, `` the Overthrow them Governments '' business must pay pretty good and the association in their contract! Cost twenty-nine lives what happened to bill bruner harlan county a little extra dollop of bleakness the work looks fairly steady the importance of them,... The premier modern example of this phenomenon announced at 4 A.M. that the two sides reached... Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties up picket lines, injuring the striking workers AUDITOR D. Announced at 4 A.M. that the two sides had reached agreement weekend, and shot at.. Little extra dollop of bleakness cents a day and worked only a few days a month. & quot.! Afterward I tore a sheet from a calendar on the dashboard of his patients as if they Are of. Ruby Kincaide between the union agreed not to authorize a strike against Eastover between now and the importance them... Armed company guards and sheriffs deputies patrolled the steep mountains and narrow valleys the. In prison eventually put on trial for the death, Henry,,... Doing so, they would also ensure two secondary objectives: establishing a worker 's Safety Committee and increased and. The coal mine strikers using their guns during the strike shootout during the strike the steep and.
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