Frank T. Thomas was the executive vice president of the Stearns Mine during the 1976-1979 Blue Diamond Coal Strike. In this interview Thomas discusses how he came to work first for Stearns Mining Company and then Blue Diamond Coal Company. He tells how Blue Diamond purchased Stearns, how he viewed both Blue Diamond and Stearns, as well as the…
Joe E. Jones was a coal miner during the 1976-1979 Blue Diamond Coal Strike. Jones worked at the Blue Diamond Coal Company Mine for two to three years, and he describes his job as repairing and retrieving parts for broken machinery in the mine. In this interview Jones describes some of the safety issues within the mine, how managers within the…
James Douglass was a coal miner during the 1976-1979 Blue Diamond Coal strike. Before the strike he worked as a coal loader and a drill runner from the time he was 18 years old. In this interview Douglass discusses the main safety issues within the mine, the mistreatment miners received from company managers, the issues the miners had with the…
