Bobby Kidd was a coal miner during the 1976-1978 Blue Diamond Mine Coal Strike. While working for Blue Diamond he worked as a roof bolter inside the mine. In this interview Kidd discusses the safety violations that occurred in the mine and management's inability to handle the safety complaints made by the miners. He also talks about why the miners…
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…
Randell Hines was a striking coal miner during the 1976-1979 Blue Diamond Coal Strike. He worked many different jobs within the mine and said he worked in the conventional sections with different types machinery. In this interview Randell discusses the differences in safety between the Blue Diamond Coal Company mines and the Peabody Coal Company…
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…
Bill Reynolds was a coal miner at the Blue Diamond Coal Company mine in McCreary County, Kentucky. He was one of many miners who joined the Blue Diamond Coal Strike from June 1976 to May 1979. In this interview Reynolds discusses how the coal miners of the Blue Diamond mine went on strike as a result of the miners demanding better representation…
