The [[Coal strike of 1902]] was a strike by the [[United Mine Workers of America]] in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities.<ref> Most homes and apartments were heated with anthracite or "hard" coal because it had higher heat value and less smoke than "soft" or bituminous coal.</ref> Roosevelt jumped in, and personally negoatiated with the mine leaders and financiers. Acting as a neutral party, he set up a fact-finding commission that suspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received more pay for fewer hours; the owners got a higher price for coal but did not recognize the union as a bargaining agent. It was the first labor episode in which the federal government intervened as a neutral arbitrator and it made Roosevelt's reputation as a peacemaker. | The [[Coal strike of 1902]] was a strike by the [[United Mine Workers of America]] in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities.<ref> Most homes and apartments were heated with anthracite or "hard" coal because it had higher heat value and less smoke than "soft" or bituminous coal.</ref> Roosevelt jumped in, and personally negoatiated with the mine leaders and financiers. Acting as a neutral party, he set up a fact-finding commission that suspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received more pay for fewer hours; the owners got a higher price for coal but did not recognize the union as a bargaining agent. It was the first labor episode in which the federal government intervened as a neutral arbitrator and it made Roosevelt's reputation as a peacemaker. |