Today in labor history: Miners’ National Association forms

On October 11, 1873, the Miners’ National Association formed in Youngstown, Ohio. Headed by president John Siney, it sought to unite all miners as workers in a single industrial union, regardless of skill level or ethnicity. This was the same forward-thinking idea that was later used in forming the United Mine Workers in 1890.

The push for the union’s formation came from prominent miners from Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. It became a powerful and influential organization: the union eventually had 35,354 members.

Photo: Union president John Siney. Workday Minnesota