John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)
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John Mitchell (1870 - 1919) was a famous United States labor leader, and was president of the United Mine Workers from 1898 to 1908.
John Mitchell was born in 1870 in Illinois, a second generation Irish immigrant. He became an orphan when he was only six years old, and began working at that age to support his family. He worked in the coal mines his whole life. When he was nineteen years old, he joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), formed earlier that year. He quickly rose to be a leader in the union.
One of Mitchell's earliest challenges in the UMWA was to help incorporate new workers from various ethnicities into the union. There were numerous language barriers, as well as cultural biases and outright prejudice to be overcome. His success in this area helped him become vice-president in 1897, and president one year later.
Labor activity was notoriously dangerous at the time. Just before Mitchell begame president, the Lattimer Massacre had seen 19 miners killed by police. But this was also a period of growth for the union: the number of members grew almost ten-fold, from 34,000 to 300,000, during Mitchell's term. Mitchell engaged in contentious negotiations with mining companies, including one in which President Theodore Roosevelt had to intervene, resulting in an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage.
John Mitchell is also the name of a United States Attorney General and Watergate conspirator.