◆ SpookStack

C rs Re: JOHN L. LEIS, ET AL, rey a refused to pay the back pay to April 1, which was pro- pably talso a reasmfor the strike. The officials of esas " P.Heiae acted only with the authority of a referendum vote of the menbers, and the mombers had faith in the lead- ership of the P.Iiu. officers, and knew they could get as good a wage scale as the U.47.. could. "{, short time after the strike started, I signed a petition for the P.lna.. The purpose was to find out how many men were in favor of the P.%.i., to show to Elshoff, and perhaps to send to Washington. I signed this petition because I wanted to, and no one made ne sign it. I heard that a U.MLW. local was begun in the summor of 1937, because I heard of some mer ywno had been asked to join it. No one asked ne to join, "In the fall of 1937, I saw a noti pap was going to epen up. JI went out to the minc the day it was to open, but vhon we got there, Faleetti came out to talk to us. He said that no one could go dmm into the mine wmless he belonged to the Uti... He said this next to the shaft, whore we were waiting to go dom. I had heard from sone of the men that Elshoff had signed a contract with the U.N."., but T didn't know anything more about it. The first day about ten or twelve mcn went down, all U.M.V. sympathisors. I don't know who they were. Om the second day, no one went dow, The management wouldn't lct any P.M. L- nen go dom. Falcetti didn't show up at the tipple that day. Latour that day, I saw Faleetti in the office with Plotch, Schrelevious, Trtout, Cartcr, uustin, Bohannon, Hale the Jacaways, jlbanese, and Pasquale, They were in the office for two or three hours, and didn't try to go dmm into the mine. ifter the UI’. mon left the mine, and wont hone, the P.In’. men began to picket ‘the mincs I vent on the picket line to protect mys.if, and my job, because I wanted to. No one madc m. I didn't sce any men on the picket lane who weren't ‘fine 3 ricn. . ec in the paper that the fy + Mea ut oes 2 oO a ine "In December of 1937, I voted for P.M.£. at the election be- cause I wanted that umion., Iwent of my ow accord, and voted the way I wanted to, Wo one told me how to votc. ‘Jo onc contacted me about join- ing the U.%.'. before going vack to work in November 1939. "In Novenber of 1939, I rot a notice by mail thet the ninc was poing to open up. Hy namc was put on the waiting List wntil ny room was ready, and J wont back to work at Nine B about a nonth latcr. "In the summur of 1940, Bohannon and Joc “lbanese came to my house one day and asked me why I didn't sign up with the U.M.". so the Ui. could get the contract with Mine B, They didn't threaton me, and I told them I didn't want to join up with UM... On the day before Labor Day, 1940, Bohannon and Sirtout canc to my. house again, I wasn't home, but they told my wife that she should gct me to join the U.1.™. or get out of the mine. They cursed m to my wife and said ‘Get him out of Mine B or wetlL get rid of hin,! —— on « 45 « —