Mine Owners' Association facts for kids
A Mine Owners' Association (often called an MOA) is a group formed by different mining companies. These groups come together to protect their shared interests and goals. Sometimes they are also called a Mine Operators' Association or a Mine Owners' Protective Association. You might see them named after their location, like the Cripple Creek District Mine Owners' Association.
Mine Owners' Associations often formed to stop workers from creating unions. Unions are groups of workers who join together to ask for better pay, safer conditions, or shorter work hours. MOAs also sometimes dealt with issues related to companies that processed the mined materials (smelters) or transported them (railroads). This was tricky because some mine owners also owned smelters and railroad lines!
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History of Mine Owners' Associations
Before the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was formed, local worker groups didn't pose a big challenge to mine owners. If miners asked for better conditions or more pay, they were often fired. Local unions were easily shut down.
During a strike in Leadville, Colorado in 1896-1897, mine owners secretly agreed not to work with the union. This agreement was later discovered by the Colorado government.
Mine owners in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho went a step further in the 1880s and formed their own Mine Owners' Association. A big fight between miners and mining companies in Coeur d'Alene in 1892 led to the creation of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in 1893. The WFM became a very strong union for miners.
Mining companies in Colorado also joined together during worker struggles, like the Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 and the Colorado Labor Wars in 1903. In places like Cripple Creek, mining companies that tried to make deals with unions were sometimes forced to close by military action.
By the late 1890s and early 1900s, Mine Owners' Associations were common across the western United States.
Colorado Mining Groups
The Colorado Mining Association (CMA) started in 1876 and is still active today.
In 1902, several mine operators in Colorado, including Arthur L. Collins, helped create the Colorado Mine Operators' Association. They did this because the WFM union was trying to organize workers in Telluride and other parts of Colorado. Twenty-seven members started the group, many from Idaho Springs, where the WFM was strong.
Around 1903, mining operators in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA). This happened after the WFM asked for an eight-hour workday. The SJDMA brought together 36 mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties. The SJDMA decided that none of its members could agree to shorter hours or higher wages with the union. This firm decision led to many difficult and violent strikes in Colorado's mining towns.
How MOAs Dealt with Unions
Mining companies often hired special detective agencies like Pinkerton National Detective Agency to watch, join, and even try to break up unions. These special agents were sometimes called "labor spies."
MOAs sometimes gave out "work cards." Miners had to promise not to join a union to get one of these cards and be hired. State-level MOAs could also "blacklist" union miners. This meant they would share lists of union members, making it very hard for those miners to find work anywhere in the state.
Sometimes, MOAs would ask state or federal governments to send in the National Guard or other troops to strike areas.
Historic Mining Associations in Colorado
- Cripple Creek District Mine Owners' Association
- Telluride Mining Association
- San Juan District Mining Association
- Colorado Mine Operators' Association
Modern Mining Associations
In 1995, mining companies in the United States formed the National Mining Association (NMA). This group works to represent the mining industry in Washington, DC. It has over 325 member companies.
The Bituminous Coal Operators Association represents coal mining companies when they talk with the United Mine Workers of America, another large workers' union.
See also
- Charlie Siringo
- Mining in the United States
