[Hoot Gibson]

I can't think of any union mines around here, are there still any? Big ones? I can remember that the one person killed in 76 during the strikes in Harlan county was killed by a non union.

I worked in a UMWA represented mine during the summer of 1976 as a general laborer on the third shift. I remember the thugs in ski masks, armed with guns and clubs who cost me half of my shifts before my freshman year of college. I remember encountering the same type of cowardly thugs staging wildcat strikes when I worked as a supervisor in Logan County in the early 80s.

The roving pickets were guilty of many acts of violence and vandalism and they were their own worst enemy when it came to organizing. It is no wonder to me that these same thugs now want to deprive workers of the right to secret ballot elections and that liberal Democrats are pushing for the legislation to make it happen. They would love to be able to intimidate people into unionizing by forcing public votes on union representation.