Phil Penna (1857 - 1939) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
laborA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
leader, and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1895 to 1896.
John McBrideJohn McBride was an American labor union leader.McBride was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1854. He started working in the coal mines at the age of nine. In 1870, McBride joined the Ohio Miners' Union, and in 1883 he became its president—a post he retained until 1889...
, president of UMWA, had won election as president of the
American Federation of LaborThe American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 by Samuel Gompers as a reorganization of its predecessor, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions...
in 1895, unseating
Samuel GompersSamuel Gompers was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as the AFL's president from 1886-1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
. McBride resigned to take the position, and Penna was elected his successor.
The continuing
Long DepressionThe Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis experienced in the latter half of the Victorian era, though there is some controversy over whether it should be labeled a depression or a series of recessions...
severely depressed employment, wages and benefits for
coal minersCoal mining is the extraction or removal of coal from the earth by mining. When coal is used for fuel in power generation it is referred to as steaming or thermal coal. Coal that is used to create coke for steel manufacturing is referred to as coking or metallurgical coal...
during his tenure.
Phil Penna (1857 - 1939) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
laborA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
leader, and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1895 to 1896.
John McBrideJohn McBride was an American labor union leader.McBride was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1854. He started working in the coal mines at the age of nine. In 1870, McBride joined the Ohio Miners' Union, and in 1883 he became its president—a post he retained until 1889...
, president of UMWA, had won election as president of the
American Federation of LaborThe American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 by Samuel Gompers as a reorganization of its predecessor, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions...
in 1895, unseating
Samuel GompersSamuel Gompers was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as the AFL's president from 1886-1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
. McBride resigned to take the position, and Penna was elected his successor.
The continuing
Long DepressionThe Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis experienced in the latter half of the Victorian era, though there is some controversy over whether it should be labeled a depression or a series of recessions...
severely depressed employment, wages and benefits for
coal minersCoal mining is the extraction or removal of coal from the earth by mining. When coal is used for fuel in power generation it is referred to as steaming or thermal coal. Coal that is used to create coke for steel manufacturing is referred to as coking or metallurgical coal...
during his tenure. McBride had led the
Bituminous Coal Miners' StrikeThe Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike was an unsuccessful national eight-week strike by miners of hard coal in the United States, which began on April 21, 1894.The Panic of 1893 hit the coal mining industry particularly hard...
—an unsuccessful eight-week national coal miners' strike—the year before Penna's presidency, which encouraged hundreds of non-union mines to flood the market for coal. During Penna's presidency, membership in the Mine Workers plummented from 13,000 to 9,700, and the union's treasury dropped from $2,600 to $600. Penna suspended union operations, stopped publishing the union newsletter and ceased paying per capita dues to the AFL.
Penna did not run for re-election. His successor was
Michael RatchfordMichael Ratchford was an American labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1897 to 1898....
.