The American Coal Miner

Book excerpt: "At the conclusion of the 110-day coal miners' strike in March of 1978, President Carter appointed John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV to head up the first major federal study of coal mining in America in three decades. One of the main tasks of the President's Commission on Coal (PCC) was, in the words of Ben Franklin who covers coal for the New York Times, to "search out the roots of labor management bitterness that not only prolonged the record walkout but for decades has resulted in strikes every three years." To President Carter, who expressed a desire to place greater emphasis on domestically produced coal as an energy source, and to business interests, there were questions of great importance." -- review essay by Alan Banks, Appalachian Journal , SUMMER 1982, Vol. 9, No. 4 (SUMMER 1982), pp. 295-301.