Mr. FERGUSON. At this time, Mr. Chairman, in view of the fact that several previous witnesses by their testimony have assumed or have tried to convince the committee that the United Mine Workers were not interested in safety and were only giving lip service to the matter on a basis of pressure or personal gain, I might say to you that the United Mine Workers of America has a safety division which covers the entire Nation in scope. We are carrying on an educational campaign continually in our membership. We are cooperating fully and completely with the Bureau of Mines in securing for our people the training in their accident prevention course, their first-aid courses, their mine rescue courses and other educational activities of the Bureau. I want to say at this time that when the Mine Workers entered this field, they entered it alone. It was the Mine Workers who first sponsored and agreed that the Mine Workers would take the accident prevention course now being given by the Bureau.

At this time I would like to insert into the record, if there is no objection, a speech which I made before the Safety Congress in Chicago last year. I believe it sets forth our feeling on the cooperative action necessary by the industry and the Mine Workers to secure the ultimate in safety training.

Mr. KELLEY. Without objection that will be done. (The speech referred to follows;)

COMPARATIVE SAFETY TRAINING OF SAFETY COMMITTEEMEN AND MINERS By Charles Ferguson, Assistant Safety Director, International Union, United Mine Workers of America, National Safety Congress, Hotel Stevens, Chicago, Ill., October 8-12, 1951

I assure you that it is a distinct honor to be invited to present a paper to this distinguished group of men. I am always glad to participate in any meeting held in the interest of safety, and I am particularly pleased with the subject assigned to me.

The international union of the United Mine Workers of America, whom I have the honor to represent, has, through its safety division, adopted the training of safety committeemen and miners in accident prevention as a component part of its safety program.

Before discussing this activity and the progress made in it, I will review briefly the chain of events that culminated eventually in the desire of many safety committeemen for the training by giving them a definite niche in the safety effort. Contrary to the beliefs of some individuals and groups in the coal-mining industry, the United Mine Workers of America is and has every right to be genuinely interested in the health and safety of its membership, and subscribes wholeheartedly to any practical activity that might tend to reduce injuries. After all, what meaning is there to good wages and working conditions if a miner loses his life or health, or is prevented through injury from enjoying their benefits.

The organization's attitude toward safety has been well demonstrated by the constant and intensive struggle it has wages for reasonable safety in the industry. These efforts have been carried on in the Halls of Congress and State legislatures, at the bargining table, and through our membership at the mines. Such efforts, together with the cooperation of the safety-conscious segments of the industry, have resulted in some safety improvements. I want to make it crystal clear, however, that my organization is not content with the injury rate as it now stands. Moreover, it will not be satisfied with any rate which includes injuries that could by reasonable precautions have been prevented. The organization will continue to operate with determination and through every channel available in an attempt to revise the sordid story of unnecessary deaths and injuries to its membership. Fully realizing that in the final analysis safety can be accomplished only by the vigilance and efforts of those persons actually engaged in mining, the organization has for many years contended that its members at each mine were entitled to a committee from their own ranks and of their own choice to represent them in matters pertaining to safety. As a result of joint negotiations in the year 1941, provisions for such a committee were for the first time written into our wage agreement. However, before making this concession, the operators required certain stipulations which were plainly designed to discourage the establishment of such committees and to curtail the functioning of those that might be formed. These stipulations required that committeemen serve without pay, and that their mining experience be not less than 15 years. This latter requirement was unreasonable and inconsistent because it demanded much longer experience for a safety committeeman than that required for a mine foreman by any State in the Nation. In spite of these stumbling blocks some progress was made; however, they did serve in many instances to deny such committees the services of the best qualified men.

The organization continued to strive for greater participation in safety matters and for better safety cooperation on a national and local level on the part of the operators. This effort resulted in several changes in the safety provisions of the contract agreed to by the operators in 1947. These amendments changed the manner in which the committeemen were selected, removed the gratis service clause, eliminated the experience requirement, granted them authority in instances of imminent danger, and incorporated by reference the Federal Mine Safety Code. The new provisions caused the safety committeemen to feel that they were at last recognized as having a part in the safety effort, and resulted in a very notable increase in their interest and activities. This in turn, created a desire in the committeemen for a greater knowledge of the principles of mine safety in order that they might better perform their duties Such desire was revealed by requests from many committeemen for a comprehensive safety course that would include instruction in the provisions of the code.

The United States Bureau of Mines, aware of this opportunity to improve conditions through safety training, formulated a course of instruction late in 1946, and organized the first class for instruction at Welch, W. Va. early in January 1947. Originally, the course was intended for safety committeemen, but it soon became obvious that many rank and file miners also would participate in the activity if given the opportunity to do so. Consequently the Bureau of Mines broadened the scope of training to include any and all men engaged in the mining of coal. The original course dealt with safety measures in bituminous mines, and shortly thereafter a similar course, adopted to the safety needs at anthracite mines, was prepared and offered.

The training was sponsored by the United States Bureau of Mines and our various district organizations; also by our safety division shortly after its establishment by the international union in June 1947. Our district officers encouraged and promoted the training through circular letters of endorsement and by pointing out the value of the course to local union officers and committeemen at meetings called specifically for that purpose. Our safety division has also cooperated in this endeavor by urging all local unions to participate in the train

ing; our membership has been encouraged to avail themselves of this training by means of circular letter, publicity in our journal, and through personal contact by members of the safety division staff wherever the opportunity has been present. Inasmuch as safety education is recognized as a vital factor in any mine-safety program, and the success or failure of such a program affects proportionately the mine costs, we had hoped that the operators would take full advantage of the opportunity by making the training a cooperative undertaking. We were soon to find, however, that many operators were very skeptical of such training and either openly or passively opposed it. The argument advanced against the course was that it would cause a know-it-all attitude on the part of the committeemen, thereby resulting in a wave of unjustified withdrawals of men from the mines. These dire predictions, however, failed to materialize and the more progressive operators soon began to demonstrate an interest in the training by providing facilities for holding classes. Up to the present time, 20 operators have cooperated to an extent that made it possible to secure 100-percent participation in the training at their mines.

During the period this training has been in progress-January 1, 1947, to July 1, 1951-approximately 35,000 men have completed it. Of those compelting the course, approximately 34,000 were members of our organization. Eighteen States and some 3,000 mines are represented in this number. trained by fiscal years is as follows:

1947

The number

1948.

1949

1950

764

4, 862

5, 342

12, 792

1951

11, 284

You will note that participation increased with each succeeding fiscal year, except 1951, which showed a slight decrease. This is a very good beginning, but the annual rate of training will have to be doubled or tripled, if we are to reach our objective of total training.

During the present calendar year, the Bureau of Mines formulated and is now conducting classes in two additional safety courses. These courses deal with rooffall and haulage accidents, the No. 1 and No. 2 killers of miners, respectively. Classes in the course designed to prevent roof-fall accidents are conducted for all underground employees. Generally classes are held at or near the mine immediately before the men enter or depart. The length of the instruction period is determined largely by the trainees and usually is from 1 to 2 hours. The haulage accident-prevention course is given in a similar manner to all haulage employees who desire to participate. These courses are proving to be very popular and, as of August 1, had resulted in the training of 14,799 men this year; 3,879 in the rooffall course and 10,920 in the haulage course.

Even though these courses are very brief and each deals with only one type of accident, they undoubtedly will produce a favorable effect on the injury rate, and our safety division endorses them wholeheartedly. We do not, however, regard them as a substitute for the standard 20-hour course, but rather as a supplement to it.

The value of safety education has been well demonstrated at a mine where all of the employees completed the standard accident-prevention course in 1949. At the end of that year the mine had a rate of 98.5 injuries per million man-hours of exposure nearly twice the average rate for the Nation. At the end of 1950, the first year after the training was completed, the rate had taken a nose dive to 11 injuries per million man-hours, a phenominal reduction of more than 88 percent in the injury rate. For the first half of 1951 the rate was reduced still further to 4.6 injuries per million man-hours, which undoubtedly is one of the lowest rates in the Nation.

I do not imply that safety training alone was responsible for the remarkable improvement in the safety record at this mine. I do, however, maintain that it was a vital component part of the safety program and was indispensable in the achievement of such a record. Notable reductions in injuries also have been accomplished at many other mines where there was considerable participation in the training.

I do not feel it is necessary to give further proof of the merits of safety training, because I believe that it is the consensus of this group that such training is indispensable, if the best interests of safety are to be served.

This leads to the question of what our organization and the operators can an will do to further promote and expedite the training program. As I stated previously, our safety division has adopted total safety training as one of the man

objectives in its safety effort. It must be borne in mind, however, that the United Mine Workers of America is truly a democratic organization, and that we do not have and do not desire the authority to force our members to participate in any activity against their own will. This being the circumstance, it logically follows that our method of approach must be to develop in our members an appreciation of the vital importance of the training and the desire to avail themselves of the opportunity to increase their knowledge of safe mining practices. I assure you that the safety division will employ every means at its command to this end.

We extend to the operators an invitation to join hands with us and make the safety-training program a truly cooperative undertaking. What will your answer

be?

Mr. FERGUSON. Next I would like to insert into the record a summary of training in coal mine accident-prevention course for minesafety committeemen and miners from January 1, 1947, to February 1, 1952, by districts of the United Mine Workers of America. Mr. KELLEY. Without objection, that will be done.

Mr. FERGUSON. I might add that this shows in that period 42,614 coal miners have voluntarily given of their time and effort without compensation to take this training to place themsleves better in a position to protect their lives.

(The information referred to follows:)

Summary of training in coal-mine accident-prevention course for mine-safety committee men and miners, Jan. 1, 1947 to Feb. 1, 1952

Mr. FERGUSON. At this time I would like to insert in the record a copy of two circular letters which have been forwarded to all of our local unions regarding this training and the feeling of the international officers and the international union regarding the importance of such training.

Mr. KELLEY. Without objection, it is so ordered. (The letters referred to follow:)

UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA,
SAFETY DIVISION,
Washington 5, D. C., February 19, 1952.

To the Officers and Members of all Local Unions, United Mine Workers of America GREETINGS: With the unanimous approval of President John L. Lewis, Vice President Thomas J. Kennedy, Secretary-Treasurer John Owens, the international executive board and the policy committee, the safety division has prepared certificates of award to be presented to members of local unions employed at any given mine of a coal company who have participated and completed the accident prevention course taught by the United States Bureau of Mines 100 percent. In order that our membership will be fully informed as to the availability of these certificates, and the rules under which they will be awarded, I submit for your information the following requirements:

1. Any local union whose members at any given mine participate and complete the training 100 percent.

2. Any local union which has completed this training prior to the authoJization of the certificates upon proof that the membership at the time of the training participated and completed the course 100 percent.

3. None of the certificates will be issued without authorization of the proper local union and district officials.

In applying for the certificate, the following information should be given: 1. The local union and district number.

2. The name of the mine or the coal company.

3. The number of men participating in the training.

4. The date the training was completed.

The accident-prevention course which is taught by the United States Bureau of Mines has the complete approval of the safety division of the international union and the international officers. We urgently request all members to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in this training, and particularly in those cases where members of a local union have only partially completed this course, we urge that immediate steps be taken for the training of 100 percent of the membership.

We trust that in time every local union in the organization will be qualified to receive one of these certificates. With best wishes, I am,

Fraternally yours,

To the Officers and Members of all Local Unions, United Mine Workers of America. GREETINGS: We are calling to your attention the accident prevention course now available to our membership. These classes are being conducted by United States Bureau of Mines personnel. The course has the full approval of the safety division of the international union, and we strongly urge our entire membership to avail themselves of the opportunity of taking this course immediately. We cannot overemphasize the value of this course, because it will make our members more safety conscious and will teach each of us to think and work safely. The course shows how accidents are caused and how they can be prevented. It consists of 20 hours of instruction with classes usually meeting for 2 hours each week. It is very comprehensive and covers all causes of mine injuries and fatalities underground and on the surface. It reviews, interprets or explains the State mining laws and the Federal Mine Safety Code. Discussions

are held on all phases of accident prevention. The use of various instruments such as methane detectors, anemometers and safety lamps is taught. Motion pictures and slides are also used in the course.

Approximately 34,000 members of the United Mine Workers of America have taken this course, including many safety committeemen and the total membership of 16 local unions. A survey shows that there has been a marked decrease in the number of accidents of all types in and around the mines under the jurisdiction of local unions whose members have taken this training.

Any local union desiring to take this course should immediately notify the safety division in Washington. This office is in a position to assist any local