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West Virginia and Regional History Center
1549 University Ave.P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu
Ashley Sellars
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use
There is no release form accompanying the interview, so the West Virginia and Regional History Center is unable to grant permission for the use of this collection outside of research purposes. As with other materials at the WVRHC, permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
Audiovisual materials must be digitized for research access. Researchers must contact the West Virginia & Regional History
Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc in advance to request access.
Researchers may access digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting
the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department in advance.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Gordon L. Swartz III, Oral History with Karl Kafton, United Mine Workers of America Leader, A&M 4647, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Swartz, Gordon Lloyd, III on 2021 September 22.
Biographical / Historical
The interviewer, Gordon Lloyd Swartz III (1948-2022), was a WV coal miner, local historian, and member of the United Mine
Workers of America.
The interviewee, Karl Kafton (1925-2002), was a WV coal miner and active member of the International Executive Board of the
United Mine Workers of America. His parents immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1913, and he grew up in Appalachia
and worked at various mines in the region. Kafton is best known for his involvement in the Miners for Democracy movement,
campaigning for Joseph Yablonski in his contested UMWA presidential election, and his role in solving the murders of the Yablonski
family.
Scope and Contents
This is an oral history interview conducted by Gordon L. Swartz III featuring Karl Kafton, a West Virginia coal miner and active member of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union. Kafton shares his parents' story of immigrating to the United States from Ukraine in the early 20th century and his father's experiences working in coal mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He describes his childhood in a predominantly immigrant mining community, his experiences in grade school, and leaving school early as a teen to serve in World War II. Kafton also discusses how various pieces of labor legislation passed throughout the 20th century shaped trade unions in the US. In addition to sharing his experiences working in West Virginia coal mines, he also describes the dynamics of interracial and multi-ethnic collaboration in union organizing efforts. Kafton talks at length about the inner workings of UMWA, critiquing and comparing the practices of leaders like John L. Lewis, Sam Church, Arnold Miller, and Tony Boyle. Kafton also describes his involvement in the Miners for Democracy movement within UMWA, campaigning for Joseph Yablonski, and aiding in the investigation of Yablonski's assassination. Swartz initially recorded the interview on two cassette tapes and later digitized the recording onto 3 CDs. The run time for the interview is around 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Coal miners -- Labor unions
- Coal mines and mining -- West Virginia
- Kafton, Karl
- United Mine Workers of America