The radical history of the Pennsylvania coal region is the subject of a new book ‘The Bootleg Coal Rebellion.’
By Maximillian Alvarez
The Real News
June 1, 2023
The onset of the Great Depression brought devastation to Pennsylvania’s coal region. Suddenly rendered unemployed, coal miners with no other way to make a living turned to ‘bootleg’ mining, setting up their own mines. The only problem was that legally, they were on company property—specifically, property owned by the likes of JP Morgan. What unfolded was a vicious, heroic, and almost unbelievable fight to unionize the coal fields by workers whose livelihoods were labelled ‘illegal.’ TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez sits down with Mitch Troutman to discuss his new book, The Bootleg Coal Rebellion: The Pennsylvania Miners Who Seized an Industry, 1925-1942.
Mitch Troutman is a writer, educator, organizer, and member of Anthracite Unite.
Post-production: Jules Taylor
