Daughters of Mother Jones

The Daughters of Mother Jones were a group of women who participated in 1989-1990 Pittston coal strike. In 1989, UMWA mine workers for the Pittston Coal Company in Lebanon, VA went on strike after failing to reach a contract agreement with the company. The Daughters of Mother Jones provided food and housing for striking workers and picketed twice a week outside of the Pittston company headquarters. As "The Daughters of Mother Jones" staged the sit-in, they sang "We shall not be moved." The women remained in the office for 36 hours, and their occupation shut down coal production for one and a half days. They refused to individually identify themselves to the company management and instead referred to themselves as the Daughters of Mother Jones They left voluntarily after 36 hours.
One year after the strike began, the miners won a new contract from the Pittston Coal Company.
These women were following a tradition of resistance and protest against coal mining companies which had long been practiced in the labor history of coal mining in Appalachia. Although women do not have a long history of employment in coal mines throughout Appalachia, they have played an instrumental role in assisting strikers.

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