52 Facts About Arnold Miller

Arnold Miller had difficulty dealing with growing internal union opposition.

At the age of 14, George Arnold Miller was already an activist in the union and was forced to leave Kentucky by thugs employed by the mine owners.

Arnold Miller was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents.

Limited income and economic opportunities led Arnold Miller to quit school after completing the ninth grade.

In 1944 during World War II, Arnold Miller volunteered for the United States Army.

Arnold Miller was trained as a machine-gunner, and severely wounded in the Normandy invasion of Europe in World War II.

Arnold Miller spent nearly two years in the hospital and underwent surgery 20 times.

Arnold Miller returned to the Cabin Creek area in 1948 after the war.

Arnold Miller served a three-year apprenticeship in an automobile garage and returned to the mines as a mechanic.

Arnold Miller married Virginia Brown on November 26,1948, and had three children with her, a boy and two girls.

Arnold Miller joined the United Mine Workers and became active in Local 2903.

Arnold Miller was first elected to the union's safety committee and later became local president.

Arnold Miller believed the union needed to be more responsive to miners' needs.

Stymied by his union, late in 1968 Arnold Miller organized other ill miners into the West Virginia Black Lung Association.

Arnold Miller filed five civil suits against the union on charges related to the election.

Arnold Miller was the first candidate to defeat an incumbent president in UMWA history, and the first native West Virginian to lead the union.

Arnold Miller was markedly indecisive, changing his mind repeatedly and putting off decisions.

Arnold Miller named a number of Yablonski supporters to prominent positions in the union.

Arnold Miller relied on some of the college people who were non miners and they tended to isolate Arnold from the coal miners.

Arnold Miller purged the executive board that had been appointed under the Boyle administration.

Arnold Miller dismissed 20 of the 24 board members, then named 13 of his own and seven of Yablonski's supporters to the board.

Arnold Miller assumed that miners who had won election in 1972 were MFD supporters.

Arnold Miller drew on this pool of talent for his district appointments, and ended up appointing more Boyle men.

At the union's 1973 convention, Arnold Miller won support for virtually all the changes he proposed.

Additionally, Arnold Miller built a large and competent research department to assist with contract negotiations.

Arnold Miller established UMWA's first PAC, the Coal Miners' Political Action Committee.

Finally, Arnold Miller greatly expanded the union's workplace health and safety staff.

Arnold Miller's reforms won the union significant new numbers of members.

Arnold Miller began sacrificing additional reform proposals to ensure the success of the few which had already been implemented.

Arnold Miller openly fought with Yablonski supporters, and became suspicious of the young intellectuals on his staff as well.

Arnold Miller budgeted $14 million for organizing, additional safety staff, and government relations.

In retaliation, Arnold Miller took away Trbovich's supervision of the union's safety division.

In 1975, Arnold Miller fired John Sulka, the union's executive safety director.

Arnold Miller felt miners were not giving his reforms a chance to work, while Sulka wished to continue to move forward.

Arnold Miller added security at union headquarters, and demanded that all staff travel plans be cleared through him so he could detect plotting.

Arnold Miller accused Miller of overspending and paying raises to staff who contributed little to the union's mission, and reiterated charges that Miller had let the union fall into "radical" hands.

Arnold Miller accused Trbovich of keeping a public relations consultant on the payroll for six weeks longer than necessary, forcing Miller to fire her.

Arnold Miller's claim was that Trbovich had refused to investigate financial and management problems in the union's organizing programs out West.

Arnold Miller focused his campaign on his record of ending corruption, enhancing mine safety and winning sizeable pay increases.

When Church punched a former UMWA staffer in a dispute over a leak to the press, Arnold Miller asked Church to be his running-mate.

Arnold Miller had fired many of his supporters and most of the research department staff.

Arnold Miller relied instead on a law firm for bargaining advice, which caused confusion among UMWA negotiators and sent mixed signals to the employers.

Once more, Arnold Miller and his leadership worked hard to convince members that the contract was a good one.

On March 29,1978, just ten days after the coal mining contract was ratified, Arnold Miller suffered a stroke while on vacation in Miami Beach, Florida.

Mostly recovered by the fall, Arnold Miller exhibited many of his autocratic, defensive habits.

Arnold Miller continued to fight with the union's executive board and leadership, but ill health ended his presidency.

In November 1979, Arnold Miller suffered a second heart attack while at his home in Charleston, West Virginia.

Arnold Miller resigned the presidency of the United Mine Workers on November 16,1979.

Two years later, Arnold Miller told reporters that he was sorry he had named Church as his running mate and that he was "not very happy" about Church becoming union president.

In 1982, Arnold Miller announced he was running for president of the Mine Workers again.

Arnold Miller collapsed in May 1985 and entered a coma.

Arnold Miller died on July 12,1985, in Charleston, West Virginia.