The Miners at Newcastle Demand Fair Time
Workers at the Newcastle coal mine initiate a strike over wage-deduction schemes and travel time between the town and the pit.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The drivers at the Newcastle coal mine struck Thursday morning, but the matter was settled and they went to work. Shortly after this, the men in tunnel No. 1 struck, and had not resumed work up to our latest advices. There were several causes, or supposed causes, which led to this action on the part of the miners. One of these arose as follows: Shortly after Superintendent Jones arrived here and took charge, he believed the miners wasted the oil furnished them by the company, and so he proposed to allow every man seven cents per day additional wages and require them to buy their oil of the company. After a two months' trial, the miners found that seven cents per day would not cover their oil bill. One of the conditions of their resuming work was that the wages should be placed at the old figure and the company should furnish the necessary oil and wicking free. To this demand, the company acceded. The miners in No. 1 tunnel now demand that the time required in walking from their work at Coal Creek be taken from the company's time, instead of their own. For instance: The miners all reside at Newcastle. They go to Coal Creek, a mile distant, so as to commence work at 7 o'clock in the morning. They then work till 6 o'clock, but do not get to their homes until half-past 6 or quarter to 7. They demand that they be allowed to knock off work at 6:30, so as to get home by 6 o'clock, thus making the company lose the time—or in other words, pay for ten hours' work and receive but nine and a half hours' work. The superintendent and assistant superintendent are both at the mines and will probably agree upon a compromise before a general strike ensues.
“They demand that they be allowed to knock off work at 6:30, so as to get home by 6 o'clock, thus making the company lose the time.”
The 1884 struggle at Newcastle over commute time and the 'hidden costs' of employment—like the company charging for tools and supplies—echoes the modern gig economy, where workers often fight for compensation during the 'in-between' hours spent traveling or preparing to perform their duties.
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