Career in The United Mine Workers
Murray was working in a coal mine in 1904 when he became involved in the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Feeling that a manager had purposefully altered and lowered the weight of the coal he had mined, Murray punched the man and was fired. The other coal miners went on strike to demand his reinstatement. In response, the company threw Murray's family out of their company-owned home. Murray was shocked and angered by the company's actions. Convinced that unions were the only means workers had of protecting their interests, Murray became an avid and lifelong unionist.
In 1905, Murray was elected president of the UMWA local in Horning, Pennsylvania. Determined to become the best local president he could, he enrolled in an 18-month correspondence course in mathematics and science. Although he had little formal education, he completed the course in just six months.
Murray married Elizabeth Lavery (the daughter of a miner killed in a mine accident) on September 7, 1910. They adopted a son.
In 1911, Murray became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Murray, who favored cooperation with management rather than militancy, came to the attention of UMWA President John P. White. After White won the UMWA presidency in 1912, he appointed Murray to a vacant seat on the UMWA executive board. White then backed Murray in 1916 when Murray ran for president of UMWA District 5.
Despite his relative conservatism, however, Murray became a close associate of John L. Lewis. He supported Lewis's bid to become a UMWA vice president in 1917, and UMWA president in 1920. In return, Lewis appointed Murray to the position of vice president. Murray became a strong supporter of and assistant to Lewis. Lewis handled relations with employers and politicians, and Murray handled relationships with UMWA members.
Murray strongly supported America's entry into World War I, and worked closely with government officials and employers to ensure that labor cooperated in the war effort. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to the Pennsylvania regional panel of the National War Labor Board and the National Bituminous Coal Production Committee.
In the 1930s, Murray continued to serve on government committees. When General Hugh S. Johnson formed the Labor and Industrial Advisory Board in 1933 to implement Section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act, Murray agreed to serve on the new body. He played a key role in writing the "Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935" (also known as the Guffey-Snyder Act; P.L. 402, 74th Cong., 1st sess.), later struck down by the United States Supreme Court in Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238 (1936).
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