The Effect of Unionism on Accidents in U.S. Coal Mining, 1897–1929

This study estimates the effect of unionism on accident fatalities using two data sets on early twentieth-century coal mining—a state-level data set and a mine-level data set. In both data sets, unionism is estimated to have reduced fatalities by about 40 percent. The union effect persists after controlling for state safety regulations, apparently supporting union president John Mitchell's claim that union miners supported each other in refusing to work in unsafe places.