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Bleak Christmas for Tennessee miners in long strike
In Whitwell Tennessee a family of ten faces a bleak Christmas amid Southeast Tennessee's prolonged coal strike. Leo Sanders, 35, and his wife and seven children live in a 12 by 14 foot room with two kerosene lamps and no electricity. Their eldest son Grady, 13, attends sixth grade across the road with little hope for schooling as mines closed and education faltered. The Sanders' story echoes thousands of laid off miners relying on 15 dollar weekly benefits while WVU and other operators argue over wages and TVA coal supply.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Whitwell
Tenn
Leo Sanders
Southeast
Tennessee
Sanders
Mine ‘Workers Union
Pels Sanders
Central Plains
UMW
UMW Welfare Fund
UMW B
Kentucky
Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA
Widows Creek
Bridgeport
Ale
Tennessee Coal