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Tape 16-2, Page 29

were afraid.

AV: Oh?

JS: You were afraid to join the union because that the company would sack you or they
wouldn't give you a job, or drill you around and give you a bad job that you
wouldn't like.

AV: Really? What happened?

JS: Well, then later on the union got a little stronger, and stronger, first the
men, when they'd go to pay their dues, they'd go in the night or somebody
would see them, to go and pay their quarter a month.

AV: Where would they go?

JS: Down where they had their union meetin' wherever they would have it.

AV: Where was it usually?

JS: Well, they used to have this schoolhouse down below, and different places
like that. So, after that, they started to get a little stronger, and more would
was joinin' and more joinin', 'til our officials, they got in with the operators,
they would start to lean towards it, you know. See, then they made it up--now,
it wasn't the company's idea, it was our, our big guys, you know, in the union--
they wanted every an to belong to the union. What did they do? They made an
agreement with the companies that the company take check-off. That's where
check-off started. With the miners. And that was the worst damn thing that
ever happened, because every, every place throughout the country, now, that's
how it is, check-off. They'll take off, deduct what they want off your pay and you
hain't got nothin' to say. They take it before you get to that. And I said
that hain't right. Because if you work for that money and that belongs to
you, they should had it to you, and then whatever you wanted to do with it,
it was up to you. But no, they made it as a ruling, you know, United Mine
Workers, they take the money off your check, and they call it the check-off.
That's how that started. So when this here assessment come on for the