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No union mines left in Kentucky
Labor wars once raged in state
Last Union Mine Ledb
In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, coal miners return on a buggy after working a shift underground at the Perkins Branch Coal Mine in Cumberland, Ky. As recently as the late 1970s, there were more than 350 mines operating at any given time in Harlan County. In 2014, it's around 40. - photo by Associated Press
HARLAN, Ky. — Kentucky coal miners bled and died to unionize. Their workplaces became war zones, and gun battles once punctuated union protests. In past decades, organizers have been beaten, stabbed and shot while seeking better pay and safer conditions deep underground.
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