Word: yablonskis
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...loyal and effective union trouble-shooter for 30 years, Yablonski jolted the ossified U.M.W. hierarchy last summer when he mounted the first insurgency since 1926. Unrest had been simmering among the rank and file, who complained that union headquarters in Washington had ignored their demands for stricter health and safety procedures. Articulating these complaints, Yablonski attracted, among others, the support of Walter Reuther, Ralph Nader and John D. Rockefeller...
...Yablonski, who had started in the mines at age 15, once boasted that "Jock Yablonski can go anywhere in the coal fields." After he declared his insurgency, he began to fear for his safety. He was nearly paralyzed with a karate chop on the back of his neck during a campaign appearance in Illinois. "He was in danger from the very date the campaign started," said his son, Chip...
Illegal Use. Yablonski lost the Dec. 9 election by 81,000 to 45,000, but he charged Boyle's forces with 200 irregularities, including intimidation, rigged meetings and using U.M.W. resources for Boyle's campaign. Labor Secretary George Shultz at first refused to consider Yablonski's petition, but last week, after the murders, he reversed himself and ordered an investigation of the election. At the same time, Senator John McClellan ordered his Senate Investigations Subcommittee to look into the election and the murders...
Even in losing, Yablonski had considerable effect on the U.M.W. He forced Boyle to adopt many of his positions, including support for higher pensions and wages and, for the first time, meaningful health and safety legislation. Most of all, Yablonski has helped reawaken rank-and-file interest in the union and make miners less willing to accept fiats from U.M.W. headquarters...
Police, aided by the FBI, searched for a clue to the murders. They expressed doubt that any top union leaders were involved, and discounted rumors that the Mafia was responsible -rumors fed by unproved campaign charges that Yablonski was linked to organized crime. Police speculated that the murder was the result of an old grudge by one of Yablonski's enemies. Those were so numerous that it might take a long while to run them all down...