John
Siney was
born in Ireland. After working as a miner
in Lancashire he emigrated to America. He settled in Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania where he found work in one of the local anthracite coal-mines.
Most of the miners were immigrants from Wales,
England, Germany
and Ireland.
In 1868 Siney formed the Workingmen's Benevolent
Association (WBA) with the objective of trying to improve pay and
working conditions. The conditions in the mines were horrendous and
the men had to endure accidents, floods, fires and explosions. In
one seven year period in Schuylkill County, 566 miners were killed
and a further 1,665 were seriously injured.
One of the worst disasters took place at Avondale colliery in 1869
when a fire killed 179 miners. This resulted in Schuylkill County
passing legislation that stated that all mines had to have more than
one opening and that it was the responsibility of the mine-owners
to provide effective ventilation. State mine inspectors were employed
but because of the power of the mine-owners this legislation was rarely
enforced.
Siney was a moderate trade unionist who believed in negotiating with
the employers and strictly forbade the use of violence by his members.
However, the mine owners were extremely hostile to the Workingmen's
Benevolent Association, complained that it was under the control of
the Molly Maguires, a group they believed
was responsible for the murder of several coal-mine managers in the
area.
The Workingmen's Benevolent Association threated strike action and
after a short dispute the coal-mine owners agreed a small wage increase.
Part of the deal involved Siney promising that he would not allow
miners who used or advocated violence to remain a member of the union.
Franklin
B. Gowen,
president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, was unhappy
about the increasing power of the WBA. Gowen had considerable investments
in the coal-mines of Schuylkill County and feared that the activities
of the WBA would result in lower profits. In 1873 Gowen approached
Allan Pinkerton of the Pinkerton
Detective Agency, about the best way of destroying the union.
In 1873 Allan Pinkerton employed the
Irish immigrant, James McParland to
infiltrate the Molly Maguires. Over a two
year period he collected evidence of their activities. In 1876 and
1877 McParland was the star witness for the prosecution of these men.
Twenty members were found guilty of murder and were executed. Most
of the convicted men were either members or former members of the
Workingmen's Benevolent Association. As a result of these investigations
the WBA came to an end.
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