5.1 Linear Feet, Summary: 5 ft. 1 in. (7 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 records carton, 15 in. each); (1 framed item, 1 in.)
Creator
Ozanic, Joseph
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Joe Ozanic went to work in the coal mines of Mt. Olive, joining in 1909, UMW Local 728. After serving briefly in the army
during World War I, Ozanic returned to work in the mines at Mt. Olive. In 1932, Ozanic joined the Progressive Mine Workers
of America, a rival organization to the United Mine Workers, serving both as president of PMWA District 1 and as national
president. During the 1940s, Ozanic was an organizer for the American Federation of Labor. These papers reflect Ozanic's involvement
with the Progressive Mine Workers and the American Federation of Labor. Material from his career as a union leader includes
correspondence, financial records, speeches, certificates, newspaper clippings, photographs, broadsides, scripts for plays,
union convention proceedings, contracts, bylaws, constitutions, and miscellaneous publications. Subjects include the National
Labor Relations Board, American labor unions during World War II, the Union Miners' Cemetery at Mt. Olive, Illinois, AFL organizing
drives, miners' marches in Illinois, Mother Jones, and John L. Lewis. Among the correspondents are Joe Pecik, John Fancher,
and Vivian Pleska. Ozanic's personal papers include family correspondence, receipts, certificates, memorabilia, and photographs.
The correspondence includes postcards from Ozanic to his wife and son from various places in the United States and Ozanic's
certificate of competency as a coal miner, issued by the Illinois Miners Examining Board in 1917.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Joseph Ozanic, Labor Leader, Papers
, A&M 2482, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
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