The pay varied…as high as $1.50 a ton in 1882, when miners were scarce, to a low of 50 cents which led to a labor crisis in the winter of 1890-91. 89 cents was an average for awhile. This translated to between $56.00 and $108.00 per month. Drivers received $77.00, common laborers on the surface $59.00 and coke men earned between $58.00 and $79.00, depending on their responsibility and skill.
There was a definite pecking order. The boss picked your work area…a spot in a wide vein near the tracks produced more coal per labor hour than an isolated, narrow vein. The driver operated at his own speed…the time it took to get your car back to your work site could limit the days production. And certainly not the least important was the checkweighman. He weighed the cars and credited each miner for tonnage. A dishonest one could secretly short cars to receive a company kickback.
Fathers took their sons at an early age to work in the mines, first at easier jobs, then as coal miners in a two man team with themselves. Two 12 year old gatekeepers and a 17 year old driver were killed in the Jokerville mine explosion January 24, 1884.
Source: “When Coal Was King.” by Duane A. Smith
Rob Quint