Coal miners' debt crisis addressed in 1935 labor hearing

During a 1935 hearing in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, presided over by state Secretary of Labor and Industry Ralph Bashore, officials addressed the systemic debt issues facing coal miners.

Attorney Anthony Cavalcante presented the case of Pat Rafter, a Frick Coal and Coke Company miner who saw nearly his entire $40 two-week pay deducted to cover debts at the company store. To combat this, Bashore proposed a plan to limit wage deductions to 10% per pay period.

Company representatives offered conflicting views on the matter. Thomas Moses of Frick argued that current deductions were based on agreements made by the miners themselves, while B. N. Upham, president of Pittsburgh Mercantile Coal, suggested that a fixed 10% deduction could be a hardship if a miner's pay was already extremely low.