Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America

by Mark A. Bradley

In the early hours of New Year’s Eve 1969, in the small soft coal mining borough of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, longtime trade union insider Joseph “Jock” Yablonski and his wife and daughter were brutally murdered in their old stone farmhouse. Seven months earlier, Yablonski had announced his campaign to oust the corrupt president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), Tony Boyle, who had long embezzled UMWA funds, silenced intra-union dissent, and served the interests of Big Coal companies. Yablonski wanted to return the union to the coal miners it was supposed to represent and restore the organization to what it had once been, a powerful force for social good. Boyle was enraged about his opponent’s bid to take over—and would go to any lengths to maintain power.

One of the most infamous crimes in the history of American labor unions, the Yablonski murders triggered one of the most intensive and successful manhunts in FBI history—and also led to the first successful rank-and-file takeover of a major labor union in modern U.S. history. One that inspired workers in other labor unions to rise up and challenge their own entrenched, out-of-touch leaders.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction, Politics, Crime, Labor, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Mary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Well-written, meticulously researched and fast-paced. A real page turner. I grew up with coal miners (my dad and grandfathers) and know the adulation of the UMWA first-hand. A must-read for lovers of true crime and/or labor history.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good research to what happened. Dense read. Author makes extrapolations? More than questionable evaluations re apples to apples, IMHO. Nowhere near a 5 star read. 2.5 stars rounded up for the murder parts. Rogue unions exist today just as strongly as this case. But they are much better about burying the bodies or having "accidents" occur. Members are told to shut up or else. It's also leadership jockeying, similar to this case. Big bucks for the top dogs.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man this book is good. Bradley writes the history with a pervasive urgency that makes these 50-ish year old events seem new and crucial, and the way he tells the stories -- of the UMWA abandonment of its members, of the union's corruption, of Yablonski's doomed campaign for change, of the pursuit of his killers -- makes them thrilling. One of the best niche history books I've read in a very long time, and one with an importance that extends far beyond unions and mining.

Thanks to NetGalley and WW Norton and Co. for the ARC.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back when I was in my early-teens, and my family would go back to Pennsylvania to visit relatives, I can remember how the coverage of this crime was part of the background noise; though I was just a little too young to be attuned to politics (Watergate would take care of that). Having not followed up on the details of the crime, or Tony Boyle's conviction, this book seemed like a golden opportunity to fill that gap.

So, is it any good? I'd say it's pretty good. There are a few details here and there that seem off, but I do think that Bradley does a good job of capturing the seediness of the world in question, why Jock Yablonski was important, and providing a group portrait of the two-bit criminals who carried out the hit (they were quite the collective piece of work). But, most of all, it makes me remember my father's reminiscence of how the happiest day of his life was when the main coal mine in Portage (Pa.) shut down, foreclosing an easy option to finding work, and forcing him to get the hell out of Dodge. Actual rating: 3.5.

[Ainsley Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!
Really good investigative piece that looks into the UMWA and covers grisly murders and sweeping reform. This was soooo well done and so detailed, can’t wait to see it hit the big screen w Cillian!

Only downside is at some points it was so so so detailed and so many white boy names it was hard to keep track.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This thing is a freight train. It’s so wild and devastating, and it just never lets up. I’ve long misunderstood the mid-century corruption within the United Mine Workers of America, thinking it to be tied to the mob, only to learn it was simply its own deal—just a lot of wildcards in one union spread across the states, prepared to save the union at all costs.

Unions had a fascinating reverence at the time. Twas poetic, really. Men would be asked why they did what they did and their answer would be something like, “This union’s given me more than God ever has.” The names of union officials would make their way into miners’ prayers before supper. There was just a powerful world within labor unions for much of the 20th Century, and for it to see such upheaval because high-profile murders is bonkers and sad. Jock Yablonski had enough of Tony Boyle's indulgent influence, so he fought and campaigned for a better union. But it's hard to kick the dogma of a guy nicknamed "Tough Tony" with a machine-gun-like output of propaganda. But even when Boyle's hired murderers struck out on the Yablonski farmhouse, Boyle had already stolen the election. It just still wasn't enough. Throughout the saga, you behold man after man unlearning how much the union could be trusted to work on the side of miners rather than companies.

There are many bold and dedicated labor advocates in this book, equally matched by the number of morally ambiguous insiders and their questionable network of knuckled fellows who will follow violence and quick cash anywhere. It’s bewildering how casual murder is discussed here, but it’s not at all surprising how outrageously hurried the whole telephone game of murder falls apart.

In the loss are so many family men stuck between the good and the bad, just wanting an income to support their spouse and kids. It’s them you fight for. It’s them you consider. It’s them you believe in. It’s the union forever, men.

[Chris Mather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about the coal unions of the 20th century - a topic I knew nothing about before. Part one did a good job of setting up the story, but honestly got pretty long and repetitive. It really picked up in part two during the crime investigation story which I really like.

[Christiana Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough but slightly dense.

[Maia Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super succinct and also super interesting. Bradley did an excellent job of condensing thousands of pages of trial notes, testimony, confessions, personal stories and papers, transcripts, etc. down into a 200ish page account of corruption and murder. His writing style was matter-of-fact, accessible, and informative. Nothing to write home about, but certainly far from bad.

The book does seem to assume prior knowledge of labor unions (albeit just the basics) which I didn’t really have. The more I read, the more I was able to piece that together, however. So don’t let that lack of knowledge stop you from picking this up.

Overall, a pretty solid, quick read. I learned about a conflict and a tragedy I’d never heard of…and I was also reminded of the fucked up lengths the most vile will go to keep their power. If you’re into labor unions, history, or the intersection of corruption and violent crime, this is definitely worth a read.

[Smith Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real eye opener that exposes the politics and corruption in play during the 1960s in American organized labor. Bradley paints a complete picture of the rise of corruption in the UMWA under Tony Boyle, and the great lengths those will go to hold onto power. Additionally, this book works cohesively to convey the events leading the conspiracy, plot, and eventual chase for justice of the murder plot of Jock Yablonski. As well as the greater impacts of these events on organized labor as a whole.

[Jen K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched and well presented accounting of the murder of Jock Yablonski, his wife and daughter taken mostly from the trials of those accused of the actual killing as well as those who orchestrated their deaths. Along with the accounting of the murders and the trials of those involved, Bradley also discusses the United Mine Workers of America at the time where Yablonski was battling for control breaking away from the president at the time with accusations of corruption and worse. Though tasked will looking out for miners' concerns of safety on the job, fair wage and investing in the miner communities, the union was siding more often with the owners of the mines decrying massive death tolls as part of the job rather than fighting for better workers' rights. There was much money involved in keeping the mining companies happy and in staying at the top of the union leadership. The fight was often violent until too many lines were crossed requiring reform.

I learned much from the true crime account about the mining labor union, how it was and how it became one of the best for workers. Sadly even the union could not fight lessened demand for coal. The story is telling though in the attitudes and culture of mining communities of Appalachia which could still be applied to politics now.

[Mike Zickar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, perhaps a contender for my favorite read of the year. This is a meticulously researched book on an important part of our country's labor history. Bradley digs into the history of the United Mine Workers and focuses on the murder of Jock Yablonski, a reformer who wanted to democratize the UMW and get it to focus more on miner safety. He ran against Tony Boyle, one of the most corrupt labor leaders in American history. This book is wonderfully paced and becomes a page-turner at the end.

I really enjoyed Barbara Kopple's Academy Award Winning documentary Harlan County USA which covers this episode a bit within that great film. And so I already knew the key outcomes of this case, though that didn't stop me from appreciating this book very much!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I remember the murders as a child. I grew up in South Western Pennsylvania. I've been to the Coyle Theater in Charleroi! The labor history was as I remember it to be, and some of my Grandparents worked in the mines and the mills. I didn't understand things at the time; I was too young. This is a great way for me to get the facts. I just want to know if they are making a movie of this....?

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sabrina Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about my great great uncle and his family. My mom was actually in the original book ! This is a good one and the accuracy is impeccable!! 10/10

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the Yablonski murders and the coal miners union. The author had detailed all the facts but kept it as a story and not a newspaper article. Well written

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn to Blood Runs Coal because my grandfather worked as a foreman in the PA coal mines. This excellent book reminded of another great true crime I read a few years ago, American Fire, by Monica Hesse.
It is a moment-by-moment history of the brutal 1969 murder of Jock Yablonski, his wife, and daughter and the chase to bring down everyone involved in the crime.
The author, a former DoJ lawyer, chronicles the killers’ many (8 was it?!) failed attempts to take down Joseph Yablonski, the man who had unsuccessfully tried to take the UMWA leadership away from a completely corrupt boss.
The writing was cinematic - I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see just how the leader behind this (and many other) crimes would be brought down. Would his confederates turn on him to save their own skins?
An excellent book for anyone who enjoys equally well-written and well-researched true crime.

[Jennifer Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was like seeing my childhood through my adult eyes.
I was in kindergarten when the murders took place but they held local newspaper headlines and newscasts attention for years after. The book is well researched and organized. I took umbrage with Bradley’s using “coal diggers” as a synonym for “miners” and “pit” for “mine.” There is nothing wrong with repeating a word when there are not any good synonyms. Also, he paints with a very wide brush, imo, describing most miners as uneducated and the entire region as dirty. In fact most of WV, PA, TN and KY are the most beautiful areas of the country.
That aside, I enjoyed the retelling of the tragic tale and the thorough chronology of events.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hit home for me as it happened within an hour of where I grew up. Coal mining is still a big deal in that area. The book is well researched, considering the murders happened almost 52 years ago. What I would have liked to seen is more from the coal miners (you know the union workers) points of view. It was all from law enforcement and lawyers point of view. It was still a good book, and I would recommend it.

[Charlotte Bernhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling look at power, corruption, and justice. Unionize!!

Not a fan of the body shaming, but understand the cultural context of using fatness as a symbol of excessive wealth in discussions of capitalism and labor. I do think that this book is recent enough to have explained that nuance rather than exasperating the tired trope of fatness as a moral judgment.

(July 22, 2024 just found out Bradley is a former CIA officer 😭)

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this might have the makings of a really good movie and turns out I might be right-- apparently the great Cillian Murphy, of Peaky Blinders fame, has signed on to play a role in the movie version, which is coming together sometime soon I hear. Sounds good.

The author isn't really a true crime writer or anything like that, but he definitely knows how to keep the story moving and has a strong eye for detail and scene-setting. The image of five miners heading down into the dark and ominous mine, their bodies tense and nervous like boxers before a fight, is quite good. And even more moving because they're about to get blown to smithereens.

My god, but the life of a coal miner sure seems fucking horrible. I can't believe how people have done this, risking their lives pretty much on the daily, to get black lung and/or be in a cave-in, all while being basically treated like barely human machines by the people you're sweating and slaving away for. Shiver-inducing to think about how that's still people's livelihood and not some distant Dickensian memory. And people still do it, for the forlorn and bitingly real reason given by one guy: "it's the only thing I know how to do." Jesus.

Let alone the atrociously corrupt and dysfunctional union, when you've managed to fight long and hard enough to have one. Say what you will about the tenets of unionized labor, at least it gives these poor bastards something to live on after they've had the life sucked out of them. It's a wonder that they manage to survive at all, and it's not surprising how there are pictures of the local United all over the place in people's modest homes, like pictures of holy relics.

I'm definitely pro-union, especially nowadays, and this book's drama really only reinforces how important having some institutional entity is. Horrible to hear of how it went down under one "Tony" Boyle who really is a nasty piece of work. Vain, temperamental, and dictatorial. And the utter creeps and losers that he farms out some wet work to (which was, even more worryingly, not the first time) really did stink to high heaven. Literally and morally.

And the noble Joseph "Jock" Yabolonski really did seem like he was too good to survive trying to go up against him, trying to win an election he knew he couldn't while risking his neck--quite literally at one point!-- to do what he knew was right.

That narrative arc is a pretty solid one on it's own. Had to deduct a star not because the story wasn't engaging, it was, but because after the brutal murders there isn't really much in the way of suspense. The corrupt, crooked, and stupid and incompetent crooks end up getting theirs without too much of a fight. I'm glad they got what was coming to them, but still it seemed like a pretty open and shut case.

Curious what the movie version might be like, where they'll take the story.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly well written book about the Yablonski Murders and the subsequent fall of Boyle from the presidency of the UMWA. After Yablonski ran against him, Boyle (who ran the UMWA from the pocket of the coal companies and chose district leadership himself) chose one of his district leaders to hire a man to murder Yablonski. After some false starts, he is able to do this and sends his daughter's partner off to commit the murder with a large payment. The murders take place and there is immediate suspicion that they are not just a random robbery. Yablonski’s sons push for more of an investigation, both into the murders and into the Union election that they think was rigged (it was). Eventually it comes out during the trials that the conspiracy went all the way to the top of the union. Boyle is voted out for a Yablonski supporter who went on to change the way union elections were run, increased pensions etc.
A really interesting and informative look at how unions changed in the 60s and 70s after the original rise of unions, especially miners unions. It was actually a really hopeful book, showing how workers can take power back from unfair leaders. I think the very end, talking about the move to other areas, like Montana and the west where Unions were not as entrenched was interesting if a bit depressing.

[Dan Bartfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the notes on sources section at the end of the book, the author wrote that this book was one of the most challenging writing projects of his career. I can see why. The effort he put into deeply examining this story and conveying why it is important deserves applause.

Looking at the description of this book on Amazon, you would be tempted to write it off as another historical true crime book, but it is more than that. What Bradley has done so brilliantly is place the assassination of Jock Yablonski as a pivotal moment in the turbulent 1960s that fits in with the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. A champion for a righteous cause is viciously gunned down by representatives of the corrupt establishment.

Bradley presents us the cast of characters almost like a novelist, some of them we despise, some of them we root for. The true hero of this story if Richard Sprague, the prosecutor who made it his mission to bring to justice to everyone involved with the slaying of Yablonski.

This book is not only an excellent read, but an important one as it demonstrates so clearly how power corrupts.

[Dave Scrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bradley writes a well researched and written account of the brutal murders of labor leader Jock Yablonski , his wife and daughter. Bradley reveals the politics of the United Mine Workers Union and then corruption and deceit that infested its organization. Yablonski challenged the leader of the Union Tony Boyle. Yablonski lost the election for President of UMWA. Boyle in an act of vengeance ordered and funded the assassination of Yablonski. Bradley describes the plot and characters well. The bungling hitmens 8 trips, the unfolding details, police work and the brilliant prosecution, by Richard Sorague, of the conspirators is well told in chronological order. I grew up 25 minutes away. I was 8 years old when I was watching the news and they announced they found the murdered bodies of the Yablonski family. My grandmother exclaimed that “it was that god damed Tony Boyle” who was behind the murders. She was found to be right in April of 1974. I highly recommend this book to be read.

[TheGroundBaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Def a decent book on a time in labor I did not know much about. I would say this book is half about labor and half a true crime book, the latter of which I’m not super interested in. I wish there had been more discussion on Yablonski’s reform campaign and more nuance on the tactics of the UMWA. You get the sense that Bradley thinks of these militant miners as a bunch of senseless thugs, even going so far as to frame the anti-company tactics as ridiculous or expects you to sympathize with the smaller coal companies in Appalachia. If you’ve watched the documentary Harlan County USA, in which it showed strikes the book mentions, you get a better sense of why militant and often violent tactics were used (they didn’t bring guns for no reason!). So with that said, decent but some of this still irked me

[RachelM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb writing , excellent reading! Interesting to see so many reviews from people who, like I, were from the area and very young when these murders occurred. It seems as though the 6pm local evening news reported on the Yablonski murders every night for YEARS. At age 7, I was too young to understand what was really going on, but I remember seeing the news and knowing something very bad had happened. All of it is very creepy and very very sad--to think of all of the good the union could have been doing for the union members, but the leaders were most interested in padding their own pockets and retaining their power. How could they justify their "church on Sunday, murder on Monday" mentality ? Anything to stay in power! Boyle and his crew simply had no morals.

[Kate Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book. To say it was utterly phenomenal would be a gross understatement. Hard to put down. Well researched. Can’t wait to see how Cillian Murphy and others produce this into a movie. Myself, I think it should be a limited series on a streaming platform. But if they could condense the Oppenheimer book - in the right hands - they can do it here. That said, hard to determine which part of this true crime story should be the main focus - but I have to say it really got riveting when the perpetrators started to confess and be tried. The special prosecutor involved (Richard Spague) was meticulous and dogged in his determination to bring justice. It took 4 years but he got there. So many rich characters - corrupt and evil - but nonetheless rich. The authors really did a great job!

[Fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW/TW: graphic mining deaths and injuries, murder, violence against workers, intimate partner/domestic violence, talk of SA of minors.

This felt like watching a true crime documentary. The author did such a good job of telling the story. There's a lot of history to cover, and throughout the book I remained very interested. Got it read in 2 days!

Shockingly similar to recent American politics: currupt politicians with sycophant worshipers, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds at the expense of disabled and elderly people, voter suppression, shocking disregard for worker safety, Mafia-like violence, and even "Make _______ Great Again" slogans.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the murder of Jock Yablonski on New Years Eve, 1968 after his unsuccessful campaign for President of the United Mine Workers where he challenged Tony Boyle. The author details how Tony Boyle ordered the murder of Yablonski and how the special prosecutor, Richard Sprague convicted everyone involved in the murders. The book was very well researched and it was really fast paced. I had a hard time putting the book down. The actual killers were a bunch of idiots, although Buddy Martin seemed like a stone-cold killer. The details of how many times they bungled the murder was pretty amazing. A really great read.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, horrifying recounting of the late 1969 murders of United Mine Workers of America union reformer Joseph Yablonski. Well researched, excellent journalism chronicles the history and dysfunctionality of the union and coal mining; the conspiracy to murder Yablonski; the horrific murder; thorough investigation, and excellent trial work that convicted the killers and top union leadership that authorized the killings. Great story about the power and reformation of Big Labor in the 1960s and ‘70s and also about how a committed prosecutor can successfully bring to justice not only the “little people” who commit the crime, but also the top echelon leaders behind the crime! 4.5 stars!