Collection: Iowa

John L. Lewis was born February 12th 1880, to Welsh immigrant parents in the coal mining camp of Cleveland, Iowa- one mile East of Lucas, Iowa. He began working in the Big Hill Coal Mine in Lucas, IA as a teenager, joining the UMWA Local #799 in 1900. He began his rise to power in the United Mine Workers of America and served as President of the UMWA for forty years and was founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

The Iowa Labor History Society is a non-profit made up of individuals and affiliate organizations that have joined together to preserve and promote the rich history of Iowa’s workers—the lives, labors, and struggles that shaped the history of our state.