Mike Trbovich (November 19, 1920 – June 24, 1989)[1] was a miner and labor union activist in the United Mine Workers of America, AFL-CIO, in the 1960s and 1970s.
Of Eastern European descent, Trbovich had a high school education, and worked as a coal shuttle operator in Pennsylvania for much of his life.
An active member of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), he rose to prominence in District 5 (which covered Pennsylvania) under reformer Joseph "Jock" Yablonski in the 1960s.
In addition, he filed five civil lawsuits against the UMWA, on specific charges related to actions against him and failure to run a fair election.
They met with attorney Joseph Rauh and organized a reform caucus to be called Miners for Democracy (MFD).
Anticipating that a new election would be ordered, members of the organization began campaigning as its potential presidential candidates, including black-lung advocate Arnold Miller, Trbovich, and miner Elijah Wood.
[3] Miller had triumphed over MFD insider Trbovich after a speech by UMWA District 17 president Jack Perry, who had conducted much lobbying for him.
Some miners held discriminatory views toward people of Eastern European ethnicity, such as Trbovich, who comprised a later wave of 20th-century immigrants in the industry; while others felt he was too militant.
These individuals had filled critical roles in the presidential campaign, but their lack of mining background alienated other, more conservative leaders such as Trbovich, who described them as "leftwing radicals from New York and Boston..."[8] Miller's first major defeat came in early 1973.
In early June 1974, Trbovich circulated a letter among UMWA's board of directors accusing Miller—and, to a lesser degree, Patrick—of gross financial mismanagement.
He accused Trbovich of keeping a public relations consultant on the payroll for six weeks longer than necessary, forcing Miller to fire her.
By that time, Trbovich had the support of 16 of the members on the board and an opposition slate was forming to challenge Miller in the 1977 presidential election.
At a meeting of United Mine Workers locals in northeastern Pennsylvania in early May, Miller and Trbovich engaged in a shouting match in front of the members.
In February 1977, as Congress debated surface mining reclamation legislation, Trbovich led a revolt of 15 board members.
Despite Miller's support for a ban on surface mining, the letter opposed the new legislation and suggested a state-by-state regulatory approach instead.
[11][8] Trbovich did not run for the presidency after members ridiculed his claims that communists and radicals secretly controlled the Miller administration.
But he emerged too weak to control the union's executive board and bargaining council; they voted for a national strike in December.