Coal Employment Project
The Coal Employment Project (CEP) was a non-profit women's organization in the United States from 1977–1996 with the goal of women gaining employment as miners. With local support groups in both the eastern and western coalfields, CEP also advocated for women on issues such as sexual harassment, mine safety, equal access to training and promotions, parental leave, and wages. Originally headquartered in Jacksboro, TN, CEP moved to Oak Ridge and added field offices in Hazard, KY, Westernport, MD, and Denver, CO, as well as regional support teams. Its last headquarters were in Knoxville, TN. Founding Women working in the coal mining industry is not recent nor rare. Hundreds of male coal miners brought their wives with them to coal mining camps in the early 1900s. Just because the female sex was not allowed in the mines themselves did not mean they did not help. Living in tents while raising children, cooking, cleaning, and taking part in strikes that demanded better pay and labor conditions for their husbands were only some of the events they participated in. It was only natural that they demanded a larger role in the coal mining workplace. Moreover, during the mid-to-late 1900s, coal mining jobs were often the only well paying jobs in Appalachia. The average starting wage was $60 per day, and the U.S. federal government projected up to 45,000 new coal mining jobs every year until 1985. The superstition that a woman even entering a mine was bad luck and results in disaster was pervasive among male miners. The spark that lead to the organization's founding was when a woman team member from two Tennessee grassroots advocacy organizations, the East Tennessee Research Corporation (ETRC) and Save Our Cumberland Mountains, was barred from a planned mine tour to better understand deep mining operations. Before they could go on the tour, the groups were required to submit the names of those who would enter the mine. Such was the standard procedure to ensure that the coal companies could obtain signed waivers to prevent liability suits. The mine operator therefore saw the woman team member's name and told the ETRC director that the woman could not go on the tour. He claimed that, if she did, "the men would walk out; the mine would shut down." Thus, the men went on the tour and the woman did not. Following the tour, both attending groups determined that the mine operator preventing a woman from going on a tour was a clear sign that a woman was not likely to be hired for a coal mining job. They also agreed that women would not gain any economic equality in Appalachia if the coal industry continued to systemically discriminate against women like in this case. The ETRC director then contacted attorney Betty Jean Hall, and the two began to seek funding for an organization to research issues related to women's employment in the industry. The first funding came from a $5,000 grant from the Ms. Foundation. Strategies Initial research CEP's