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1980-1989 on-board detailed log of operations, and a graph of penetration rate versus depth. Due to the simple fact that surface mining is a far more productive method for coal extraction, it grows to more than 61% of total U.S. production by the end of the decade. Prep Plants Invest in Fine Coal Recovery The increase use of continuous miners and the need to liberate sulfur were cre- ating more fines. Prep plant operators investigate more techniques, such as heavy-media cyclones and froth flotation to recover the finer coal sizes that were once discarded but are now salable. Prep plants also begin to experiment with other forms of fine coal recovering, including filter presses, multi-deck screens (including Banana screens) and primitive spirals. In 1986, United Coal Co.'s research division, working with Diester Concentrator and Clint Hollingsworth (inventor), develop a pro- duction version of his new forth flotation concept, the Floataire cell. Column flota- tion becomes a reality. The first 8-ft dia x 15-ft high commercial cell capable of pro- cessing 20 ton per hour (tph) commenced operation June 23, 1986. Traditional technologies improve as well. KHD Humboldt Wedag offers a 350 tph Romjg for separating coarse coals. Online analysis enters the coal prep lexicon and begins to assist blending operations to better meet specifications. By the end of the decade, more than 500 prep plants are listed in the Coal Age Prep Plant Census. The UMWA Becomes More Organized At the beginning of the decade, employ- ment stands at roughly 250,000. Underground coal miners are the best paid industrial workers in the country, with an average hourly wage in 1985 of $15.25. Steel workers made $13.35 an hour and construction workers averaged $12.26 an hour that year. Much of those gains came through collective bargaining. As the decade begins, the coal industry is still recovering from the 111-day strike in 1978 when the UMWA and BCOA last nego- tiated terms of their agreement. In early 1980, Wildcat strikes are still occurring fre- quently in Appalachia. Sam Church Jr. has replaced Arnold Miller as head of the UMWA. Church moves quickly, according to Coal Age, to put the flagging union's house in order as it prepares for March 1981 negotiations when the current UMWA- 142 www.coalage.com 100th Anniversary Special Issue BCOA contract expires. Consol, which had withdrawn from the BCOA in May 1979, returns to the BCOA when Church describes a selective strike strategy. Coalfield politics and bungled commu- nications inside the UMWA helped turn 1981's critical coal negotiations into a long strike. The impact of the strike is not expect- ed to be as bad as 1978, but it damages the UMWA'a bargaining power. Despite promising signs in 1980 and 1981 of better UMWA leadership under Church, he ulti- mately fails. The result of this strike would lead to selective bargaining by 1984. From a high of 70% in 1974, the UMWA grip on eastern coalfields slips to 49% in 1978 and 44% in 1981, and many believe it will slip further. The BCOA, according to Coal Age, had its act together much more so than dur- ing the 1978 collective bargaining session. On March 31, 1981, UMWA rank-and- file votes down the proposed contract by a 2:1 margin. Consol's B.R. Brown warns that the UMWA rejection reflects a dis- turbing lack of bargaining discipline in the UMWA, which puts the integrity of the *Coal Age, June 1984 August 2012