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Railton explores the connections between America’s past and present.
On April 1, 1946, 75 years ago today, the United Mine Workers of America (represented by union president John L. Lewis) and the United States government (represented by Secretary of the Interior Julius Krug) signed the historic Promise of 1946, also known as the Krug-Lewis Agreement. Mine workers had been on strike since just after the conclusion of World War II, advocating for better medical, welfare, and retirement protections. The Promise of 1946 created separate retirement and medical funds that would later be combined into the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds. These funds were collective safety nets for all the challenges faced by these workers and were guaranteed by the federal government.