Labor History of Cass

 

The labor history at Cass—spanning the double-band sawmill of the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company (WVP&P, later Westvaco) and the company-owned Greenbrier, Cheat & Elk Railroad (GC&E)—reflected the intense struggle between industrial Appalachian company paternalism and twentieth-century union organizing.

Early Paternalism and the Company Town Citadel (1901–1930s)

From its establishment in 1901, Cass was designed as a closed company town engineered to prevent labor unrest and union entry:

• The Paternalistic Framework: WVP&P owned every house, store, boarding house, and water line. The company store operated as the commercial center, extending credit and scrip that tied workers’ day-to-day survival directly to continued employment.
  
  
• Segregated Workforce & Strategic Divisions: Management deliberately structured its labor force into distinct geographic and social tiers:
  
  
  • Mountain Woods Crews: Loggers and skidder operators lived in isolated, temporary rail camps high on Cheat Mountain and Shavers Fork (such as Spruce and Camp 1). Many were transient "hobo loggers" and immigrant laborers.
    
    
  • Mill & Shop Men: Mill hands, sawyers, and locomotive mechanics lived in the permanent town of Cass.
    
    
  • Railroad Crews: Engineers, firemen, and brakemen on the GC&E held high-skill, hazardous roles navigating 8% to 11% grades.
    
    
• Anti-Union Mechanisms: Company-paid private police and spotters monitored town halls and rail stops. Anyone suspected of union sympathies or meeting with organizers (such as Industrial Workers of the World "Wobblies" passing through the lumber belt) was summarily fired and evicted from company housing.
  
  

Workplace Hazards and Grievance Catalysts

Logging the high-elevation red spruce and operating heavy band mills generated staggering casualty rates, creating simmering resentment:

• Runaways and Derailments: Steep switchbacks, ice-covered rails, and failing air brakes on log trains regularly resulted in catastrophic derailments and fatalities for GC&E crews.
  
  
• Overhead Skidders & "Kickbacks": Steam skidders dragged massive logs across mountainsides with tremendous velocity, snapping cables and crushing ground crewmen ("chokermen").
  
  
• Mill Amputations: The twin 11-foot band saws ran at dizzying speeds in uninsulated, deafening mills where severed limbs, lacerations, and crush injuries were common.
  
  
• Explosive Spruce Slash Fires: Loggers were often forced to battle raging forest fires sparked by locomotive cinders without protective gear or hazard pay.
  
  

New Deal Organizing and Union Recognition (1930s–1940s)

The Great Depression and the passage of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act) fundamentally broke the open-shop barrier at Cass:

• CIO Industrial Organizing: In the late 1930s and early 1940s, organizers from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)—initially through the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) and later district organizing affiliates—successfully signed up mill workers, shop mechanics, and woodsmen under an industrial "wall-to-wall" union model.
  
  
• Rail Brotherhoods: Operating crews on the Greenbrier, Cheat & Elk Railroad established representation through the traditional rail operating brotherhoods (such as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen), aligning their work rules and safety grievances with national rail standards.
  
  
• Wartime Production & Formal Contracts: During World War II, peak demand for spruce aircraft timber, ship decking, and pulpwood gave workers unprecedented bargaining power, securing structured wage scales, seniority rules, standard 8-hour days, and formalized grievance boards.
  
  

The Mower Lumber Era and Labor Disputes (1942–1960)

In 1942, WVP&P sold the Cass mill, town, and GC&E rail operations to the Mower Lumber Company, led by Edwin Mower. Mower shifted focus entirely to commercial hardwood and spruce lumber rather than pulpwood.

• Post-War Strike Activity: As the post-war timber boom cooled, Mower faced tightening profit margins and repeatedly pushed for wage freezes and productivity step-ups. In response, unionized mill and rail workers engaged in targeted contract walkouts and wildcat strikes over:
  
  
  • Wage Parity: Fighting against regional wage rollbacks compared to unionized mills in Pennsylvania and the Pacific Northwest.
    
    
  • Workplace Safety & Equipment Upkeep: Rail crews protested deteriorating trackage, worn braking gear on log disconnect cars, and lack of safety staffing on switchback trains.
    
    
• Arbitration and Grievances: The union successfully challenged unfair discipline, fought arbitrary firings, and demanded company maintenance on rental housing in Cass.
  
  

Mill Closure and the Preservation Pivot

By the late 1950s, the virgin spruce stands across Cheat Mountain were virtually exhausted.

• The 1960 Shutdown: Unable to operate profitably in an era of falling lumber prices, increased transport costs, and union labor rates, Mower Lumber permanently closed the Cass mill on June 30, 1960, laying off the entire mill workforce and shutting down the GC&E logging lines.
  
  
• From Labor Strife to Heritage Rail: Rather than being scrapped, the railroad infrastructure was saved by community advocates, local leaders, and railroad preservationists. By 1961–1963, the state of West Virginia purchased the line and shops to create Cass Scenic Railroad State Park—transforming the very rail lines and locomotive shops where generations of workers had fought for safety into a world-renowned living history and tourist enterprise.