Ex-UMW Chief Arnold Miller Dies; Led Union to Democracy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former United Mine Workers President Arnold Miller, who presided over the installation of democracy in a union that had long been the under the iron control of its top officers, died after a long illness today at 62.

Miller, who lived in Charleston, served as the UMW’s president from 1972 to 1979, a tenure that was sometimes stormy and included a record strike. He presided over changes in the internal structure of the UMW, which for years had been the personal domain of such strong leaders as John L. Lewis and W. A. “Tony” Boyle.

In addition to arthritis, Miller suffered from black lung disease and high blood pressure. These ailments forced him to quit mining in 1969. It was then that the soft-spoken Miller, who was trying to support his wife and two children on a $106 military disability pension, began devoting all of his time trying to improve conditions for coal miners.

Miller’s work on behalf of miners began with his efforts to have black lung recognized as a compensable ailment. In three years, he was catapulted from obscurity to the presidency of the 270,000-member United Mine Workers of America, the major union representing coal miners.