During the Great Depression, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) struggled and faced competition from rival unions. Just a dozen years after the Mine Wars had ended, things changed with the New Deal, which gave workers more rights, banned anti-union contracts, and allowed collective bargaining. West Virginia also oulawed the mine guard system.

With support from union leaders like Van Bittner (pictured), the UMWA successfully organized coal miners in 1933–34. It became the strongest union in the state and a powerful political force for decades to come.