172:(DOL). DOL found evidence of fraud and sued to overturn the 1973 election. The Steelworkers union settled the case out-of-court. Sadlowski then sued the union to recover his legal fees, incurred by Yablonski, Joseph Rauh and two others. On December 16, 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the union must cover the cost of legal fees up until the time Sadlowski filed his DOL fraud claim. The award was a major victory for individuals who successfully sue their labor unions over corruption.
215:"We loved and admired our father. We respected him, and my brother and I would like to carry him to his final resting place. But we deem it proper to do otherwise. My brother Joseph with our cousins from my mother's family will carry our mother, and I with our cousins from my father's family will carry our sister Charlotte. We entrust our father to the coal miners, whom he loved so much."
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On
December 31, 1969, Jock Yablonski, his wife Margaret, and their 25-year-old daughter Charlotte were ambushed and shot dead by three assassins acting on the orders of Boyle, who had paid for them with union money Boyle had embezzled. Worried that he had not heard from his family since Christmas,
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Kenneth
Yablonski was a director of the Yablonski Memorial Clinic. The clinic was founded in 1955 by UMWA to bring health care to mining families in rural areas of Pennsylvania. Originally called the Centerville Clinic, it was renamed the Yablonski Memorial Clinic in honor of his father, Jock.
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In the aftermath of his family's murders, Kenneth
Yablonski joined with his brother and other miners to form the Miners for Democracy (MFD) in 1970, a reform movement within UMWA. Lou Antal, president of UMWA District 5, hired Kenneth Yablonski to represent him as he attempted to overturn his
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Although he later ended his relationship with Miller due to differences over Miller's leadership of the international union, Yablonski continued to serve as an attorney with his father's old
District 5, advising on workers' compensation issues and acting as counsel until 1981.
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on
December 8, 1962. A total of 37 miners lost their lives. Yablonski won a court order forcing the local coroner to perform an inquest. This provided evidence that helped the families win expanded survivors' benefits from the Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Board.
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After losing the election, and believing that Boyle had committed election fraud, Jock
Yablonski sued to overturn the election and asked authorities to investigate these allegations.
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The UMWA had no rules for fair election, and had printed nearly 51,000 excess ballots, a sizeable percentage of union membership, which should have been destroyed.
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ran for president of the international union in 1977 and for
District 31 president in 1973. He lost both times, and filed election fraud petitions with the
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unseated Boyle in an election, which was overseen by DOL to prevent fraud, and also saw other officials who had backed Boyle swept out of office.
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In the 1960s, Yablonski's father, Joseph A. "Jock" Yablonski, a long-time union representative, made a number of attempts to reform the
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In 1964, Yablonski won a precedent-setting case involving benefits to survivors of a mine disaster. A mine explosion occurred at
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investigation of the 1969 election resulted in its being overturned by a court in 1972. In
December of that year, reform miner
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cases, overcoming employer objections to providing medical and financial benefits for stricken miners and their families.
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He had been removed from his position as acting director of Labor's Non-Partisan League in retaliation for his candidacy.
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Yablonski continued to represent individual miners in various cases throughout his life. In the 1980s, he won several
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In 1961, he co-founded the firm of
Yablonski, Costello and Leckie. He worked with the firm for the rest of his life.
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84:. During and after the election, which he lost, Jock Yablonski was represented and assisted by labor attorneys
22:(February 13, 1934 – September 8, 2002) was a noted attorney with the firm of Yablonski, Costello and Leckie in
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In 1965, Yablonski married
Shirley DiRocile (1935–2007). They had three sons, Kenneth, Mark and Joseph.
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In 1982, Yablonski won a precedent-setting Supreme Court case concerning attorney's fees.
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The UMWA had violated its fiduciary duties by spending union funds on Boyle's re-election.
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in 1959. His father was an activist and leader with the United Mine Workers of America (
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Sabatini, Patricia, "Kenneth J. Yablonski; Champion of Miners, Son of Slain Reformer",
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Kenneth J. Yablonski and Joseph A. Yablonski v. United Mine Workers of America et al.,
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Yablonski served as chairman of the board of directors of the clinic until his death.
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Boyle and UMWA had denied him use of the union's mailing lists as provided for by law.
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on January 5, 1970, where they discovered the bodies of his slain family.
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Carelli, Richard, "Chicago Steelworker Wins Bid on Lawyers' Fees",
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district's 1970 election results (which had been rigged by Boyle).
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was being used by Boyle as a campaign and propaganda mouthpiece.
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Kenneth Yablonski and a friend drove to the Yablonski home in
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Jock Yablonski brought five lawsuits alleging that:
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245:Yablonski, K. (1976). In: B. Kopple (dir.).
344:People from Washington County, Pennsylvania
33:and Ann (Huffman) Yablonski. He obtained a
53:), and Yablonski began to represent him.
88:and Daniel Edelman, and sons Kenneth and
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47:West Virginia University College of Law
349:United Mine Workers of America people
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134:The joint Department of Labor and
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339:American people of Polish descent
170:United States Department of Labor
364:West Virginia University alumni
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309:Yablonski, Costello and Leckie
236:466 F.2d 424 (August 3, 1972).
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369:20th-century American lawyers
164:United Steelworkers reformer
16:American attorney (1934–2002)
359:Waynesburg University alumni
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65:Greene County, Pennsylvania
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354:United Steelworkers people
125:Clarksville, Pennsylvania
41:in 1956 and received his
82:W. A. "Tough Tony" Boyle
63:'s Robena No. 3 Mine in
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90:Joseph "Chip" Yablonski
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276:"Deaths Elsewhere",
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299:Harlan County, USA
204:Harlan County, USA
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39:Waynesburg College
278:The Baltimore Sun
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329:2002 deaths
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107:UMW Journal
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269:"Deaths",
257:References
61:U.S. Steel
193:Legacy
220:Notes
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304:IMDb
105:The
51:UMWA
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136:FBI
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