text: As the coal industry grew, mining methods and laws changed rapidly.\nAs early as the 1850s, immigrants from Wales, England, and Scotland were brought over to work in the coal mines. As the coal industry grew, most of the mining was supported by out-of-state capital and thus was run by out-of-state in the mine superintendents. These men brought in cheap foreign labor, especially from southern Europe, and often abused them with long working hours, poor medical care, and generally inferior living conditions. The poor conditions in the mines brought about the first West Virginia coal mining legislation in 1883.\n\nA state mine inspector was appointed to inspect all mines for adequate safety conditions. In 1890, the state union of United Mine Workers of America was organized in Wheeling to push for better conditions. In 1905, the West Virginia Department of Mines was established to enforce inspections laws. But it was not until the Franklin Roosevelt era that the federal government stepped in to help the miners. The National Industrial Recovery Act, passed to help industry and labor during the Depression, established an 8-hour day and minimum wage provision, and condoned unions. Although the act was later declared unconstitutional, most of the industries had unionized by then. Since the 1930s, the union has been a powerful force in procuring welfare, retirement, and many other benefits for the miners.