Mining unions, particularly coal and related industries like steel production, have a long history. We have included a highly abbreviated overview. There are names that have not been included, but we have tried to include some of the larger organizations, and provide dates and history. Also included are some of the most notable organization names or events as they can be used to find additional books, articles, and other resources. When appropriate, we have included a few individuals of note as searching on people is another way to research the union and its activities which can be important when it comes to researching older and lesser known unions and events.

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)

The United Mine Workers of America was formed in 1890 when they teamed up with the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers and the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135. The union was heavily involved in many of the mining strikes including Paint Creek and Cabin Creek in West Virginia, and the Colorado Coalfield War (September 1913 - December 1914). They were also involved in events related to the Ludlow Massacre in 1914 and other events in what has become known as the Coal Wars. It has been led by a number of men, most notably John L. Lewis.

United Steel Workers of America (USW)

The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW) was established May 22, 1942 with representatives from the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and the Tin Workers and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) of the CIO. The first president of the USW was Philip Murray.

The history of the union and its predecessors is tied to the history of many of the events that have defined the industry. Of special note is the Homestead Strike, which began on June 29, 1892. Henry Clay Frick, representing Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel, demanded that workers accept a pay cut. On that same day, he locked the workers out. Violence ensued and a number of people were killed before members voted to return to work on November 20, 1892. In the coming years, the union and its president Michael F. Tighe fought Carnegie companies but the union's prominence declined somewhat. The New Deal reinvigorated the union and over time other unions merged into USW. Here is a list of a few of those unions that are now part of USW.

• Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA): This organization was formed in 1876 and represented skilled iron and steelworkers. In 1900 it became the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers.
• International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (IUMMSW): The IUMMSW was founded in 1916 when the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) changed its name to International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, sometimes known as Mine Mill. It absorbed the National Association of Die Casting Workers in 1942 and merged with USW in the 1960s.
• United Stone and Allied Product Workers of America (USAPWA): Originally known as Quarry Workers' International Union of North America, USAPWA formed in 1903 as a result of the merger of the Quarrymen's National Union of the United States of America' which operated in the 1890s and the National State Quarrymen's Union which operated only a few years in the 1890s. It took its final name in the 1940s and merged with the USW in 1971.
• International Union of District 50, Allied and Technical Workers of the United States and Canada: This organization's history goes back to the 1930s, and has had a few names including Massachusetts Council of Utility Workers, the New England Council of Utility Workers, and lastly the National Council of Gas and By-Product Coke Workers. It merged into the USW in 1972.
• Upholsterers International Union of North America (UIU or UIUNA): This union was founded in 1892 and officially changed the name to Upholsterers, Carpet and Linoleum Mechanics' International Union of North America though the original name was still in use. It merged with the USW in 1985.
• United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW): This union was founded in 1935 as the United Rubber Workers of America and merged with the USW in 1995.
• Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers Union (ABG): This union was founded in 1981 as the Aluminum, Brick and Clay Workers' International Union, but changed its name in 1982 after it absorbed the United Glass and Ceramics Workers of North America. In 1996 it merged into USW.
• American Flint Glass Workers' Union (AFGWU): This union was founded in 1878 to represent workers in the glassware and related goods industries. It merged into the USW in 2003.
• Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW): The International Association of Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America was founded in 1918 and in 1937 it changed its name to the Oil Workers International Union (OWIU). In 1955, OWIU merged with the United Gas, Coke, and Chemical Workers of America (UGCCWA), originally founded as United Mine Workers of America, and took on the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union name. In 1999, OCAW merged with United Paperworkers International Union to form the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE). In 2005, PACE merged into the USW.