The World : British Miners Quit Union

Nottinghamshire coal miners, who work in the second largest field in Britain, broke away from the National Union of Mineworkers. The decision of the 28,000 miners in central England to leave the union, in protest against rule changes which make leftist leader Arthur Scargill president for life, could signal the breakup of the 143-year-old union. “The men at this conference will not bend their knees at the altar of Arthur Scargill,” Nottinghamshire union treasurer David Prendergast said in announcing the 228-20 vote to break away and form a new union.