Joe Cavazzi was an Italian immigrant and working miner whose 15-year mining career by 1919 spanned much of Alberta. He joined the OBU that year and led the Humberstone Mine miners (in an area now within Edmonton’s Rundle Park Golf Course) during the Edmonton General Strike. After the strike all Alberta mine operators blacklisted him, and he worked precarious jobs. He was unemployed when he spoke to the Alberta Coal Commission on November 26, 1919. He told the commissioners that mines in the Edmonton region often lacked washhouses and none provided a dependable supply of water to the workers. They were often forced to work well over 8 hours a day. He also noted:
We have cold weather in this country; sometime around 45 below zero, and the miners get to stand outside there waiting for the fire boss to put the lamp—examine the lamp. The miners have to stay there 15 to 20 minutes in some mines where there’s a big crew. It seems to me, speaking humanly, there should be a big room there so the miners can go in and warm themselves instead of stay in the cold weather outside…
Some time we have a cave or the lamp run out. Probably fire boss isn’t there. Well, anything took place there the miner lose his life, because he ain’t no key to open the lamp, but if he has the small lamp in his pocket, just to use for emergency, save his life…
There should be in each mine—inside the mine—in every section or two sections a couple of blankets and an ambulance [meaning “stretcher”]…A miner can go there and take the blankets and the ambulance to support that fellow miner that has been hurt. It happened to me in Drumheller field last year, a man be shot and I had to go and take a board—was full of nails—and take the nails out and then carry him out on that board. That should be in the mine in case of accidents, and support men being hurt.