ICONIC STRIKES #7: The U.K. Miners' Strike - The 1984-85 United Kingdom miners’ strike was a 362 days long strike that ultimately saw the decline in the power of trade unions. - Coal mining had been on a steep decline throughout the 20th century, with the industry employing approximately 1,000,000 workers in 1922, and only 231,000 by 1982. At that point, the coal mining industry was heavily subsidized by the government. In 1979 Margret Thatcher became Prime Minister. Her political and economic p