Considering its current definition (see below) and the wish to be politically correct, I wonder whether the word has come to acquire any racist overtone.
What is a coal miner hewer-Ask.com. Coal miner hewer is a person who hews or cuts the coal from its natural situation. The hewer is the actual coal-digger removing it from the coal face.
who is a coal - miner ? A Description of the Occupations in and Around the Coal-Mines T HIS I. W. W. handbook for coal-miners is going to be read with interest by tens of thousands of workers, inside and outside the I. W. W., who have never seen a tipple, much less been down in a coal-mine.