FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH
31, 2021
[TRIANGLE, VA.] The United Mine Workers of America
(UMWA) yesterday afternoon issued an unfair labor practice strike notice at
Warrior Met Coal, Inc., to begin at 10:30 p.m. CDT on April 1, 2021. The notice
covers more than 1,100 workers at all of the company’s operations, including
the #4 mine, the #5 preparation plant, the #7 mine and its Central Shop.
“Our members are the reason Warrior
Met even exists today,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said.
“They made the sacrifices to bring this company out of the bankruptcy of Walter
Energy in 2016.
“These productive, professional
miners at Warrior Met mined the coal that meant the company could become
successful again,” Roberts said. “And Warrior Met has capitalized on their hard
work, earning tens of millions in profits for their Wall Street owners. They
have even rewarded upper management with bonuses of up to $35,000 in recent
weeks.
“But today, instead of rewarding the
sacrifices and work of the miners, Warrior Met is seeking even further
sacrifices from them, while demonstrating perhaps some of the worst
labor-management relations we’ve seen in this industry since the days of the
company town and company store,” Roberts said.
“Despite repeated attempts by our
negotiating team to bridge the differences we have at the bargaining table,
Warrior Met is going backwards,” Roberts said. “We have always been ready to
reach a fair agreement that recognizes the sacrifices our members and their
families made to keep this company alive. At this point, Warrior Met is not.”
The UMWA has filed unfair labor
practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board relating to Warrior
Met’s conduct during negotiations, and expects to prevail on the merits of
those charges.
UMWA dues-paying members who
participate in picket line or other strike duty will receive bi-weekly strike
assistance payments from the union’s Selective Strike fund. The union is
procuring health care coverage for members and their families for the duration
of the strike.
“Nobody in their right mind ever
wants to strike,” Roberts said. “But sometimes the company’s actions and
disregard for the welfare of workers and their families forces a strike. This
is one of those times. Our members at Warrior Met should know that they have
the full backing of the entire International Union and working families across
Alabama, the United States and the world. Despite Warrior Met’s apparent
appetite for this conflict, we will prevail.”
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