The Militant (logo)  
   Vol. 68/No. 9           March 8, 2004  
 
 
Coal strikers in Utah speak
to miners’ locals in the West
(front page)
 
BY GUILLERMO ESQUIVEL  
HUNTINGTON, Utah—“Dear brothers and sisters we thank you for inviting us to speak before you and tell you about our strike,” said Jesús Salazar, a leader of the strike to win union recognition for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at the Co-Op mine here. Salazar was addressing the February 18 morning meeting of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 953 in Kirtland, New Mexico. The local organizes more than 400 coal miners, overwhelmingly Navajos, who five days earlier had ended a successful 12-day walkout against BHP Billiton, winning a substantial increase in wages and medical coverage and strengthening their union.

A delegation of five Co-Op miners, who are overwhelmingly from Mexico, made the six-hour trip south to Kirtland to address two meetings of the local there. On February 20 a second delegation of four miners and a spouse drove four hours north to Kemmerer, Wyoming, to speak before UMWA Local 1307. The outcome of these meetings showed that after five months on strike against CW Mining, also known as Co-Op, the Utah coal miners continue to broaden support for their struggle throughout the Western coalfields.

“On September 22, we were fired from Co-Op for walking out in defense of a co-worker and demanding safer conditions,” Salazar told the IUOE members. “They threw the cops on us and kicked everybody out of mine property. Today after five months in our fight we ask you for your support.”

The New Mexico miners applauded and began asking questions and making comments in support of their brothers and sisters at Co-Op. “We Navajos suffer the same discrimination that our brothers from the south face,” said one of the IUOE members. “We should throw all of our support to help the Mexican miners. That’s my opinion.”

Wars Peterman, Local 953 president, said that even though they had just signed a contract, “tomorrow we might need their support to help us too. We have other contracts expiring in 2006 and 2008. That’s a good reason to solidarize with the Co-Op miners.”

The 438 surface miners represented by Local 953 voted 249 to 169 to approve a four-year contract that gives all workers a $1.00 wage increase, followed by annual increases of 2 percent, 1.75 percent, and 2 percent for the remaining three years. They also won a raise in the allowance for Native Healing, or traditional medicine.

At the February 18 afternoon Local 953 meeting, Co-Op miners Ricardo Chávez and Celso Panduro addressed another group of mostly Navajo miners. Chávez, a rock picker at Co-Op, said, “We are not giving up. We are determined to win. We have gained support in California and other states and are getting more backing from people like you.”

“At Co-Op the bosses intimidated workers to operate unsafe equipment,” said Panduro, a roof bolter for six years at the mine. “They take away your pay if you question anything. Many miners have injured themselves working on machinery that the bosses refuse to fix.” Many of the Local 953 members present nodded their heads in agreement when they heard this remark.

Before departing for Utah, the Co-Op miners invited their New Mexico brothers to visit their picket line.

At the request of Wars Peterman, the Co-Op miners also drafted a thank-you letter that included a request for a financial donation from Local 953. “We would like to ask for your support in this time of need,” the letter said. “We would like to request a financial donation towards our struggle for union recognition. We thank you for your invitation to address two of your local meetings. We also invite you to our picket line in Huntington, Utah, at the Bear Canyon mine. An Injury to One is an Injury to All! ˇSí se puede!”  
 
Visit to Kemmerer, Wyoming
Two days later, four other Co-Op miners spoke before a meeting of UMWA Local 1307 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Gonzalo Salazar, an underground mechanic for four years at Co-Op, described their struggle for union protection. “I told them that for many years there’s been a lot of abuse, lies, and a false union made up of bosses who victimize the miners,” Salazar said in an interview. “It’s important for us to keep gaining support to organize a real union with the UMWA.”

Dallas Wolf, an UMWA representative who lives near Kemmerer, introduced the Co-Op miners. Miners present said they remembered the Co-Op miners’ delegation that addressed the UMWA Special Convention in Las Vegas in late September of last year.

UMWA Local 1307 members won a big victory in their walkout in August 2000. During that battle, they defeated attempts by Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Co. (P&M) in its attempt to impose 12-hour workdays, seven days a week, and force miners to pay a portion of their medical benefits. The Kemmerer miners along with UMWA Local 1332 at the McKinley mine in New Mexico, a local of mostly Navajo miners, joined forces in the fight. They later celebrated a joint victory against P&M, preserving an eight-hour workday, higher pay, and a reduction in the probation period.

Following the union meeting, several members of UMWA Local 1307 took the Co-Op miners to their union offices where they presented them with a check for $500. The miners were also given a check of $500 from the UMWA local representing the city workers in Kemmerer. The Utah miners invited Local 1307 members to come join the picket line in Huntington.  
 
Kemmerer strike
The Kemmerer miners described their walkout four years ago. A very strong women’s auxiliary, called “The Miners Backbone”—which continues to meet to this day—was decisive in that battle, they said. The Kemmerer UMWA members loaded the Utah strikers’ car with all of the plastic plates, cups, and silverware that were left over from their picket lines during the 2000 strike.

UMWA Local 1307 Financial Secretary Larry Linville and Robert Clarke, the local’s vice president, treated the strikers to a sloppy Joe and chili dinner at the local Kemmerer museum. They encouraged the strikers to stay strong and offered to help contact other union locals in Wyoming.

Back in Huntington, miners at the nearby Deer Creek mine who are members of UMWA Local 1769 delivered a truck full of food to the Co-Op miners on February 18. Donated items included milk, eggs, ground beef, bacon, fresh fruits, and vegetables. “We’ll do it again in two weeks,” said Lou Shelley, president of that local. “Just let us know what you need.”

Financial and other donations for the strike can be sent to the Co-Op Miners Relief Fund, c/o UMWA District 22, 525 East 100 South, Price, Utah 84501.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home