The driver gave the strikers the name of his boss and where to contact the company. He pointed out that when the Deserado mine in western Colorado was hit by a strike, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) contacted his boss and the picket line was honored. The boss was contacted that afternoon and he said the picket line would not be crossed.

On Sept. 22, 2003, the company illegally fired 75 miners for protesting the suspension of one of their co-workers. The miners had been involved in union-organizing activities with the support of the UMWA. They set up picket lines on October 3.

The Co-Op mine is owned by the Kingston family, a millionaire family in Utah that owns businesses in six western states.

The miners, now into their sixth month on strike, are determined to outlast the Co-Op bosses. With the weather getting much warmer during the day, strikers have upgraded and organized more visible picket lines.

The miners reported March 26 that the previous week a United Parcel Service delivery truck driver stopped when he saw the pickets waving their signs at him. “This is a picket line—we’re on strike. We ask you not to cross, and to support our strike,” Alyson Kennedy said she told the driver.

“The driver said he was a Teamster and supports the strike. He said all the parts he delivers that are addressed to CW Mining he delivers to a convenience store in Huntington. He said he calls the mine and tells them to pick up the parts. That day he was delivering a package to a house up the road,” she said.

Co-Op strikers report that with a number of strikers getting jobs, they have reorganized the picket shifts into three eight-hour shifts. They said this will enable them to have larger crews on the picket line and have enough strikers to carry out the important outreach work to other unions.

During the day, especially on the weekend, local people come to Co-Op to buy lump coal to heat their homes. In response, the strikers made a big sign with red fluorescent paint that says, “Miners on Strike—Buy Lump Coal at Andalex Scale House—Andalex $38/ton Co-Op $45/ton.”

On March 20, three strikers attended the Four Corners Central Labor Council meeting at the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona. The striking Co-Op miners made the trip as part of their efforts to keep broadening their support in the West. “They demonstrated their solidarity to us. They continue to support us, they received us well, and they listened to what we had to say,” explained Jesús Salazar, one of the leaders of the strike, on the meeting with the Council, made up mostly of Navajo unionists. “They help us gain the courage to keep going.”

Coal miners represented by UMWA Locals 1332 and 1924, and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 953 in Arizona and New Mexico are members of the council and have supported the Co-Op miners with financial donations. A few miners have visited the picket line in Huntington, Utah.

“After talking with us for a while the council passed a motion to write a letter to all their union locals to support the strike with financial donations and letters of support,” reported Bill Estrada, another Co-Op striker. “Before we left, a union officer for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 387 invited to their next meeting,” said Estrada.

Salazar reported that the unionists passed around the hat for gas money and took a group picture with the council before heading back.

Later that evening, the three strikers went back to Price, Utah, to attend a dinner and dance that raised $1000. The money will go toward payments for rents and utilities. The event was organized by the miners, their spouses, and the local Mission San Rafael Catholic Church.

For financial donations and letters of support write to: Co-Op Miners c/o UMWA District 22, 525 East 100 South. Price, UT 84501. Write checks to the Co-Op Miners Fund.
 
 
Related article:
Boston-area unions hold tour for Co-Op strikers  
 
 
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