Then another pickup truck pulled up and stopped. The couple in the truck said they needed to buy some lump coal. They didn’t want to cross the picket line, they said, and asked the strikers if they knew of another place where they could buy it. The strikers said they didn’t know of one. The couple said they hated to cross the picket line, but that they needed the coal to heat their home and proceeded to cross the line. That day the strikers found another place that sells lump coal, and one striker pointed out that they should make a big sign in fluorescent letters that tells everyone where to go to buy lump coal—including at night.

“Are you a UMWA representative?” asked a coal truck driver February 24, coming out of the Co-Op mine. The driver was leaving with a load of coal and stopped to talk to the miners on picket duty, who have been on strike against the company for five months. “You are hurting this company,” said the driver. Many times coal trucks like his are called out to the mine and wait around for hours, he told the strikers, but there is no coal to haul.

The driver and other coal haulers support the miners’ strike and they have also been discussing how to get organized themselves, he said, giving his name and phone number to the strikers to stay in touch.

These incidents have encouraged the strikers to reinforce their picket line, which has been set up since October 11. Miners are maintaining it daily with four six-hour shifts. A mobile trailer donated by a United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) retired miner has helped protect the strikers from the harsh winter. The trailer, equipped with a propane tank and a gas generator that provides heat and lights, is parked at the entrance to the road that leads to the Co-Op mine.

Now that winter is beginning to break, the miners report that they are setting up the picket line outside the trailer during more hours on picket shifts, especially during the 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. shift changes. The Co-Op bosses are running production on two 12-hour shifts.

The miners explain that having a visible picket line at the road will help increase solidarity. Many cars and trucks that pass the picket line on Highway 31 wave and honk as they drive by. Some drivers stop to talk to the strikers.

The walkout began September 22, when the company fired the workforce of 75 to the person because the workers, overwhelmingly from Mexico, protested unsafe working conditions and demanded the reversal of the suspension of one of the workers and an end to victimization against a number of union supporters on the job. The Co-Op miners have been trying to organize themselves into the UMWA.

The strike is featured in the January-February 2004 issue of the United Mine Workers Journal. “UMWA Supports Co-Op Miners’ Strike in Utah” reads the front-page headline below a picture of six miners on the picket line. A four-page article inside titled, “Co-op Miners’ Strike —A Pivotal Battle for Worker’s Rights!” describes how the strike began and the solidarity the miners have received.

Growing support from the labor movement across the United States has included solidarity resolutions approved by labor councils in Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco.

The Atlanta Labor Council adopted such a resolution February 11. After outlining the unsafe conditions, low wages, and discrimination by the company against the Co-Op miners, the statement says: “Be it RESOLVED, the Atlanta Labor Council stands firmly with the striking miners in solidarity.

“RESOLVED, that this organization work among its constituency and community allies to mobilize support, both financial and with letters of support,

“Further be RESOLVED, ask our Affiliates and Coalition Partners to write or email Governor Olene Walker [of Utah] to investigate the Kingston’s business practices.”

The Kingstons are a family of millionaires who own the Co-Op mine and many other businesses stretching across several western states.

Support from the labor movement is also generating backing from religious and other organizations.

On February 26, a delegation of supporters of the Co-Op strike in Salt Lake City, Utah, three Co-Op strikers, and a UMWA representative met with Mark Shurtleff, the attorney general of the state of Utah. The delegation included representatives of the Catholic Diocese, the Utah Federation of Labor, Jobs with Justice, the AFL-CIO, and others. They asked the attorney general to investigate the Co-Op mine.

On March 1, the Co-Op strikers were invited to address members of the Communications Workers of America Local 7704 in Salt Lake City. The next day they spoke before the monthly meeting of the Salt Lake Central Labor Council.  
 
 
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