The miners, who returned to the job July 12 after a nine-and-a-half month strike, say they are making progress in winning support among other production workers for the UMWA and challenging the legitimacy of the company “union,” the so-called International Association of United Workers Union (IAUWU).

Miners say they are also documenting and standing up to selective enforcement of safety rules, a series of verbal and written warnings against supporters of the UMWA, and flagrant violations of the recent settlement the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) negotiated between the UMWA and Co-Op owners, the Kingstons.

To broaden solidarity with their struggle, miners say they are also responding to new invitations to speak in front of labor bodies. Labor solidarity, they note, was crucial in forcing the company to make an unconditional offer to return to all the strikers, after the NLRB ruled in June that the 75 miners had been fired illegally last September.  
 
Phony union meeting
In order to give a facelift to the company outfit, officers of the IAUWU organized a “union” meeting on August 6. A flyer was posted at the mine, workers said, urging miners to attend. The meeting turned into more than the bosses had bargained for because the Co-Op miners who support the UMWA decided to go. “When the first UMWA miners walked into that room you could have heard a pin drop,” said Alyson Kennedy, one of the stalwarts of the UMWA organizing effort.

When they arrived, about a dozen people were in the room, miners reported. These included Chris Grundvig, Dana Jenkins, and Warren Pratt, who are “officers” of the IAUWU—president, vice-president, and secretary treasurer, respectively. Nevin Pratt, IAUWU international vice-president was also there. All four are either bosses or directly connected to the Kingston family, according to miners who attended the meeting. These “officers” admit that there is only one local in this so-called international union—the one at Co-Op.

Seven miners from Mexico who work on the surface in the outside shop were also at the meeting, having arrived early. These miners were not part of the strike.

More miners came to the meeting as they were getting off work. Nine who had taken part in the strike attended in all. One of these miners said he raised his hand and asked about the “new” contract Grundvig kept referring to, and whether it included an increase in pay.

The current “contract” between the IAUWU and the mine bosses expired August 10. A new contract cannot be signed until the union election ordered by the NLRB takes place. The labor board held a hearing in Price July 20-21 to determine who will be eligible to vote in the election. The NLRB mandated the vote after the strikers signed a petition for representation by the UMWA. According to Co-Op miners, the UMWA filed a follow-up brief on August 4 laying out its arguments on who should be able to vote. UMWA organizers say they expect the labor board will rule on the matter before the end of August.

The NLRB had recognized the IAUWU in 1979. Miners report that before the strike that began Sept. 22, 2003, the IAUWU never had meetings or any real presence in the mine. The officers of this outfit did nothing to represent the workers and were supervisors at the mine. The “union” contract and other “union” material were hard to get, and when available they were always printed in English, even though most of the miners only speak Spanish.

Miners said they pointed out that the average wage for underground miners is between $15 and $20 an hour, and asked why most Co-Op miners were paid between $5.50 and $7 an hour.

The IAUWU officers kept insisting that Co-Op “doesn’t make much money,” aping the company line for why workers are paid such miserable wages, said the unionists.

Miners said they countered that they didn’t buy this claim, because the price of coal on the market now is quite high, and coal companies are making lots of money, as is Co-Op.

The IAUWU officers reportedly responded that there may be an increase in pay for workers in the higher classifications, but they had nothing to back up their claim. The miners said that Nevin Pratt kept repeating, “There are big improvements,” but the only concrete thing he would say is that workers would get six pairs of gloves a year and a bigger clothing allowance.

“These company representatives wanted us to talk about the little things, complain about this or that problem,” said Jesús Salazar, “but we kept pressing on: ‘Where are the pay raises, insurance, and other benefits?’”

The Co-Op bosses maintain a complicated system of pay grades, supplemental wages, and bonuses to keep pay low and workers in line. The job classification “faceman,” for instance, is a level 9 position with a minimum wage of $7 an hour and a maximum of $11, according to the IAUWU “contract.”

This job is one of the most demanding on the production section, miners say. A faceman is required to scoop the entry ways after the continuous mining machine cuts the coal, rock dust the entry by hand, put up curtain for ventilation, hand shovel the ribs of all coal spillage, keep the roof bolter supplied with bolting supplies, move sump pumps to water holes, and carry out many other jobs to maintain the section.

In spite of the IAUWU “contract” language, many miners report they are not even being paid for the level of work they are performing, and it is almost unheard of to reach the maximum level of pay. One UMWA supporter who has worked in the mine for three years and is currently doing a faceman job said he is getting paid only $6.50 an hour.

A mechanic in the surface shop, who is originally from Mexico, said he had been a mechanic for 19 years and has been talking to the bosses about a pay raise without getting anywhere.

The pro-UMWA miners at the IAUWU meeting said they used the gathering to expose the pro-company nature of this outfit. “Why do you have bosses as your officers?” one miner asked.

“Why are there so many members of the Kingston family now working at the mine?” another miner said.

The IAUWU representatives tried to deny that many members of the Kingston family—a wealthy clan with a business empire of $150 million across six western states—work at the mine, workers said.

“What we were told by the ‘union’ officers was always—before the strike, and now—in defense of the company,” said Ricardo Chávez, a miner who attended the meeting. “Nevin Pratt would respond as if he were speaking directly for the company, responding to miners complaints by saying, ‘We’ll see what we can do.’”

At one point during the meeting, miners said, the Kingston representatives announced that workers would not be getting paid to attend the “union” gathering. At that point, the seven surface workers who had come to the meeting early became visibly upset, miners reported. It had been customary, they said, while the strike was going on, for Co-Op to give those who went to the company union meeting two extra hours’ pay.

“We were able to challenge these officials and stand up to them, showing to those miners who did not join the strike that this ‘union’ is the same as the company,” said Jesús Salazar. “That was worthwhile. You could see some of these workers nodding in agreement with us when we spoke during the meeting.”  
 
Write-ups, warnings, harassment
Alyson Kennedy reported that her crew, which includes several members of the Kingston family, was called into the office on July 28 by Cyril Jackson, a maintenance foreman at the mine. She said that Jackson instructed the miners they were not allowed to say anything about a union, pro or con, on mine property. This is in direct violation of the NLRB agreement signed by the UMWA and C.W. Mining. The settlement clearly states the company cannot interfere with conversations workers are having about the union. As long as conversations by workers don’t disrupt production they can talk about whatever they want, according to this settlement. If workers can talk about baseball, then it is also within their rights to start a discussion with a co-worker about joining the union, miners said.

Kennedy also reported that she has faced stepped-up harassment by the bosses. Because the company does not provide a separate women’s bathhouse facility, Kennedy is forced to use the foremen’s bathhouse to change her clothes at the beginning and end of the workday. For 15 minutes before her shift and 30 minutes afterward the bosses’ bathhouse is designated “Ladies Only” and Kennedy can use the facility. One day a boss deliberately used the bathroom just before the shift started, forcing Kennedy to wait and be late for her job. Kennedy’s boss then reprimanded her verbally for not being on time. Kennedy also said that her direct supervisor told her that bosses have filed two written complaints against her, based on the fact she was using the bathhouse five minutes before her designated time.

Kennedy said she challenged this discriminatory treatment and said she would not accept such reprimands. “I haven’t been given either of these bogus complaints yet,” she said.

Other miners also report that the bosses continue to selectively threaten and harass pro-UMWA workers at the mine as the company tries to ramp up production and undercut support for the union. All miners are working 12 and 1/2 hour shifts, four days a week. The production crews regularly stay underground 13 hours, producing coal right up to the last minute.

Alejandro Ramírez, a union backer who was given two disciplinary points for missing work, was told that six points the company had slapped on him before the strike would be brought forward giving him eight points. This is the level at which the company can fire a worker. Ramírez argued with the bosses, miners reported, refusing to accept the earlier six points, and so far the company has said it would take no action against him.

The miners who returned to work following the strike, and even those who crossed the picket line, regularly take on the bosses. “Workers just don’t take whatever the Kingstons are dishing out anymore,” said Bill Estrada, one of the leaders of the strike, who has been singled out for harassment a number of times since he returned to work July 12. “We stand up for ourselves and whenever possible we do it together.”

Recently a bearing in the tailpiece roller of the conveyor belt wore out, Estrada said. It had to be replaced, causing downtime in production. The bosses claimed Estrada was responsible, the miner reported, alleging he failed to do proper maintenance on the equipment. Cyril Jackson told Estrada he would have to sign a form accepting responsibility. Estrada said he told the boss he would not sign such a paper.

In the past, workers would routinely do what the bosses said, miners report, but management is seeing that things have not returned to business as usual at the mine.

Jackson has yet to give Estrada the “paper” he is supposed to sign.  
 
‘Employee of the Month’ award
Trying to combine the carrot with the stick, the company is continuing to promote an “Employee of the Month” award, which it started during the strike. Of the eight awards given so far, five have been handed to foremen, all Kingston family members, miners reported. The extent of the “award” is a plaque with a picture and description the company puts up in a glass display at the bathhouse.

UMWA backers said they were recently joking with the latest miner to receive this prize, one of the workers who did not support the strike. “What does this mean?” they asked him. “Are you getting a raise?”

This worker then turned to the boss who had presented the award and asked if that’s what the “prize” meant. The boss just started laughing.

Many miners report the bosses are floating rumors that there may be a pay hike coming, hoping to blunt support for the UMWA in the upcoming elections. But there has been no evidence so far that the Kingstons plan to make any concessions to the miners. Empty honors, poverty pleading, threats, and intimidation continue to be the weapons of choice of the Co-Op bosses in their war to prevent the workers from winning representation by the UMWA, the miners report.

According to several miners, Nevin Pratt told several workers after the company “union” meeting that not only was the company too poor to give the miners a raise, but that the UMWA was jeopardizing their jobs by insisting on back pay for the nearly 10 months the miners were illegally fired. In a thinly veiled threat, miners said, Pratt told a group of miners that since Mexican workers may not have all their documents in order they would not be eligible for back pay and could jeopardize themselves by insisting on back wages.  
 
Stepping up labor solidarity
While continuing to fight for their rights on the job leading up to a union election, the Co-Op miners are also stepping up outreach to the labor movement and other supporters of their struggle to explain the issues in their fight and expand the solidarity that has been crucial so far in pushing back the bosses.

At a meeting of Co-Op miners on August 8, the workers decided to assign two of their members to travel to Seattle, Washington, on August 18 to speak before the King County Central Labor Council meeting. Longshoremen and other unionists in the Pacific Northwest region have been strong backers of the Co-Op fight. Through the labor council meeting, UMWA supporters are looking to expand solidarity.

The Co-Op miners said they are also planning for another barbecue/rally in Huntington over the August 21-22 weekend to bring together co-workers, family members, and supporters from throughout the state and elsewhere in the region. Such events update everyone on the latest developments in the struggle and help the miners talk out future plans.

Co-Op miners said they continue to urge supporters to send messages of solidarity with their ongoing struggle for union representation. These can be sent to the UMWA at 525 East 100 South, Price, Utah 84501. Tel: (435) 637-2037, Fax: 435-637-9456.  
 
 
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