“The coal industry is in a boom now because of the overall high energy prices,” Kelly said. “In the western U.S. especially, some mines are reopening and all of them are hiring more workers. This reflects a continuation of the long-term shift in coal production to the West where the coal is lower sulfur and the union is less established. In this context, miners are becoming more confident and less fearful of losing their jobs.”

“A year and a half after the opening of the Co-Op miners’ fight for a union, the miners continue reaching out to others and winning support,” Kelly continued. “What has been gained in the Co-Op fight was shown at the recent informational picket lines organized by the miners near Price. The response from people passing by was enthusiastic support. Truckers and others were honking their horns and waving.”

“The Co-Op fight can’t be defended and consolidated on its own,” said Carlos Fernandez. “This can only be done by extending the struggle through the further organization of western coal. Safety questions will increasingly weigh in as a big factor as the bosses drive for profits leads them to try to cut corners on safety.”

Coal miners face more and more pressures from their foremen to violate safety laws in the race for more production. Felipe Arroyo reported on recent substantial roof falls at his mine that could have been prevented if the company organized better roof support. Arroyo also spoke about company efforts to extend the workday without additional pay and how miners responded by organizing to leave the mine at their quitting time.

Brian Taylor, a member of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local 1197, reported that at Consol’s 84 Mine in Pennsylvania some workers have raised the need to fight to take back the 30-minute lunch break. The company pays workers for 30 minutes at time-and-a-half rate if they agree to have their break interrupted as needed. For production workers this can mean no break at all in a nine-and-a-half-hour day. A few crews have begun stopping work and taking their break, he reported.

Tom Janco reported that he and other miners at his mine have begun the process of taking the idea of organizing a union at their mine to many co-workers. “Sometimes it is on the job in one-on-one discussions, and sometimes we visit co-workers at home to have more thorough discussions,” Janco said. “We start with a discussion of the real safety problems we encounter daily on the job. The company is making decisions everyday that threaten our lives. The need for a union is a life-and-death question. With a union we can stand up to the company on safety without endangering our job. This gets a real response.”

“Retirees would tell us that they thought they would see the death of the UMWA in their lifetime,” Kelly said. But when they heard about the strike of Co-Op miners, this changed. “They saw it as a chance to rebuild the union,” she said.

A recent conference of women miners in New Mexico also showed the increased confidence among pro-union workers, Kelly said. The conference, initiated by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 953, took up questions of hiring and discrimination against women miners and how they can use their union to fight for equal treatment.

Miners at the meeting reaffirmed the centrality of having two or more socialist workers working together in the same mine. “This puts us in the strongest position to be a part of struggles that will break out as more workers increasingly look to use union power to resist the bosses’ attacks,” Fernandez explained.

Several miners at the meeting spoke about the importance of getting the Militant and the two newest issues of New International magazine into the hands of fellow miners. “Taking the time to go visit miners at home, to sit down and review the charts, graphs, and content contained in the articles ‘Their Transformation and Ours,’ and ‘Capitalism’s Long Hot Winter Has Begun,’ is one of the best ways to convince co-workers of the need to buy the magazine,” said Tim Lott, a coal miner in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The meeting also discussed the lawsuit by Utah mine bosses against 16 Co-Op miners, the UMWA, the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret Morning News, and many individuals and other organizations. The suit also names as defendants the Militant and the Socialist Workers Party. The bosses refer to the UMWA in this harassment suit as a “rabid” organization.

“This suit is very serious,” said Kelly. “It aims to intimidate the miners from pursuing UMWA representation. We have the responsibility to explain the stakes of this suit and build the broadest support possible.”

The socialist workers active in the UMWA resolved to organize to get endorsers and contributors to the Militant Fighting Fund on the job and among other coal miners throughout the United States. The fund was set up last year to help the Militant and SWP fight alongside other defendants to dismiss this harassment lawsuit by the Utah mine bosses.
 
 
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Endorse, give to Militant Fighting Fund
Unionists, professors in Utah, California endorse the Militant Fighting Fund  
 
 
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