Attorneys representing the Militant, Deseret Morning News, and Salt Lake Tribune will argue before a federal judge in Salt Lake City for dismissing the lawsuit by C.W. Mining and the International Association of United Workers Union (see article in this isse). At a second hearing on August 1, attorneys representing the United Mine Workers of America, 16 Co-Op miners, the Utah AFL-CIO, and other defendants will press for dismissing the same harassment lawsuit.

Civil suits of this type are a tactic employers will increasingly rely on when they are challenged by the effective use of union power.

Through this lawsuit C.W. Mining is asking the court to move the jurisdiction over disputed issues between the UMWA and the company away from the National Labor Relations Board and into the federal court system.

The mine owners seek to silence newspapers that report what the workers say in their own words about the conditions they face on the job and why they want to be represented by the UMWA. The coal bosses’ lawsuit challenges the right of the papers to also express editorial opinion favorable to the miners. The bosses and the company-run union claim in court papers that their dispute with the miners and the UMWA is a “private” matter, and they challenge the constitutional protections afforded newspapers that report on a public controversy. The plaintiffs insist that any interpretation of rulings by the National Labor Relations Board other than their own falls outside protections afforded the media that report on the proceedings of governmental bodies. The C.W. Mining owners also assert that the various defendants who have allegedly “defamed” the bosses are part of a vast “conspiracy” to harm the company.

This suit is designed to have a chilling effect on the right of a newspaper to cover what workers say during a strike and related activity without being sued. It has the further goal of trying to tie up all the defendants in lengthy, intrusive, and expensive “discovery.”

The Militant is a prominent target in this lawsuit because of our weekly coverage of this fight since it began in September 2003, and our unwavering support for the Co-Op miners’ just struggle to organize a union.

This is the most important labor battle in the United States today. It is having an effect on other miners, coal haulers, and other workers in the area and beyond. C.W. Mining’s millionaire owners are using their lawsuit to shift this battle into the courts, away from the terrain of picket lines and solidarity actions organized by the miners. They seek to undercut the example of the mobilization of union power on the part of the Co-Op miners that has inspired other coal miners, trade unionists, and many workers who are now unorganized. The miners and their leadership have refused to be intimidated by this harassment lawsuit and other company tactics, as their recent picket lines at the mine and at a coal shipping depot owned by C.W. Mining demonstrate.

Likewise, the Militant has not, and will not, be intimidated. We will continue providing the facts about this battle. And our editorial voice will keep backing the 16 Co-Op miners, the UMWA, and the other defendants in this case regardless of the outcome of the June 7 hearing. We urge each of our readers and every supporter of the Militant Fighting Fund to do the same.
 
 
Related articles:
Utah miners plan picket, other actions to press union fight
‘Militant’ backers campaign for endorsements in fight against coal bosses’ suit  
 
 
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