“UMWA District 22 and the Co-Op miners would like to thank you for attending the August 21, 2005, picnic,” read a letter that was sent to supporters of the Co-Op miners’ struggle by Mike Dalpiaz, international vice-president of UMWA District 22. This mailing included the flyer advertising the T-shirt along with a front page article from the August 30 Emery County Progress entitled “Carry on—Two year battle continues for Co-op miners.”

The miners’ strike began on Oct. 3, 2003, when 75 miners set up picket lines outside the mine. They had been fired and locked out two weeks earlier for trying to organize a union to change the abusive conditions at the mine.

Following a 10-month strike, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the miners were illegally fired for union activity and ordered their reinstatement. The miners were fired a second time eight days prior to a union election on Dec. 17, 2004.

All along, the miners won solidarity from the labor movement, especially from union locals in the West. In response to the miners strike victory, the Co-Op owners filed a retaliatory lawsuit charging the miners, the UMWA, and many who supported or reported on their struggle with defamation.

The fight against this lawsuit, and solidarity from the labor movement, continue today. Carpenters Local 22 from San Francisco recently sent a message of support to the miners that it adopted at a local meeting in September. Luis Sánchez, a member of this local, had attended the August 21 picnic in Utah. The miners continue to fight for a union. They are demanding their reinstatement and that the NLRB count the votes from the union election.

Send orders for the T-shirts to Co-Op miners c/o UMWA District 22, 525 E. 100 S., Price, UT 84501. T-shirts are $10.00 plus $2.50 for postage. Make checks out to Co-Op Miners Fund.
 
 
Related articles:
Massey refiles ‘defamation’ suit against UMWA
Utah coal company presses retaliatory lawsuit  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home