Ky. miners block coal train in fight over unpaid wages

‘Somebody’s got to take a stand,’ miners say
Vol. 84/No. 3 - January 27, 2020
Coal miner Dustin Maynard, right, talks to press at miners’ blockade of rail tracks outside Quest mine in Kimper, Kentucky, Jan. 14. Protest builds on earlier action at Blackjewel mine.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A dozen Quest Energy coal miners and their families began blocking the railroad tracks near Kimper, Kentucky, Jan. 13 to protest the fact they haven’t been paid. They pledge to stay there until Quest, a subsidiary of…


Blackjewel miners’ encampment protest wins back pay

Vol. 83/No. 41 - November 11, 2019

Coal miners in Cumberland, Kentucky, who blocked a coal train for two months, have won their fight to get the wages owed them. Their final paychecks had been clawed back by bankrupt Blackjewel bosses in July. “The credit for this…


Independent truckers protest new gov’t regulations

Vol. 83/No. 38 - October 21, 2019
Independent truckers protest new gov’t regulations

Angry truckers staged a “10-4” protest on the Mall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4, above, to call attention to increasingly onerous government regulations that threaten the livelihood of independent owner-operators. When truckers use citizens band radio,…


Blackjewel miners end protest camp, fight goes on

Vol. 83/No. 37 - October 14, 2019

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Miners who had blocked the railroad near Cumberland, Kentucky, since July 29 took down the encampment, cleaned the area and ended this phase of their struggle Sept. 26. But, they and their supporters said that this doesn’t…



Blackjewel miners keep up camp, say ‘No pay, we stay!

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Coal miners have been camped out for eight weeks just outside this town of 2,000 in Harlan County blocking Blackjewel bosses from moving trainloads of coal. Blackjewel LLC, the sixth largest coal company in the U.S., declared…


Coal miners at Blackjewel ‘stand up for what’s right’

Vol. 83/No. 35 - September 30, 2019

CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Miners laid off and robbed of their wages by Blackjewel coal bosses July 1 are keeping up their encampment they set up July 29 to block the railroad track. They organized the protest on the tracks leading…


Join in building support for Kentucky coal miners’ fight!

Bosses demand court end Blackjewel miners’ protest
Vol. 83/No. 34 - September 23, 2019
Kentucky coal miners fighting for pay stolen from them when Blackjewel bosses declared bankruptcy. Chinese restaurant owner Joyce Cheng, at center, has raised over $5,000 for them.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Blackjewel coal miners in Harlan County and their supporters have been camped out on the rail tracks outside the Cloverlick No. 3 mine since July 29, determined to keep their former bosses from moving about 100 rail…


Miners win support in fight against Blackjewel

Vol. 83/No. 33 - September 9, 2019
Chinese restaurant owner Joyce Cheng, in miner’s helmet and jacket, with nurses at Harlan Appalachian Regional Healthcare July 11. She ran 50 miles “asking every person for a dollar” for laid-off Blackjewel miners, raising over $5,000 for miners’ families she knows.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Coal miners laid off July 1 by bankrupt Blackjewel Coal have vowed to maintain their encampment on railroad tracks in Cumberland, Harlan County, to prevent coal bosses from moving coal out of the Cloverlick No. 3 mine.…


Blackjewel miners win solidarity in fight for jobs and stolen wages

Vol. 83/No. 31 - August 26, 2019
Miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, get on bus to attend Blackjewel Coal bankruptcy hearing Aug. 5 in Charleston, West Virginia, wearing T-shirts saying “Pay the miners first, lawyers last.”

CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Coal miners thrown out of work here by Blackjewel Coal when the company declared bankruptcy July 1 have been blocking the railroad tracks leading out of the Cloverlick #3 mine to protest the company bouncing their last…