FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 31, 2021
UMWA issues strike notice at Alabama’s Warrior Met Coal
[TRIANGLE, VA.] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) yesterday afternoon issued an unfair labor practice strike notice at Warrior Met Coal, Inc., to begin at 10:30 p.m. CDT on April 1, 2021. The notice covers more than 1,100 workers at all of the company’s operations, including the #4 mine, the #5 preparation plant, the #7 mine and its Central Shop.
“Our members are the reason Warrior Met even exists today,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “They made the sacrifices to bring this company out of the bankruptcy of Walter Energy in 2016.
“These productive, professional miners at Warrior Met mined the coal that meant the company could become successful again,” Roberts said. “And Warrior Met has capitalized on their hard work, earning tens of millions in profits for their Wall Street owners. They have even rewarded upper management with bonuses of up to $35,000 in recent weeks.
“But today, instead of rewarding the sacrifices and work of the miners, Warrior Met is seeking even further sacrifices from them, while demonstrating perhaps some of the worst labor-management relations we’ve seen in this industry since the days of the company town and company store,” Roberts said.
“Despite repeated attempts by our negotiating team to bridge the differences we have at the bargaining table, Warrior Met is going backwards,” Roberts said. “We have always been ready to reach a fair agreement that recognizes the sacrifices our members and their families made to keep this company alive. At this point, Warrior Met is not.”
The UMWA has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board relating to Warrior Met’s conduct during negotiations, and expects to prevail on the merits of those charges.
UMWA dues-paying members who participate in picket line or other strike duty will receive bi-weekly strike assistance payments from the union’s Selective Strike fund. The union is procuring health care coverage for members and their families for the duration of the strike.
“Nobody in their right mind ever wants to strike,” Roberts said. “But sometimes the company’s actions and disregard for the welfare of workers and their families forces a strike. This is one of those times. Our members at Warrior Met should know that they have the full backing of the entire International Union and working families across Alabama, the United States and the world. Despite Warrior Met’s apparent appetite for this conflict, we will prevail.”
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