Archives: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 9, 2022

UMWA Applauds MSHA Initiative to Reduce Miner’s Exposure to Silica Dust

[TRIANGLE, VA.]  United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) members yesterday at the UMWA 56^th Consecutive Constitutional Convention strongly approved of the announcement of Chris Williamson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health about the agency’s new enforcement initiative to reduce miner’s exposure to silica dust.

Coal Miners’ Pneumoconiosis or black lung cases are continuing to rise among coal miners and silica dust exposure has been proven to be the cause.

Coal seams have become deeper and thinner meaning miners are cutting through more waste rock which is high in silica. Silica exposure can also lead to progressive massive fibrosis, lung cancer, and silicosis.

“More than a hundred thousand coal miners have lost their lives to the effects of black lung and we have seen a significant rise in black lung cases among younger miners for several years now,” said International President Cecil E. Roberts.

“It is good to know that MSHA is stepping up enforcement of silica exposure as it prepares a new rule for controlling silica dust.

“We know what causes Black Lung and how to prevent this deadly disease from stealing the lives of our nation’s coal miners. We thank the Assistant Secretary for his leadership on behalf of miners.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 4, 2022

BlackRock Calls for End to Strike at Warrior Met Coal

[TRIANGLE, VA.] Commenting on votes by BlackRock Investment Management, the largest shareholder of Warrior Met Coal stock, at Warrior Met’s annual shareholder meeting, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“From the very beginning, we have said that the strike at Warrior Met Coal did not have to happen. It was driven by a senior management that is obsessed with taking as much money out of the company as it can, as fast as possible. They instituted a heavy-handed operational culture that punished workers for having a family and treated them without respect at work.

“It has become clear from the company’s own financial statements that management not only anticipated a strike, but knew its actions would lead to one. It changed its executive compensation parameters to ensure top executives continued to get excessive bonuses and stock options even as the company’s revenues dropped dramatically and its workers were out on the street.

“It is good to see that BlackRock Investment Management, Warrior Met’s leading shareholder, has agreed with our position on these issues and voted accordingly at the company’s most recent Annual Meeting on April 26, 2022. BlackRock advised its investors that, ‘Prolonged operational disruptions, such as labor disputes, can have a negative impact on a company’s financial performance and business resilience. We believe it is in the best economic interests of our clients for Warrior Met Coal and the UMWA to reach a resolution.’ (Click here for the entire Vote Bulletin).

“BlackRock further stated, ‘We don’t believe key executives should be rewarded when the company has been impacted negatively by the ongoing labor dispute and related fall in production, which has meant it has not been able to take advantage of favorable market conditions and maximize long-term value.’ The UMWA could not agree more.

“When even the giant Wall Street firms that own your company say enough is enough, it’s time to end this strike. The workers, families and communities Warrior Met continues to hold hostage by needlessly prolonging this ordeal need to get back to a sense of normalcy and the company needs to get back to full production with an experienced workforce, especially at this time of unprecedented coal prices. Let’s settle this now.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 31, 2022

One Year Later and UMWA Workers are Still Fighting for The Dignity They Deserve

[TRIANGLE, VA] Commenting on tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the beginning of the strike at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“As a result of some poor decisions by upper management to purchase unprofitable foreign coal operations and a weak market for metallurgical coal, Walter Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. American bankruptcy laws are written to allow companies to shed obligations to workers, vendors, the government, and everyone else. This bankruptcy followed that pattern at first. And then it got worse.

“Private equity came into the picture. At the demand of Apollo, Blackstone, KKR, and others operating as “Coal Acquisitions,” Walter Energy filed motions to terminate the UMWA’s collective bargaining agreement and asked that the mines be sold “free and clear.” The bankruptcy judge also terminated any obligation the company had to pay for retiree health care and pensions, putting Alabama retirees’ lives at risk.

“The new company that emerged from bankruptcy as Warrior Met Coal was not required to hire any of the current workforce. Apollo and its private equity partners finally did agree to bring the workforce back, but they forced the workers to accept a contract worse than any other union coal mine in the nation.

“The workers gave up more than $1.1 billion in order to pull the company out of debt.  It was reasonable to assume that once the company became profitable, a fair and decent contract would be negotiated in 2021. But the corporate team Apollo left in place – the same team that drove the company into bankruptcy in the first place – appears to have no intention of doing that.

“Which brings us to today. Coal prices have skyrocketed, coal companies across the nation are getting record prices for their coal, yet Warrior Met has already lost more than a billion dollars in potential coal sales over the last year because it has refused to settle this. The company brought in high-priced, anti-labor law firms like Akin Gump to sit at the bargaining table instead of bringing back the skilled workforce that could increase sales by as much as a billion dollars a year at current prices.

“This is what happens when Wall Street comes to town. I am so sick of dealing with out-of-state lawyers who could care less about Alabama families and Alabama values. These workers have lived the last six years with abusive management, working six and sometimes seven days a week and little or no time for their families.

“Management is setting up the company to fail. Alabama workers are not going to work long for a coal company that pays less, offers fewer benefits, less vacation time, and forces miners to work more hours than the mines right down the road.

“Why would anyone want to work for Warrior Met? Since the beginning of the strike safety violations have skyrocketed and turnover rates are substantially increasing. They are spending money trying to recruit unskilled workers from West Virginia and Kentucky to work in these mines because no self-respecting Alabama miner would agree to work in these conditions.

“I have been at this a long time. I have negotiated contracts with just about every coal company that has been around the last 30 years, including contracts with difficult operators like Don Blankenship and Bob Murray. I remain prepared to do that at Warrior Met. But the company refuses to make any substantial changes to their offer which was rejected 95 percent to 5 percent last April.

“It’s time for the company to put aside the New York lawyers whose job it is to avoid reaching an agreement. It is time for the people who matter to come to the table and sit down for as long as it takes to resolve this. Stop holding these workers, their families, and their communities hostage. Let’s get a contract done here.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 7, 2022

Legislation to Protect Worker Health Care During Strikes a Necessity

[TRIANGLE, VA] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“I applaud Sens. Sharred Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA) and all co-sponsors for introducing the Striking Workers Healthcare Protection Act., which would require employers to continue to provide health insurance coverage for striking workers and their families.

“UMWA miners on strike at Warrior Met Coal had their company-provided health insurance cut off April 1 of last year. Even though Warrior Met used this tactic as a way to discourage the workers from exercising their right to strike, it didn’t work. The UMWA immediately picked up their coverage, so that not a single worker or his or her family was without health insurance.

“The UMWA has spent more than $5.1 million in health insurance coverage for the striking miners and their families. That is on top of the $15.5 million paid for strike benefits.

“These miners have been fighting for a fair contract for almost a year now, if it wasn’t for the union, they and their families would be faced with the terrible choice of either medical care or fighting for what they deserve. I salute the legislators who are taking a stand in both the Senate and the House against these unfair corporate tactics.”

Note: Companion legislation, H.R. 6557, was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 4, 2022

UMWA Supports Bipartisan Bill to Ban Russian Energy Imports

[TRIANGLE, VA] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today announced their support of legislation introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.) to ban fossil fuel energy imports into the United States from Russia.

The Ban Russians Energy Imports Act, released yesterday, would prohibit imports of coal, crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas from Russia. The United States imported over half a million barrels of oil per day from Russia in 2021.

“The blood of innocent Ukrainians is on that oil, gas and coal”, said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts. “The United States should not be in any way funding this war by continuing to buy Russian exports. We should be focusing on using what this nation has to offer when it comes to energy sources. I applaud Senators Manchin, Murkowski, and the other cosponsors of this bill for their bold action. We are in full support.

“We also need to start manufacturing products that use coal in the U.S.,” Roberts said. “Right now, we ship millions of tons of metallurgical coal to China, which they in turn use to make steel and fabricate it into wind turbines and solar panels. They then ship those products back here. How does that make sense?

“Let’s put less focus on relying on other countries to provide our resources and look at what our own nation provides,” Roberts said. “Let’s stop supporting anti-democratic regimes and tyrants and focus on using the resources we have right in our own backyard.”

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