BY JOHN STUDER AND ALYSON KENNEDY
FARMERSVILLE, Illinois - At 12:01 a.m. September 11, some 350
members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) went on
strike at three Illinois mines run by Freeman United Coal Mines.
Freeman is owned by General Dynamics. The central issue in their
fight is health care.
The strikers are members of UMWA Local 1969 at Crown 2 Mine in Virden, Local 12 at Crown 3 near Farmersville, and Local 2488 at the Industry mine, a strip mine near Macomb. The two Crown mines are underground.
In June 1997 Freeman dropped out of the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA), the employers organization that negotiates with union miners industry wide.
Freeman announced they were refusing to participate in negotiations for the 1998 national Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement, which was ratified by UMWA members and BCOA in December 1997.
The company said it would negotiate separately with the UMWA locals at their mines. The old contract, signed in 1993, expired Aug. 1, 1998.
Members of UMWA Local 1969 picketing the Crown No. 2 mine said the company announced in July that it might not provide health coverage for miners who retire after August 1 of this year.
"The issues here are like those in Pittston," David Yard, a strike captain for Local 1969, told the Militant. He was referring to the 1989-90 UMWA strike against Pittston Coal Co. in southwestern Virginia, which won broad support from miners and the rest of the labor movement. "Only this time I won't have to drive 12 hours one way to get there," he added.
Miners on the picket lines at both Crown mines wore camouflage shirts and hats, many with slogans from the Pittston fight or the 1981 UMWA strike at A.T. Massey.
After the UMWA contract with Freeman expired, the local began operating on a day-by-day extension of the contract. After two weeks the UMWA and Freeman agreed to a 10-day extension, which ended on August 31.
On September 10, the UMWA International in Washington, D.C., sent out a press release underlining the importance of the strike. "Freeman United has decided it no longer wants to guarantee its retirees' health-care coverage," said Cecil Roberts, UMWA international president. "The UMWA is more than prepared to fight this battle for as long as it takes."
In a statement issued by Freeman after the strike began, company president Walt Gregory said Freeman had made a number of "innovative proposals" that he claimed would make the mines more efficient and protect jobs.
"Freeman United has to find ways to control costs and remain competitive with low-sulfur coal shipped primarily from Western states. We can do this, and continue to employ hundreds of people, only through a new agreement with the UMWA," he said. "We believe our situation is significantly different from other coal companies," Gregory added, asserting that this is why the company did not sign the national agreement.
Pickets are being organized in three shifts, 24 hours a day, at the two Crown mines. There are more than 10 entrances to the small strip mine in Industry, near Macomb, where the UMWA is also organizing picketing. There are a 130 miners at Crown No. 3, 175 at Crown No. 2, and 42 at the Industry mine.
In an indication of their fighting spirit leading up to the walkout, miners at the Crown No. 3 told the Militant that when the company asked them to work during their vacation in July, all the union members refused.
Coal is hauled out of the Crown mines by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railroad and the Curry Trucking Company. Strikers reported the rail workers, who are members of the United Transportation Union, said they wouldn't cross the picket line. Some Curry truck drivers told the strikers they had told the company they would not drive on the mine property of a struck mine. Curry then threatened to fire them.
Pickets said Curry hauled 65 loads of coal out of Crown 3 during the first weekend of the strike, and they were expecting more.
A UMWA strike headquarters has been set up in Farmersville. On the main road driving into town a prominent lighted sign on the side of the road says "UMWA Strike Headquarters" on one side and "UMWA United We Fight" on the other. Before the strike the sign was located in front of the Crown 3 mine on a local farmer's property.
Freeman United bought the land from the owner, for double the market price, in order to force the sign's removal. Miners moved it to Farmersville and added the words "UMWA Future Strike Headquarters," which they updated once the walkout began. Signs in support of the strike are starting to go up in front of houses and businesses in the area.
Alyson Kennedy is a member of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Local 7-507 in Chicago. John Studer is a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 1011 in East Chicago, Indiana.