González is a coal miner at the Co-Op mine near Huntington, Utah, and has worked there for a year and a half. He and Bill Estrada, another Co-Op miner, visited Seattle on a labor tour sponsored by the KCLC to consolidate and expand support for their struggle to win representation by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).

“This is a critical period for Co-Op miners, for miners in western coal, and for the UMWA,” Estrada said. “The future of the UMWA is at stake. With your support we won our jobs back. This put us in the best position to win union recognition. We are now in the middle of a war with the Kingstons, the Co-Op owners, to win UMWA representation.”

Estrada said this was the first speaking trip the Co-Op miners have made since returning to work July 12.

During the strike, several Co-Op miners had addressed nine locals of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Washington and Oregon June 8-10. Unionists contributed more than $15,000 to the strike at the time.

ILWU delegates to the KCLC had moved to invite the miners to return to address a broader group of unionists. González and Estrada spoke at a special order of business on the agenda of the August 18 meeting. Before they spoke, members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199NW reported on their strike preparations in a contract dispute with Group Health.

González and Estrada were two of the 75 miners the bosses fired Sept. 22, 2003, for their efforts to bring the UMWA into the mine. The miners said they were being paid between $5.15 and $7 an hour, while wages for underground coal miners nationwide average above $17 per hour. Since getting back on the job—after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled they had been fired illegally, and the company made an unconditional offer to return—the miners said they have been locked in a trench war with the bosses in their effort to win a majority for the UMWA.

Estrada described the fight inside the mine to win over the production workers who did not take part in the strike. “Since returning to work we have been working 12 hour shifts,” he said. “At first the bosses caught us off guard. But now we have been able to back them off. We got organized so we don’t confront the bosses one-on-one, but collectively as a crew.”

The mine owners operate a company “union,” the so-called International Association of United Workers Union (IAUWU), which has started having meetings to counter the UMWA organizing effort. The three officers of this phony union, the miners said, are supervisors in the mine. Estrada described how UMWA supporters went to an August 6 IAUWU meeting and exposed the character of the outfit as a boss setup (see “Utah miners in trench war with bosses to win UMWA representation” in the August 31 Militant).

“Because we could expose this company ‘union’ in the meeting, workers who crossed the picket line are looking up to us and see that we have strength,” Estrada told the KCLC delegates. “Solidarity is extremely important. Any day the NLRB will decide when the union recognition vote will be held and whether the Kingston family members can vote.”

The NLRB mandated the holding of a union election after the strikers signed a petition for representation by the UMWA. The labor board then held a hearing July 20-21 in Price, Utah, to determine who will be eligible to vote in the election. The mine owners claimed that 100 people they describe as seasonal and part time workers, most of whom are Kingston family members or relatives, are legitimate employees and should be part of the list of those who vote. At the hearing, the union presented evidence that most of these people are children or grandchildren of supervisors, or of the company owners, who were not working there prior to the strike. UMWA lawyers argued that these Kingston family members “have a conflict of loyalty” and should not be allowed to vote. Attorneys from both sides submitted their briefs to the NLRB by August 4. UMWA officials said they expect a ruling by the labor board within weeks of that date.

“It is important to let the NLRB know that you are watching,” Estrada said. “With your support we are going to win this election and then get a contract. This will reinvigorate the efforts to unionize coal miners in the West. More miners are talking union now.”

Estrada thanked the unionists for their crucial solidarity and asked for their continued support. He ended by inviting all present to join a delegation to Huntington for the upcoming one-year anniversary of the strike, promising to send more information on the event as soon as the miners work out the details.

Nancy Young, KCLC president, chaired the meeting and called for the hat to be passed for contributions. “We don’t just want money from your pockets, we want donations from your locals,” she said.

Ligia Velázquez, president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, came forward to present a check of $102.

James Weddington, from ILWU Local 23 in Tacoma, said he had the honor of visiting the miners in Huntington June 18-19 to get a first-hand feel for their fight. He described the conditions he saw, and explained why it was important to support these miners. “If they win, we win,” he said, encouraging all to dig deep.

The Co-Op miners got unexpected support at the next point on the agenda. Kirk Patrick, an International Association of Machinists member from Alabama, was speaking on Disaster Relief. He started his remarks by saying people should support the miners. He reported that the Birmingham Central Labor Council heard a report on the miners’ fight, passed a resolution supporting the Co-Op miners, and sent a contribution. Addressing González and Estrada, Patrick said, “Thank you for your courage and solidarity, thank you for what you are doing.”

Steve Williamson, KCLC executive secretary, started his report to the body by pointing to the UMWA solidarity shirt he was wearing. “I visited the UMWA miners when they set up Camp Solidarity during the Pittston coal strike in 1990,” he said. “I supported their fight then and we have to support it now. The KCLC will send out to all local union affiliates information on where your local can send a letter to the NLRB and a contribution to the UMWA. But you will have to do the work to make sure your union locals follow through all the way,” he told the delegates.

Those present contributed more than $1,000 for the miners’ organizing struggle. Four unionists signed up to join the Seattle delegation to the September anniversary of the Co-Op strike.

For more information on this struggle, to send a message of solidarity, or to make a donation, write to UMWA District 22, at 525 East 100 South, Price, Utah 84501. Earmark checks to the “Co-Op Miners Fund.”  
 
 
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