UMWA action leading the way for Economic Justice against Vampire Capitalists

[patrice]

Camo-Clad Miners Follow Example of Moses

The United Mine Workers of America feel certain God is on their side in the fight against Peabody Energy.
BY Mike Elk

Technically, the miners were up against two Pharaohs: mining giant Peabody and its spinoff company, Patriot Coal, which is in bankruptcy proceedings at the St. Louis court across the street from the rally. The miners are furious over Patriot’s attempts in court to be relieved of its pension and healthcare obligations to more than 10,000 active and retired miners and another 10,000 beneficiaries.

But in the UMWA's eyes, Peabody is the real villain. According to union estimates, 90 percent of Patriot's retirees are former Peabody miners who “never worked a day in their life” for Patriot. The UMWA charges that Peabody created Patriot as a vehicle to shed its retiree obligations. As evidence, the union cites the fact that when Peabody spun off Patriot Coal in 2007, it handed Patriot three times as many retirees as active workers and $557 million in retiree healthcare obligations. Within five years, Patriot had filed for bankruptcy.

If Patriot is successful in shedding some or all of its retiree obligations in bankruptcy court, the ruling could have a ripple effect in the industry. Should other coal companies be inspired to try the same tactic, tens of thousands of retired miners, their bodies battered from decades in the mines, could be left to make tough choices between medical care and poverty in their old age. Thus the battle against the Patriot Coal bankruptcy is literally a life-or-death fight for many.

. . .

Since those initial arrests, more than 40 UMWA miners and retirees have been arrested on four separate occasions outside of Peabody's headquarters as part of UMWA’s strategy to keep public attention on the company. UMWA members and retirees plan to keep applying heat with more mobilizations, including a large rally in Charleston, W. Va., on April 1

.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W. VA) has introduced federal legislation to protect the pensions of Patriot Coal retirees.

[limpyhobbler]

1. k/r

tracked it down...http://inthesetimes.com/article/14781/camo_clad_miners_follow_example_of_moses/

[patrice]

2. Holycrap!! I left out the link! THANKS, limpyhobbler! . . .

lots of stuff on my mind.

wow.

[limpyhobbler]

3. no problem.

It's awful what's happening to these guys.

[patrice]

4. They are the canaries in the coal mine that is the US economy. nt