Peoples World Mineworkers rally for striking locals By Dennis DeMaio ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - More than 150 striking members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and their supporters rallied outside the Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Company (P&M) headquarters here July 26. Striking mineworkers from P&M's mines in western New Mexico and southwestern Wyoming were joined by local religious leaders and union activists to protest a series of harsh labor practices. P&M, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron, has recently hired a union-busting consultant and has engaged in a series of coordinated actions to take on the mineworkers union. The consultant, David Smith, has a reputation for adopting hard-line tactics in negotiating union contracts. In New Mexico, 311 members of UMWA Local 1332 went out on strike May 15 at P&M's McKinley mine on Navajo land. The workers struck over a series of issues, including: abusive work schedules that disrupted family life, reduced health care, inadequate pensions and reduced overtime pay. The mineworkers claim that the company's health proposal discriminates against Navajo workers because it would force them to accept inferior health benefits provided by the federally sponsored Indian Health Services system. The union claims that the company's health proposal is racist because it would only apply to Navajo workers. In Wyoming, UMWA Local 1307 members walked off their jobs at P&M's Kemmerer mine on May 27 after their contract expired. About 224 members of Local 1307 continue to strike over company proposals that would lower holiday pay and impose disruptive 12-hour shifts. UMWA International President Cecil Roberts attended the rally and spoke to the crowd outside P&M's corporate offices here. "We're prepared to do whatever it takes to win this and get a fair contract for our workers," Roberts said. Speaking later with the World, Roberts said, "What we are fighting for is human dignity, human rights and the end of discrimination on the Navajo reservation." Blaming P&M's corporate parent, Chevron, Roberts stated, "Chevron needs to understand that they are not just fighting these two local unions. They are fighting the (UMWA) international, the entire AFL-CIO and the religious community." Rev. Willie D. Simmons, pastor of Denver's 1,200-member Central Baptist Church, came to the rally to support the striking miners. Simmons also complained about rising corporate greed in America today. Simmons said, "We love to see corporations make a profit. But that profit should not come at great expense to the mineworkers." He said that the rally shows great solidarity and sends a message to P&M and Chevron, that "enough is enough." Simmons told the World, "I believe that corporate greed has to be stopped or it is going to be the vehicle that carries this country down." P&M is among the top 15 coal producing companies in the United States. It sells about 80 percent of its coal to utilities, and the remainder goes to industrial customers. While marchers picketed outside P&M headquarters, a coalition of religious and labor leaders made little progress when they met with P&M officials inside their Englewood offices. Leslie Moody, president of the Denver Area Labor Federation, attended the meeting. Moody, who represents about 90,000 union members in the Denver area, was repeatedly referred to as "lady" when addressed by a condescending company official. As tension and conflict escalate in the western coalfields, the UMWA is swiftly moving to soften the blow for its striking workers. On June 29 the UMWA increased strike benefits to $200 per week for the 311 striking members of Local 1332 in New Mexico. Following suit in Wyoming, the international union announced July 17 that it was also raising strike benefits to $200 per week for the striking workers at the Kemmerer mine. "We applaud all these striking UMWA members for their courage and solidarity," said Roberts. "We will support them financially until they secure fair contracts at both mines." When speaking with the World, Roberts referred to a rich UMWA legacy that stretches from the Ludlow massacre to the landmark UMWA victory at Pittston. "We stand for freedom, justice and economic rights for all American workers," Roberts stated. After a pensive pause, he stated, "Like the old labor song says, which side are you on?"
