CWAers Stand with Striking Alabama Coal Miners

On July 28th, hundreds of coal mine workers from Alabama traveled to New York City to picket at the offices of BlackRock Fund Advisors in Manhattan. The investment firm owns 13% of the Warrior Met Coal company in Brookwood, Alabama where workers have been on strike since April.

CWA members and retirees from locals throughout the area, including Locals 1101, 1104, 1109, 1180, 1181, and 1182, joined the massive rally of NYC union members to support our United Mine Workers of America sisters and brothers in demanding fair and humane working conditions. Five years ago, the employer demanded that the miners work up to seven days a week and take a $6-an-hour pay cut, as well as give-backs in healthcare, overtime, and holidays, in order to help the company out of bankruptcy.

Five years later, the company is now refusing to restore those cuts. Its contract offer as of June was a $1-an-hour raise, with another 50 cents added after three years.

“You’re in New York City,” said United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts. “When somebody comes by driving a trash truck, they’re in a union. Chances are, somebody comes along with a broom in their hand, they’re in a union. I love the labor movement in New York City.”

Read more about the strike and about the rally in New York City here.