1,100 miles west Alabama mine employees have announced their intention to strike

Warrior Met Coal has been presented with a strike notice by the United Mine Workers of America.
According to the UMWA, the strike will begin at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The notification affects over 1,100 employees at the company’s various facilities, including the No. 4 mine, No. 5 preparation factory, No. 7 mine, and its central store.
Members who engage in picket line or other strike duty will receive biweekly strike assistance payments from the union’s Selective Strike fund, as well as health care benefits for members and their families for the duration of the strike.
The union members, says UMWA International President Cecil Roberts, “are the reason Warrior Met exists today.” As Warrior Met emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings of the former Walter Energy, which declared bankruptcy in 2016, the new agreement with the union was negotiated.
“They made the sacrifices to bring this company out of the bankruptcy of Walter Energy in 2016,” Roberts said.
“But today, instead of rewarding the sacrifices and work of the miners, Warrior Met is seeking even further sacrifices from them, while demonstrating perhaps some of the worst labor-management relations we’ve seen in this industry since the days of the company town and company store,” Roberts said.
Attempts to contact Warrior Met Coal for a statement were unsuccessful for some time.
Warrior Met’s behaviour during talks has prompted the UMWA to file unfair labour practices charges with the National Labor Relations Board.