Alabama coal miners who have been on strike for almost two years have offered to return to work.
The United Mine Workers of America sent a letter Feb. 17 to executives at Warrior Met Coal Inc. offering an unconditional return to work while the union and the company continue to negotiate a new labor agreement.
Cecil E. Roberts, international president of the UMWA, said in a statement Monday that the union has received a response from the company but want answers to a few questions "before we can discuss the next steps with our members."
About 1,100 union members at Warrior Met Coal facilities in Brookwood, Alabama, went on strike on April 1, 2021. Workers say they sacrificed pay and benefits in 2016 as a cost-saving measure to help keep the mines open, but that those concessions have not been restored. Warrior Met contends it offered workers a competitive package that would protect jobs and the company’s future.
"We have been locked into this struggle for 23 months now, and nothing has materially changed. The two sides have essentially fought each other to a draw thus far, despite the company’s unlawful bargaining posture the entire time," Roberts said in a statement about the offer to end the strike.
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In a statement, Warrior Met Coal said it appreciates the decision to call for members to return to work, al.com reported.
"We have responded to the UMWA and asked for its cooperation and assistance so that we can begin the process for a safe and orderly return to work by those employees who have been on strike and have expressed a desire to return to work," the company stated.
Each employee is asked to undergo a physical, drug screening, and regulatory safety training. The company also said it needs "additional information from the UMWA" to begin the process.
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"We look forward to the UMWA’s cooperation in these efforts to return the striking miners to work while we continue to negotiate in good faith to reach a new contract," the company stated.
Erin E. Bates, communications director for the United Mine Workers of America, wrote in an email that, "We think it is important that Alabama workers, not the out-of-state scabs, get paid for the jobs that they are experienced in." Bates said it is also important for safety reasons to bring back UMWA inspectors and experienced miners.
The company has brought in replacement workers during the strike.
Both the union and Warrior Met have blamed each other for the prolonged strike, which centers on the company’s mining operations southwest of Birmingham.
The union is striking at Warrior Met’s No. 4 and No. 7 mines, a preparation plant and a central shop, all in Tuscaloosa County. The union and Warrior Met reached an agreement to end the walkout a few days after it began, but members rebuffed the settlement.
In May, Warrior Met reported net income of $146.2 million in the first quarter compared with a loss of $21.4 million for the same period last year. The company said the strike cost it $6.7 million for the quarter because of security and other expenses, and having the mines idle cost $3 million.
Warrior Met said it produced 1.5 million short tons of coal in the first quarter compared with 2.2 million short tons in the first quarter last year.
