Mine Workers Win Round at Massey Mine (NLRB)

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/05/mine-workers-win-round-at-massey-mine/

by Mike Hall, Feb 5, 2008

When Massey Energy Co. bought a coal mine in Kanawha County, W.Va., in 2004, it refused to hire the Mine Workers (UMWA) members working there—even though the mine had been unionized for decades. Last week, in an unusual rebuke to employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asked a federal court to force Massey to rehire 85 miners.

In November, NLRB administrative law judge (ALJ) Paul Bogas found that Massey had discriminated against the miners by refusing to hire them on the basis of their membership in the predecessors’ bargaining unit and their pro-union sentiments….Massey officials had declared they would operate Mammoth union-free.

Massey is appealing the ALJ’s ruling ordering the company to rehire the miners. The NLRB is asking the U.S. District Court to issue an injunction forcing Massey to rehire the miners while the appeals process plays out. UMWA President Cecil Roberts says:

As workers know all too well, the appeals process in labor cases can take years. And all the while, workers who have been harmed by a company’s action get no relief. But this time, things are different. We believe the NLRB’s case for injunctive relief is a strong one, and we believe a judge will quickly see that and grant the injunction.

The injunction also would require Massey to recognize the UMWA as the bargaining agent for all workers at the mine, implement the terms of the contract that was in place at the time of the takeover and begin bargaining for a new contract. The mine employs about 200 workers, many who were brought in from other nonunion Massey mines or who were hired as trainees with no experience.

FULL story at link.