In coal country, young miner organizes for a better future

The third-generation member of the United Mine Workers counts himself lucky to belong to an organization that improved the lives of his father and grandfather. So he’s organizing other young workers to challenge a giant coal company threatening to open two non-union operations in southwestern Pennsylvania.

“I’m proud to be a union coal miner and I’m going to make sure I stay that way,” he declared.

Uncertain future in coal country
The drive to the borough of Clarksville (population 240) winds along the scenic Monongahela River past an abandoned coal mine and a shuttered union hall – once damaged by a bomb during an organizing drive.

On a hill not far from town is a large state prison. For Hartley and other young men and women, the available job options boil down to two choices – work in the mines or work in the prison. Since 2006, he’s worked at the Emerald mine operated by Foundation Coal in nearby Waynesburg.

In July, Foundation merged with Alpha Natural Resources to become the third-largest coal producer in the United States. Now known as Alpha, it wants to open a new mine near Clarksville and another in the nearby community of Holbrook. And the company has made it clear to the UMWA that it would like those operations to be non-union. Younger leaders like Hartley are stepping up to make sure that doesn’t happen.

In the short time he’s worked at Emerald, Hartley has gotten active in workplace issues, becoming a member of the Safety Committee and attending a weeklong training on the Mine Safety and Health Act. He’s a strong believer in the protections a union contract provides.

“With the union, you keep your guys safe,” he said. “You make the money, but you do it safe.”

Safety is always a concern for coal miners — whether they worked at the turn of the century or today.

Still a dangerous job
Coal mining always has been – and remains – one of the most dangerous jobs. The UMWA has been in the forefront of fighting for strong workplace safety laws, pressuring the federal government to institute the first national regulations for mine safety in the 1940s, decades before passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Even with stronger workplace protections, “we have people hurt constantly,” said Bud Abbott, president of UMWA Local 2258 at Emerald and a veteran of 40 years in the mines. Southwestern Pennsylvania is dotted with dozens of underground sites, some employing as few as 50 workers and others giant operations involving large equipment and hundreds of employees.

In a unionized mine, many injuries and deaths are prevented because workers have the right under the union contract to refuse to perform unsafe work, Abbott said. If a worker is injured, the accident is fully investigated and remedies taken.

“In a non-union mine, you wouldn’t even know the guys got hurt – nothing is said,” he noted. Injuries go unreported because people fear losing their jobs.

Formidable opponent
The notion of new mines opening non-union in the next few years has brought together members of different UMWA locals and residents of affected communities. They face a formidable opponent in Alpha Natural Resources. Not only is it the third-largest coal producer in the country, it has connections with another company notorious for violating worker rights: Pittston.

Twenty years ago, in what was widely seen as one of the few labor victories of the 1980s, UMWA members occupied a Pittston coal processing plant in southwest Virginia, in a dramatic effort to stop the company from cutting health care. They established “Camp Solidarity,” which drew supporters from across the country and put a spotlight on the company’s union-busting practices.

Years after the strike, Pittston became one of several coal producers swallowed up by Alpha, which retained some of the Pittston executives. Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield was in management at Pittston during the 1989 strike.

Regional Director Donnie Samms has no doubt the union has another historic fight on his hands.

“They’re trying to take us back to the early 1900s,” he declared.

Third-generation coal miner Travis Hartley and 40-year veteran Bud Abbott are working together to maintain union jobs. Photo by Mary Echols

Building solidarity
The new mines aren’t scheduled to open until 2012 or 2013, giving the union and communities time to organize. Members of Local 2258 at the Emerald mine and Local 2300 at the Cumberland mine – another Alpha property – are meeting regularly to plan strategy.

They’re distributing bright yellow lawn signs that read, “We support the UMWA. Fighting for what’s right!” Members sport t-shirts and hard hat stickers that say, “Mine it UMWA or leave it in the ground.”

The locals are holding their first joint softball and horseshoe tournament to foster solidarity among members. The prize is a trophy featuring a statue of longtime UMWA President John L. Lewis.

Such activities are appealing to younger members, but ultimately what they care about are the bread-and-butter issues identified in the young worker survey, Hartley said.

“A lot of the guys have dollar signs in their eyes,” he said. “Once you show them what the UMWA stands for and what it’s about, they take to it.”

Barb Kucera wrote this article as part of a reporting team at the International Labor Communications Association convention. View more stories from the teams.

Mary Echols of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is the photographer. View her photo gallery from coal country.