Virginia miners stand firm as wildcat strikes halted

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On July 18, 1989, the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) and the Pittston Coal Group agreed to resume negotiations after a month-long series of wildcat strikes in all of the union mines east of the Mississippi.

Along with the agreement to resume negoiations, Richard L. Trumka, president of the UMWA, urged the union membership to end the wildcat strikes. The rank-and-file union miners had been striking in solidarity with the 2000 miners who work for Pittston Coal.

In West Virginia, where the wildcats cut production by almost 90 percent, there was no let up in the strike until July 24, when all of the "wildcatters" reluctantly went back to work. It was estimated at that time that the walkout had already cost the state over $10 million.

The rank-and-file initiatives have brought national attention to the strike. They have also had the effect of solidifying the strike at the Pittston mines to the point where only limited amounts of coal are being produced. (The company lost $8 million during the strike's first month.) The wildcat strikers have demonstrated the capacity of the UMWA membership to carry out a fight.

The agreement to resume negotiations came after a federal judge, Glen M. Williams, called both the company and the union into court to respond to questions about the strike. Judge Williams is one the judges who earlier issued an injunction against the UMWA and and the miners' right to picket. A federal mediator will be involved in the new negotiations.

The miners themselves have no confidence that federal mediators-or any government agency-will protect their union or their livelihood. The history of the strike has demonstrated that the government is on the (continued on page 5, in “O.R. routed-as 2000 defend clinic in L.A”)

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