[coverage kicks in after $1000 in medical expenses…]

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coverage kicks in after $1000 in medical expenses, the company will give miners $500 every six The new agreement also pledges Pittston to retreat from its practice of contracting out to non-union mines, forcing the company to hire laid-off UMWA members for the first four out of five job openings at Pittston's non-union mines and the first 19 out of 20 job openings in companies that provide contract Furthermore, Pittston was forced to provide pension benefits identical to the 1988 pact between the UMWA and the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA), which Pittston pulled out of in 1988 so it could wage a union-busting campaign On the other hand, Pittston won concessions on work schedules, allowing them the flexibility of four-day weeks of 10 hours per day and 28-day shift rotations, which would allow them almost aroundthe-clock operations at the mines, with the excepOverall, the Pittston bosses came out of this struggle with much less than they had hoped for when they provoked the strike by unilaterally stopping pension and health benefits in April 1989. Pittston has admitted to losses of $27 million in "lost sales and other expenses." Undoubtedly the However, defeating Pittston's union-busting offensive was not without cost. Virginia State Courts and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) leveled over $64 million in fines against the UMWA for its refusal to comply with injunctions that limited picketing at the Pittston mines. UMWA President Richard Trumka states that the union has no intention of paying the fines and will tie up the The Pittston strike showed labor at its best. UMWA miners turned their strike into a national rallying cry for thousands of class-conscious trade unionists throughout the country. Despite state-sponsored repression by the cops and courts, the Pittston miners tenaciously kept up the fight, at • Over 3700 strikers and their supporters were arrested as they attempted to shut down the Pittston mines through mass picketing, sit-ins, and rallies.

• 8000 miners rallied in Charleston, W.Va., on July 12 to show support for the Pittston miners and • The next day, 10,000 UMWA miners staged "wildcat" walkouts throughout the coal fields in sympathy with the Pittston strikers. By the end of • In August, miners set up picketlines at steel plants and non-union mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, shutting them down for a couple of • In September, 98 camouflage-clad strikers occupied Pittston's Moss #3 preparation plant near Carbo, Va., for over 77 hours. The occupiers were supported outside by 5000 pro-UMWA demonstraUltimately, these militant class-struggle activities are what forced Pittston and its allies—the U.S. and Virginia State governments—to negotiate a settleIn the face of a major challenge to their picketlines by coal operators, state and local cops, and court injunctions, the Pittston strike was one of the most effective labor struggles since the 1977-78 naAt that time, the miners were victorious despite Democratic Party President Jimmy Carter's strike18 SOCIALIST ACTION MARCH 1990 Treachery of labor bureaucracy months to defray that cost.

the working class.

workers.

AND THEY CALL IT DEMDERAL at its mines.

tion of Sunday afternoons. PITTSTON figure is much higher. CARTOONS 0r989 tions) and contract agreements. courts for years with appeals.

Labor at its best where "no strike agreements" were in effect.

gle rallied to the miners' cause.

times even escalating it:

striking Eastern Airlines machinists.

the week over 40,000 miners were out. capital and labor.

Carrot and stick days just to make a point.

worst take-away demands.

tors who protected the miners from police.

ment with the valiant strikers. strike laws in the future.

Effective struggle asking the court to forgive the fine.

tional miners' strike.