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Why Alabama Coal Miners Are Still on Strike
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 Jan. 10, 2021 | STRIKES | “Happy miners run more coal.” When coal miner Greg Pilkerton spoke those words to me in his gruff Alabama drawl, it sounded like the most natural statement in the world. Of course, workers are more productive when they’re respected, well-compensated, and safe. Any argument against the notion would betray a profound lack of understanding of both the labor market and human nature writ large. Only a fool would say otherwise. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of fools who sign our paychecks. Take the owners of Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood, Ala.; instead of sitting down at the bargaining table and hammering out a mutually satisfactory contract with the union negotiators who represent the will of their workforce, they have chosen to stall and, as an unfair labor practices charge filed by the United Mine Workers of America alleges, to operate in bad faith. This kind of stubborn cruelty is bad for workers, but also bad for business. The strike has cost Warrior Met nearly $7 million and counting… The Nation
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