Unpaid coal miners block train loaded with 1million $ worth of coal

[packman]

Chris Rowe, 35, a coal miner who used to work for the bankrupt company Blackjewel, poses at the railway blockade protesting for unpaid wages outside of the Blackjewel mining complex in Cumberland, Ky


More than 1,100 miners in Kentucky, Wyoming, West Virginia and Virginia lost their jobs with no warning. They didn't get paid for their last week of work, and their paycheques from the previous two weeks bounced.

So when the miners got word that Blackjewel was quietly shipping a trainload of coal, worth at least $1 million US, out of Black Mountain — coal the miners took out of the ground — they decided to take matters into their own hands.


https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/unpaid-kentucky-coal-miners-have-been-blocking-a-train-track-for-3-weeks-1.5253199

[pecosbob]

1. Pretty black and white indictment of our bankruptcy laws.

Last edited Sun Aug 25, 2019, 11:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Edit* the shirt says it all, like the poster below noted.

[blm]

26. Seriously.

[FakeNoose]

2. Awesome pic

[calimary]

3. Good! I hope they block it forever.

[3Hotdogs]

4. This has been going on for three weeks? I guess David Koch was too sick to

hire goons to get their asses out of there.

[zentrum]

5. "Salt of the Earth". Try...

...to see the blacklisted Documentary by that name. From 1954 I think. An amazing true story using actors who were actually part of the strike.

Salt of the Earth.

[Hekate]

6. Hang in there, guys. You were lied to up one side and down the other. nt

[notdarkyet]

27. They could call up some farmers for people to commiserate with.

[Bayard]

7. Good for them!!

I hope they have filed a claim on the bankruptcy pay out.

[alwaysinasnit]

25. Won't likely do them much good as secured creditors are paid first. Employee wages are near the

bottom of the priority list. If they are lucky they might get a low percentage of what they are owed.

[kentuck]

8. I find this story very encouraging.

This is not political for these workers. It is between the Company and the Union.

The Coal Company thought they could slip a train out on that one rail when no one was looking. And sell that coal without paying the miners.

I was born and raised 20-30 miles from Cumberland and I stand with the miners.

[saidsimplesimon]

9. My appreciation and thanks

to all the coal miners who stand together for fair wages, safer conditions in the mines, removal of coal dust or protection for miners breathing it.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

10. where is trump?

I saw this story several weeks ago. According to what I read at that time, some of the miners were hoping that Trump would intervene and force the company to pay them.

[Kaiserguy]

15. Trump would be more likely

to send in the Federal Marshals to step on the miners than to help them get paid.

[hughee99]

38. Does trump have any authority to force the company

To pay the workers?

[keithbvadu2]

43. Surely he can if he can order companies to stop doing business with China.

Surely he can if he can order companies to stop doing business with China.

[throwthe_shoe]

11. this is what we ALL need to do ....

to get things in this country back for ALL of us... and not just for coal but for all the crookedness from business and POLITICS. because elections don't work well and can be rigged and bought off.. pitchforks and torches... they cannot beat us when we ALL stand up... but they can when we as a group are WILLFULLY IGNORANT........... GO GUYS SHOW US HOW IT IS DONE

[JAD]

12. Is there a GoFundMe page for food and coffee for these gentlemen????

I would like to buy those miners sandwiches, pizzas, coffee, soda.... whatever they want......

[Generic Other]

57. DUers did this for Camp Crawford

"Our community and our nation has shown us tremendous support by sending us things. We have a local Pizza Hut bringing us pizza, people calling from Chicago, Alabama, Atlanta, Texas making orders for us and having them delivered to us," Willig said.

"Our local Chinese restaurant brought us food. A local Mexican restaurant brought us food. CSX, which is the train operator that loads the coal, was totally supportive of us. ... It's just been a tremendous overall experience. We didn't think that it was going to get this big."

[paleotn]

13. Hopefully...

many will realize that when politicians say they support coal, particularly those on the right, they mean they support coal companies not workers. And with the current resident, they're simply marks to be conned. It should be obvious to anyone with two neurons he's done nothing to help miners.

[Duppers]

14. Exactly!

[smirkymonkey]

32. +1000

Exactly. The republicans never have and never will give a damn about the average worker. It's too bad so many of them are so loyal to the party that despises them.

[mountain grammy]

36. Yes hopefully..

they say it's not "political" but that's exactly what it is..

[demosincebirth]

56. The majority probably voted for "Him."

[Hortensis]

16. Lol, the judge asked for a court order needs time to think about it.

Lexington Herald Leader: As angry coal miners continued to block a set of railroad tracks in Harlan County Friday, the miners’ former employer, Blackjewel LLC., sought a court order to let a disputed coal train pass through the blockade.

Frank Volk, a judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, did not make a final ruling on that request, but asked for another hearing within 10 to 14 days to continue the discussion.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article234307937.html

[patphil]

24. I'll bet these coal miners live from paycheck to paycheck.

If they had any savings, that's probably gone now.
They are now incurring debt via credit cards and personal loans, both of which have high interest rates.
Just getting what is owed them will still leave them with a lot of debt that could take them years to pay off.
Even winning compensation in court will still leave them jobless in an industry that is rapidly shrinking, regardless of Trump's absurd claim that he will bring back coal.
It's going to be a tough road ahead for these guys; middle class hard working men who just want to provide for their families.
I hope they're wise enough to realize that Trump doesn't care about them.

Patrick Phillips

[theophilus]

17. Good for them! Trump will call in the Pinkerton's probably. Workers need to

unite against the Republican Planet Killers.

[democrank]

18. Brave miners, in more ways than one.

Hope they get all they’re owed.

[Pepsidog]

19. But they will still vote for their hero Benedict Donald. Really it's Fox News and FB and other

vehicles for misinformation that cause these people to believe in what Republicans have been selling them for years. Instead of voting for Democrats they will continue to vote for Rs. You see Russia’s plan to divide us and then come to the rescue with a $200 million dollar investment in an aluminum plant that will guarantee these no minds continue to vote for Republicans.

[kentuck]

21. Probably true...

It is odd how they are able to compartmentalize their vote for Donald Trump in a different compartment than their fight with the Coal Company for refusing to pay them what they are owed? They do not see the direct connection.

[Pepsidog]

22. How do we begin to restore sanity to much of rural America when they really are brainwashed?

A truly transformational president in the nature of a Roosevelt is really our only chance. Imagine for a moment that Trump was not the mad king. I always said a great progressive president would be a combination of Trumps balls and Obama’s brains, or a Elizabeth Warren or Harris President.

[emmaverybo]

53. Love the way the thread posts start out sympathetic and then end up essentially insulting the

miners and saying “ya got what ya deserved.”

Oh, the irony.


Fix the damage, Joe
The world needs you

[Pepsidog]

55. Sympathy, anger, betrayal are all emotions evoked when reading this story.

[warmfeet]

39. Of course they will vote for the orange turd.

They hate, hate, hate "liberals." They hate the ones that want to give them a better life. The irony is surreal.

[lindysalsagal]

58. Yes, they will. because us libruls are ripping them off. Remember that.

[Pepsidog]

59. And taking all their stuff and giving it away to illegal immigrants.

[ooky]

20. How are those Trump votes workin' for ya?

[ProudLib72]

23. Did they finally get tired of all the winning?

Don't they know their blockade is distinctly unAmerican? Damned socialists!

[NightWatcher]

28. How many of them voted for maga? They can eat their hats

[orleans]

51. they don't want to "make this political"

"the miners say they aren't going to be pawns in anybody's political propaganda."

so i guess they'll be voting for trump and mcconnell again

morons

[Takket]

29. too bad. if they had supported Hillary.......

by now they would have gone through the high skill training she wanted to implement and have a better paying, safer job in an industry that wasn't a dead end relic that the energy industry has almost no interest in anymore.

[Boomerproud]

35. Hate has consequences.

They will be the last to admit it.

[BigmanPigman]

41. If only they would think rationally

and face reality. Those jobs are not coming back. Reeducate and train for the zillion new jobs related to saving the planet and fighting Climate Change.

[SunSeeker]

47. And green jobs won't give them black lung. Why don't they understand??

[BigmanPigman]

48. I think many are purposely ignorant or are too "stuck" mentally.

I know I had to go back to college and get another degree when I faced reality and realized I couldn't support myself. Life sucks but you deal with it. For centuries people either moved or retrained for money to support themselves and/or their families. That was the norm, no big deal really. What is their problem?

[Haggis for Breakfast]

30. The song by Tennessee Ernie Ford is drifting through my mind right now.

You load 16 tons,
What do you get ?
Another day older,
And deeper in debt.
St. Peter don't you call me,
'Cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.

[kentuck]

31. Here is a different version:

[Haggis for Breakfast]

33. WOW, just WOW.

Thank you, kentuck. This was awesome.

[NBachers]

49. Thanks for posting that!!

[mr_lebowski]

54. Great version ... but a ridiculously over-edited video ... had to just listen and not watch ...

Was feeling like I might have a seizure or something ...

[real Cannabis calm]

34. K&R

[Hermit-The-Prog]

37. Moscow Mitch ran against "Obama's war on coal" and won re-election

Have the miners called on Moscow Mitch for help? How many voted for him and now regret it?

[keithbvadu2]

44. They called on Moscow Mitch and he gave them about a minute before ducking out.

They called on Moscow Mitch and he gave them about a minute before ducking out.

[Initech]

40. Hit 'em where it hurts!

[Marcuse]

42. They won't connect the dots. Hillary was honest with them, but they are still suckers for the Con.

"We all agreed when we first started that we're not going to make this political and we're not aiming this at politicians. This is between workers and an employer. Nothing to do with politics," Willis said — a point he reiterated several times throughout the interview.

[PandoraAwakened]

45. Well, stupid is as stupid says. n/t

[SunSeeker]

46. K & R

[ck4829]

50. K&R