2019 Harlan County coal miners protest

The 2019 Harlan County coal miners protest was a labor protest held by dozens of coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. The causes of the protest stemmed from the 2019 bankruptcy of Blackjewel Coal, a coal mining company that operated a mine in the county. Following the company's bankruptcy, former coal miners did not receive payment for several weeks of work, leading to many miners protesting by blocking a coal train on tracks in the county. The protest lasted from July 30 to September 28, with litigation continuing in bankruptcy courts.

Background

On July 1, 2019, Blackjewel Coal filed for bankruptcy,[1] leading to the abrupt firing of about 1,700 miners in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.[2][3] Following this, many of the affected workers reported bounced paychecks and being unable to access their 401(k) accounts.[4] Shortly thereafter, a miner in Wyoming filed a class-action lawsuit against Blackjewel, arguing that they violated workers rights under the WARN Act.[2][4]

Railroad occupation

On July 29, Blackjewel was scheduled to move $1 million worth of coal out of a mine in Harlan County, Kentucky via a CSX Railroad track. Before the train left the county, five former miners occupied a section of the track, not allowing the train to proceed.[1][5] Following this, security guards for the company called police, and afterwards the protestors moved to another location on the tracks, still blocking the train's movements.[5] Additional people joined the protest, with over 100 people occupying the tracks during the protest.[6] Several days after the occupation began, protestors agreed to allow several unloaded cars pass, but continued to hold the loaded coal train stationary.[5] On August 1, former Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo visited the protestors, criticizing Blackjewel and the Kentucky Labor Department for failing to hold the company accountable for workers rights violations.[7] The next day, 2020 Democratic Party Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders voiced his support for the protestors and sent pizzas to the protestors.[8] Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and Senate candidate Amy McGrath also voiced their support for the protestors,[1] along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.[9] In August, the Richard and Leslie Gilliam Foundation donated over $1 million to fired miners in Harlan County and other areas that were affected.[10] On September 28, following almost 2 months of occupying the railroad, the mayor of Cumberland, Kentucky, where many of the protestors lived, announced an end to the protest. Many of the fired miners had found employment elsewhere, and settlement talks were underway with the company and fired workers.[10]

Aftermath

In October, as part of the company's bankruptcy settlement, Blackjewel awarded $5.47 million to fired miners, including those in Harlan County.[5]

A similar train blockade occurred in January 2020 in Pike County, Kentucky. On January 13, miners for Quest Energy occupied a railroad track near Kemper, Kentucky and blocked a 120-car coal train from leaving, claiming that the company failed to pay them wages for three weeks.[11][12] The protest ended on January 15, with the protesting miners receiving pay.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Still Without Pay, Kentucky Coal Miners Continue Month-Long Railroad Blockade". WBUR-FM. August 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. Johnson, Greg (July 10, 2019). "Class-action lawsuit targets Blackjewel LLC". Gillette News-Record. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  3. Sainato, Michael (September 18, 2019). "Laid off and owed pay: the Kentucky miners blocking coal trains". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  4. Sainato, Michael (July 22, 2019). "'Our paychecks bounced': US workers in limbo as coalmines suddenly close". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. Lewis, Johnnie (October 29, 2019). "Harlan County, Kentucky, coal miners win $5 million". International Action Center. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  6. Hassan, Carma (July 30, 2019). "Angry about no pay, Kentucky miners block train loaded with coal". CNN. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. Kenning, Chris (July 31, 2019). "'I think Trump needs to show his face': Laid-off miners losing faith in coal promises". The Courier-Journal. Gannett. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  8. Lubben, Alex (August 19, 2019). "Bernie Sanders Sent a Bunch of Pizzas to the Coal Miners Blocking a Train in Kentucky". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. Hill, Jeremy (August 1, 2019). "McConnell Supports Miners Blockading Coal Train to Get Back Pay". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  10. Sandoval, Polo; Almasy, Steve; Ly, Laura (September 28, 2019). "Kentucky miners, still seeking back pay, end coal train protest after two months". CNN. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  11. Gurley, Lauren Kaori (January 14, 2020). "Militant Coal Miners Occupy Kentucky Railroad Over Unpaid Wages". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  12. Wright, Will (January 14, 2020). "'What am I supposed to do?' Desperate KY miners block another coal train over pay". Lexington Herald-Leader. McClatchy. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  13. Bollinger, Christy (January 16, 2020). "UPDATE: Pikeville miners end train track protest after receiving pay". WTVQ-DT. Morris Multimedia. Retrieved July 26, 2020.

Further reading
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