Strike Continues As UMWA Fails To Ratify Terms With Warrior Met

BROOKWOOD, AL— The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) announced Friday night that its members working at Warrior Met Coal in Bessemer did not ratify a tentative agreement that had been negotiated with the company and will remain on their unfair labor practice strike.

Around 1,100 union miners walked off the job a little more than a week ago, citing their desire for a new collective bargaining agreement between UMWA and Warrior Met. Votes were the cast in local union halls this week, with ratification initially expected for Friday in what was viewed as a potential compromise.

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UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts members made it clear that the tentative agreement was not sufficient enough to make up for the sacrifices made in 2016 — referring to the company's restructuring after declaring bankruptcy in 2015 under the Walter Energy brand.

“So, the UMWA will continue to strike at Warrior Met until an agreement can be reached that provides these miners what they deserve," he said. “This is a democratic union. The membership has the final say in what their collective bargaining agreements look like. The decision was theirs to make and they have the full support of UMWA District 20 and the International union. We will continue negotiations with the company.”

Warrior Met has yet to publicly respond following the union not ratifying the new collective bargaining agreement.

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