On February 15, 23 months after more than 1,000 coal miners in Brookwood, Ala., walked out on their employers at Warrior Met Coal, representatives from the United Mine Workers of America gathered them in a union hall to share some bad news. The company had reported its results for the fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, and thanks to the skyrocketing price of coal, Warrior Met raked in huge profits. The strike, believed to be the longest in Alabama history, had not had the desired economic impact. It may have cost the company over $1 billion in potential profits, but the high coal prices and the replacement workers that the company brought in meant that the strike hadn’t made a sufficient dent in the company’s bottom line. In 2022, Warrior Met Coal pulled in more than $640 million in net income.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2019, the company did not shut down. Instead, while demand was low, it kept its miners working and stockpiled more than 2.8 million tons of coal. Thanks to that surplus, which Warrior Met sold off early in the strike, and the scabs—who are paid supersized wages and monthly bonuses, and have worked nonstop to keep the mines running—the company hit its production quotas and fulfilled its orders. The miners found themselves in a difficult position: They and their families were suffering, while company bosses were not.
UMWA International President Cecil Roberts informed the members of the union’s plan, and asked them not to post on social media about it until the news went public.
— source thenation.com | Kim Kelly | Feb 20, 2023