Region 10 NLRB Goes Rogue – IFPTE Stands in SOLIDARITY with United Mineworkers Members on Strike at Warrior Met Coal Mining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – IFPTE President Matt Biggs and Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson issued a statement from in response to an effort by NLRB Region 10 Director to fleece the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) of over $13 million for supporting their members who on strike against Warrior Met Coal:

“On behalf of the 90,000 members of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), we stand in support and solidarity with our sisters, brothers, and siblings at the United Mineworkers of America (UMW) who are exercising their right to strike against Warrior Met Coal Mining LLC.  We call on National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren M. McFerran to overturn the decision by Region 10 Compliance Officer Jenny Dunn to attempt to extract $13.3 million from the UMWA to cover the employer's alleged costs related to the strike.

The laundry list of charges included in Ms. Dunn's order would be laughable were it not so outrageous.  The suggestion that unions should pay for an employer's lost profits during a strike sets a dangerous and abjectly anti-worker precedent. Essentially, it removes the right to strike from a worker's options for dealing with an unjust or nefarious employer. 

Workers and unions do not take the decision to strike lightly.  It involves significant sacrifice, disruption and stress for those who decide to exercise that right.  Ms. Dunn's attempt to add to that burden a requirement that workers must subsidize every penny that a company, its management representatives and its scabs have to spend during a strike is outrageous.

In its March 2022 quarterly filing, Warrior Met Coal Mining LLC reported $378,652,000 in total revenues.  The company purposefully and knowingly spent a portion of those revenues to surveil, intimidate and harass its own employees.  Warrior Met Coal Mining's decision to engage in these actions and spend any related monies lies with the company and its shareholders.

The UMWA acted in good faith and in the best interest of its members by agreeing to cover certain reasonable costs related to the strike.  We call on the NLRB respond in kind by overturning this outrageous and dangerous decision with a rational remedy.”

Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org

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Download a PDF of this statement here.

SHOW SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT STRIKING MINEWORKERS & THIER FAMILIES

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