Religious Leaders Investigate Peabody Coal

Monday, October 2, 2006

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

 

Peabody coalminers were scheduled to leaflet early this morning at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Pennsylvania Avenue, where Peabody CEO Gregory H. Boyce is speaking. In July, Religious Leaders for Coalfield Justice and Interfaith Worker Justice convened a fact-finding delegation of religious leaders to visit coalfields and learn more about working conditions for miners at Peabody Energy. The delegation heard testimony from miners, clergy, elected officials and labor organizers. Notably absent were representatives from Peabody Energy, who were invited but declined to testify. The delegation found that Peabody Energy is systematically deunionizing its mines, reducing miner health protections, and eliminating job security and retirement benefits, all conditions painstakingly achieved through decades of struggle and collective bargaining. Miners testified about a number of disturbing practices that prevail at Peabody’s nonunion mines, including miners losing their jobs because they get hurt in the mines, miners receiving no flexibility from the company even in emergency situations, and the company intimidating workers who seek to address workplace grievances by organizing with the United Mine Workers of America. The full report is available here.

 

Powered by Orchid Suites
Orchid ver. 4.7.6.