7 months into the strike the miners have vowed to continue their strike regardless of the temporary restraining order. Warrior Met has already taken more than $1.4 billion in Concessions from the miners according to the UMWA

Cecil E. Roberts, International President of UMWA, stated “Consider for a moment that the Wall Street bankers who are calling the shots at Warrior Met took $1.4 billion in workers’ concessions out of Alabama communities and sent it up to New York to line their pockets. And then sucked another $750 million from the company’s revenues almost immediately after Warrior Met emerged from bankruptcy”.

Roberts went on to say “Consider also that for the last several months, Alabama State Police have been working on the public’s dime to escort out-of-state strikebreakers who have been brought in to take Alabama taxpayers’ jobs. Where is the sense in that? We have seen no protest or investigation by our state’s leaders about this clear misuse of taxpayer dollars.” and “Let me be clear: We remain ready to engage in serious and good-faith negotiations to resolve this dispute, but this TRO will not stop our strike”

The company sites safety as the reason for the TRO, however Warrior Met has long been attempting to bring in scab workers to replace the miners and try to break their strike. This order forbidding picket lines near entrances to the premises of the mine is another way for Warrior Met to attempt to outlast the strikers by using scab labor.

The miners continue to be resolved to strike for as long as it takes.

#TuscaloosaAL #PeoplesStruggles #strike #Strikes #WarriorMetCoalMine #UnitedMineWorkersOfAmericaUMWA

UMWA President Cecil E. Roberts, “the UMWA will continue to strike at Warrior Met until an agreement can be reached that provides these miners what they deserve.”

As this strike stretches into a third week, there is no clear end in sight, and Fight Back! will continue to provide updates as they become available.

#TuscaloosaAl #TuscaloosaAL #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #WarriorMetCoalMine #UnitedMineWorkersOfAmerica

On April 3, large crowds of miners could be seen picketing in front of the entrances to the mine chanting “No contract, no coal!”

UMWA says that members of management have received bonuses recently that were as large as $35,000.

The strike is an unfair labor practice strike and UMWA has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board around management’s behavior throughout the contract negotiations, and the union expects those charges will found to have merit and go through as they are investigated.

Management is reported to be looking at this as a long-term strike and beginning to make plans to bring in scabs in an attempt to bust the strike. While the use of scabs in any strike has a tendency to infuriate the striking workers, the coal mining industry has a special history in which use of scabs has created scenes involving destruction of company property and violence as a result.

Many of the most remembered of these clashes took place around the Coal Wars which happened over several decades between 1880 and 1930. However in much more recent history, coal strikes have continued to evoke major battles between coal miners who feel they have few options and mining companies which attempt to extract as much as wealth as possible from those workers. What will happen if the company follows through and brings in scabs is yet to be seen.

The UMWA says they are committed to this for the long haul and will keep fighting until they prevail.

#TuscaloosaAl #TuscaloosaAlAL #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #WarriorMetCoalMine #UnitedMineWorkersOfAmerica

Tuscaloosa, AL – A dozen people gathered in front of the downtown Federal Building on Tuesday Oct. 5 to protest the FBI raids and repression of peace activists.  The protest was part of a national day of action against the first day of scheduled grand jury proceedings for the targeted peace activists. The University of Alabama chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the protest.  Students were joined by faculty as well as members of the local community.

“The FBI is making it clear that the U.S. government is committed to imperialism and international interference,” said Pia Garber, one of the students in attendance. “Their actions will only make the anti-war movement stronger and bring more people together to say we've had enough!”

A statement from Tuscaloosa SDS about the FBI raids reads in part:

Tuscaloosa SDS condemns the FBI raids on peaceful anti-war activists. We find it disturbing that in our 'free' society this kind of political repression is occurring.  We stand in solidarity with the victims of the raids as well as all fighters for justice and social equality throughout the world.  We will not be scared or deterred from continuing to fight for justice in our own communities, and the FBI cannot stop the people’s movement from moving forward.

For more information, visit http://www.stopfbi.net.

#TuscaloosaAL #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #September24FBIRaids #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #TuscaloosaSDS

Alabama Bus Drivers Win Union Contract!

*Statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ)*

Union bus drivers at the University of Alabama are celebrating today! They voted to accept their first union contract late last night, March 8, 2010. All the members and supporters of the Network to Fight for Economic Justice are rejoicing with them!

Organizing a union and winning a first contract are difficult enough. To organize in the South where racism and intimidation are strong factors, is spectacular! The union workers and leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208 are to be congratulated for their grit and determination. They stood up and sent a message across the country, “We’re NOT going to take it anymore!”

Most of the bus drivers are African-American, and many are women. The key to victory was uniting the workers and having solid allies in the fight – especially the University of Alabama Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). SDS organized the campus support that shifted the balance in favor of the union. The students stayed up past midnight making poster board signs and showed up at the bus depot by 4:30 AM to walk the strike picket. While the bus drivers held the picket lines, SDS rallied students to actively support the strikers in ending their poverty wages. Public opinion overwhelmingly supported the bus drivers. It was powerful!

SDS also brought in the Network to Fight for Economic Justice to organize national call-in days targeting UA President Witt. The first call in day demanded Witt make a statement in support of the hard working bus drivers. The second one, during the one-day strike, demanded President Witt stop university “scab vans”. Union leaders and activists, welfare rights organizers, community organizers, and students called from at least thirty cities and towns – including Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Tucson, Boston, Birmingham, Asheville, Gainesville, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Olympia, Chapel Hill, and New York City. Mario Harmon, the ATU Local 1208 Secretary Treasurer, could not be more thankful for the solidarity shown.

The gains made by establishing the union contract are important and will benefit every worker. The First Transit management, part of British corporation FirstGroup, will no longer be able to fire workers at a whim. The union provides fairness to everyone. The wage increases negotiated at the table will raise most drivers out of poverty. The drivers won one more personal day, for a total of three. When a bus is unsafe, management will have to listen to the driver.

The rank and file bus drivers will have to prepare for the next contract struggle down the road. The union will need to make gains around affordable health care, sick days, and wage increases to match other union bus drivers. Today however, the victory is won! The workers now have a contract to build upon and they are setting an example to other workers to stand up and take back what belongs to them!

#TuscaloosaAL #AfricanAmerican #NetworkToFightForEconomicJustice #CrimsonRide

Mario Harmon, ATU Local 1208 Financial Secretary, said that the drivers would vote on the contract the evening of March 8. “It’s a good first contract and it improves our situation a great deal. There are some things we want to work toward in future contracts, but this is a good contract,” he said. He mentioned that their main priorities were to improve the drivers’ wages as well as provide them with a just cause clause to give them more job security.

Leading up to the strike, Students for a Democratic Society in Tuscaloosa and the Network to Fight for Economic Justice have supported the drivers. There was a successful call-in day to university president Dr. Witt on Feb. 17 demanding that the school put pressure on First Transit to provide the drivers with a fair contract. Since then they have continued to call in, and students have offered on-the-ground support through flyering on campus, holding a rally and joining the drivers on their early morning picket line.

#TuscaloosaAL #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #AfricanAmerican #NetworkToFightForEconomicJustice #CrimsonRide

Tuscaloosa, AL – Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1208 went on strike here, March 1. After a successful day on the picket line, First Transit called them back to the table for further negotiations. They made the agreement that if they went back to the table, then the strike would end and the drivers would return to work. So on Tuesday, March 2 the drivers went back to their job. After a few hours of negotiating, the company still refused to agree to a fair contract for the union.

On Wednesday, Mar