Miners Snarl Traffic; Union Leaders Freed

Hundreds of wildcat strikers caused traffic jams to slow coal shipments Tuesday, and three union leaders were released from a two-week jail stay brought about by strike activity against mines in Virginia.

“Together, we can win this strike,” said Marty Hudson, the field commander of the United Mine Workers-authorized strike by 1,900 Pittston Coal Group employees in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. About 1,700 miners walked off their jobs April 5 after working 14 months without a contract, and they were joined by 200 others on Monday.

Rallying Point

A federal judge’s June 5 decision to hold the three union leaders in jail without bond until they promised an end to the civil disobedience against Pittston has been a rallying point for the wildcat strikes.

Those strikes, work stoppages not officially authorized by the UMW, have idled about 28,000 miners in nine states.

Hundreds of the wildcat strikers converged on the southwest Virginia coal fields and took part Tuesday in traffic jams designed to slow Pittston’s coal shipments.

“They’ve just got the place saturated with people; it’s pretty well blocked up,” said state police Lt. C. F. Eaton.

Hudson, Jackie Stump, president of the UMW’s southwest Virginia district, and C. A. Phillips, a UMW international representative, were jailed after U.S. District Judge Glen Williams found them guilty of contempt of court.

Demonstrations Banned

Williams said the three violated his order banning sit-down demonstrations to block coal trucks at Pittston’s processing plants.

They were freed by Williams after promising during a private hearing to abide by his order.

Chuck Donnelly, an attorney for the UMW in West Virginia, said the release of the three should bring an end to the wildcat walkouts.

But Roger Caldwell, a field representative in the UMW’s District 17, said the unauthorized strikes probably will continue as miners turn attention to the $3 million in fines levied against the UMW by a Circuit Court judge in Lebanon, Va.