P. M. BRIEFING : Miners Strike Over Pittston Sales
More than 350 United Mine Workers members walked off their jobs in two states today in a strike against coal mines the union claims are filling orders for the Pittston Coal Group, subject of a months-long strike.
UMW President Richard Trumka ordered selective strikes at Sunglo Coal Co. and Rob Fork Mining Co. in Kentucky to begin at midnight Sunday, said Dean Bentley, UMW International representative. Bentley and company officials today confirmed that the mines, with about 250 union workers total, had been shut down.
In West Virginia, about 120 UMW members went on strike today at five coal companies, a spokesman there said.
“The union found them doing business with Pittston,” said Danny Wells, executive board member at UMW District 17 in West Virginia. He said “there’s no way to tell” how long it will last.
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