BILLINGS, Mont.—Striking coal miners at the Absaloka Mine, east of Hardin, have rejected the latest contract offer from management.
Union spokesman George Golie says an overwhelming majority of miners rejected the latest company offer Wednesday night.
“We went over the latest contract offer, proposal, from Westmoreland Resources and it was as rejected by a large margin,” Golie said. “It was a very, very large margin. Let’s just say that.”
The mine is owned by Westmoreland Resources Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Golie says the three-year-deal offered the shorter contract length and signing bonus miners wanted, but did not go far enough to address working conditions and wages.
The vote ensures that production at the 15,000-acre Absaloka Mine will remain stalled at least into the weekend and possibly into a second week. The 125 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 400 walked out Saturday, saying they needed a shorter-term contract, reliable scheduling and benefits comparable with those given to workers at other Westmoreland mines.
Westmoreland spokeswoman Diane Jones confirmed an offer was made. She declined to disuss details of the latest offer.
Union and company representatives were meeting Thursday in Billings with a federal mediator.
Shift scheduling is a negotiation hang-up. Miners earlier told The Billings Gazette that they had been required to work additional days to the point that some couldn’t get a full weekend off without taking vacation time. On the job, miners said they have been unreasonably pressured by supervisors if they stopped for a breather.
“The scheduling is a big issue with the miners down there,” Golie said. “They’re not afraid to work, even the company said they have a great work force, but the membership wants to know when they have to work and when they get off.”
The strike is the mine’s first since it opened 34 years ago. With a payroll of roughly $13 million, the mine is a huge economic player in Big Horn County. The Absaloka isn’t on the Crow Indian Reservation, but the coal it mines yielded $16.6 million in royalty and production tax payments to the tribe in 2006.
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Information from: Billings Gazette,
