On Thursday, April 1, around 1,100 coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, went on strike. After the bargaining unit with the United Mine Workers of America reached a tentative agreement with the company last week, the membership overwhelmingly rejected it and opted to remain on strike. In order to cover this important strike and spread these workers’ stories, we’ve teamed up with Jacob Morrison, a union organizer and cohost of “The Valley Labor Report,” Alabama’s only weekly labor radio talk show, and Alabama musician Lee Bains III of The Glory Fires. Morrison and Bains went down to the Warrior Met Coal picket line to talk with striking miners, play some music, and show solidarity. In this special episode of “Working People,” we’ve compiled clips from Bains’ live musical performance, as well as Morrison’s interviews on the picket line and at the local UMWA union hall.
Additional links/info below…
- United Mine Workers of America website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
- Jacob’s Twitter page
- The Valley Labor Report YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter page, and Patreon
- Lee’s Twitter page
- The Glory Fires’ website, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter page
- William Thornton, AL.com, “1,100 West Alabama Mine Workers Announce Plan to Go on Strike“
- Jason Morton, The Tuscaloosa News, “Union Announces Strike for Brookwood Miners at Warrior Met Coal“
- Jason Morton, The Tuscaloosa News, “Union Announces Tentative Deal to End Brookwood Coal Mine Strike“
- UMWA Press Release: “Tentative Agreement Reached at Warrior Met“
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)
- Jules Taylor, “Working People Theme Song”
- Lee Bains III, live performance at Warrior Met Coal strike (April 2021)
- Jules Taylor, “Cradle to the Grave”
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