Charleston lawyer David Grubb passes out checks to jubilant miners Sunday at their union hall in Cannelton.
Eight-five coal miners laid off from Cannelton Mining after Massey Energy took it over and renamed it Mammoth Coal gathered at their local union hall on Sunday afternoon. Each miner received a $38,000 check from Massey.
CANNELTON, W.Va. -- Eighty-five coal miners laid off from Cannelton Mining after Massey Energy took it over and renamed it Mammoth Coal gathered at their local union hall on Sunday afternoon. Each miner received a $38,000 check from Massey.
On Oct. 30, Massey agreed to pay $8.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2006 in Fayette County on behalf of 229 miners and job applicants who were over 40 years old.
Massey refused to hire them after buying the Cannelton operations from Horizon Natural Resources, which was bankrupt.
When Massey began operating the long-time union mine near Smithers on Dec. 4, 2004, it also refused to recognize the existing contract with the United Mine Workers.
Randy Bowen, one of the miners who received his check on Sunday, said, "I am tickled to death. I am glad we finally won something in our age discrimination case. It takes forever to get anything in the court system.
"We feel like we got something we deserved. But we still want to go back to work," Bowen added.
When Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake approved the $8.75 million settlement, he called it "a fair, adequate, and reasonable resolution of plaintiffs' individual and class claims."
David Grubb, a Charleston lawyer who represents the miners, said the settlement with Massey is the largest age-discrimination settlement in West Virginia history.
"When we started out, we thought we had a very slight prayer of winning," Grubb said. "We thank Judge Blake for urging a settlement."
Grubb said 65 percent of each $38,000 check is for partial compensation for back pay, while 35 percent is for mental distress and anguish.
The $8.75 million settlement also includes $19,000 for 144 individuals who never worked at the Cannelton Mine, but who applied for jobs after Massey announced plans to reopen it in 2004.
Massey denied jobs to those 144 applicants because they were over 40 years old, Grubb's lawsuit stated.
CANNELTON, W.Va. -- Eighty-five coal miners laid off from Cannelton Mining after Massey Energy took it over and renamed it Mammoth Coal gathered at their local union hall on Sunday afternoon. Each miner received a $38,000 check from Massey.
On Oct. 30, Massey agreed to pay $8.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2006 in Fayette County on behalf of 229 miners and job applicants who were over 40 years old.
Massey refused to hire them after buying the Cannelton operations from Horizon Natural Resources, which was bankrupt.
When Massey began operating the long-time union mine near Smithers on Dec. 4, 2004, it also refused to recognize the existing contract with the United Mine Workers.
Randy Bowen, one of the miners who received his check on Sunday, said, "I am tickled to death. I am glad we finally won something in our age discrimination case. It takes forever to get anything in the court system.
"We feel like we got something we deserved. But we still want to go back to work," Bowen added.
When Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake approved the $8.75 million settlement, he called it "a fair, adequate, and reasonable resolution of plaintiffs' individual and class claims."
David Grubb, a Charleston lawyer who represents the miners, said the settlement with Massey is the largest age-discrimination settlement in West Virginia history.
"When we started out, we thought we had a very slight prayer of winning," Grubb said. "We thank Judge Blake for urging a settlement."
Grubb said 65 percent of each $38,000 check is for partial compensation for back pay, while 35 percent is for mental distress and anguish.
The $8.75 million settlement also includes $19,000 for 144 individuals who never worked at the Cannelton Mine, but who applied for jobs after Massey announced plans to reopen it in 2004.
Massey denied jobs to those 144 applicants because they were over 40 years old, Grubb's lawsuit stated.
James Moschino, a miner who worked at the Cannelton Mine for 29 years before Massey bought it, also picked up his check on Sunday.
"We took a bite out of crime," he said.
Dave Crawford, who collected a check and still works at Mammoth, said, "I am glad for our members that some justice was served today. Massey could have avoided this by offering everyone employment."
Mike Ryan, president of UMW Local 8843, said, "I am glad this is over. For five years, it was a long, hard-fought battle.
"But we've still got 85 people who really want to get back to work. We want to get our jobs back," Ryan said.
On Oct. 2, the full National Labor Relations Board issued an order requiring Mammoth Coal to rehire the 85 miners it fired after buying the mine.
Massey is appealing that NLRB order in federal court.
Whether the 85 miners get their jobs back, and perhaps receive more back pay, will be determined by what happens with Massey's appeal.
On Nov. 21, 2007, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Paul Bogas ruled Massey violated the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to hire former union miners and refusing to recognize the UMW as a bargaining agent.
Massey appealed that ruling, which resulted in the NLRB's Oct. 2 order upholding Bogas.
The NLRB order requires Massey "to recognize and bargain in good faith with the union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of ... Mammoth's employees."
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
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Maybe they should have been notified of what was going on, but a true union miner would be staying informed of wha was going on in his own local union. While paying your union dues is an important part of belonging to the union, a strong union miner would be attending his monthly local union meetings and staying current on what was going on.
http://tinyurl.com/ydhqwnc
Capito's obstruction benefited the coal industry over the will of the people by directly conflicting with the WV legislature's bicameral bill SCR 58, passed for the expressed purpose of instructing ALL of WV's congressional representatives to legislate against corporate bankruptcy/ buyouts designed to shaft miners out of their pension.
BTW someone claiming to be a "miner's wife" below complains about not being notified. Yet had she opened any of the many newsletters sent to all UMWA members locked out, she wouldn't have been left out. HOWEVER, "miner's wife", read it again, because the case is obviously not yet closed. Just contact the judge (or the UMWA) to collect instead of publicly whining about the union.
On the age question, most 40+ year olds could work circles around the miners in their 20s.