CWA's Ron Collins Gets Arrested for Mine Workers

CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins, with CWA members, stands with Patriot miners.

Below: Collins is arrested.

CWA members continue to be a big part of the thousands of activists who protest at Peabody/Patriot Coal locations.

In St. Louis last week, CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins fired up the crowd, then was arrested along with United Mine Workers members. Check out this video.

Patriot executives now say they are willing to resume negotiations; about a week ago, Patriot said it wasn't interested in bargaining with the UMWA. A bankruptcy judge has approved Patriot's bid to throw out its collective bargaining agreements and slash retiree health care; the judge said cuts can begin as early as July 1.

Hundreds of CWA activists have participated in rallies and actions in St. Louis and Charleston, WVa., to protest Peabody's move to strip retiree health care benefits from 23,000 miners and their families.

Peabody created Patriot Coal in 2007 and gave that company 11 percent of its assets, 43 percent of its retiree liability and some underwater coal contracts, the UMWA said. Some 90 percent of retirees whose benefits will be slashed never worked for Patriot. Then, in 2008, Patriot bought Arch-spinoff Magnum Coal, and Arch saddled that company with 12 percent of its assets and 96 percent of its retiree health-care liabilities.

"We all know that the resources needed to really solve these problems are piled up in the corporate coffers of Peabody Energy and Arch Coal. Those two companies made billions from the sweat and hard work of our members, and if these executives think we're going to sit idle while they abandon their promises and put our members at risk – well, then they don't really know or understand the United Mine Workers of America," said UMWA President Cecil Roberts.

The union is working with members of Congress from both parties to pursue legislative remedies and has an ongoing public education campaign with a "Peabody Lied" television advertisement currently running in St. Louis and Evansville, Ill.