Bernie Sanders Sent a Bunch of Pizzas to the Coal Miners Blocking a Train in Kentucky

[Uncle Joe]

Dozens of Kentucky coal miners protesting over millions’ worth of unpaid wages received a gift of encouragement from Sen. Bernie Sanders: 18 pizzas.

The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate called the local Pizza Hut Friday and sent a pie to the miners for each day they’ve been blocking a train full of over $1 million in coal from their former employer, Blackjewel, according to the local NBC affiliate. The demonstration started on July 29 with five men standing on railroad tracks. Three weeks later, the blockade has ballooned into an encampment with what feels like a round-the-clock tailgate.

The miners have plastered the words “No pay, we stay” on banners and other surfaces across their camp in Harlan County, Kentucky. In early July, Blackjewel filed for bankruptcy and estimated it owes $4.5 million in backpay to hundreds of workers. The miners want to make sure the proceeds from the sale of the coal shipment goes toward paying them — not other Blackjewel creditors.

(snip)


To the miners, the coal represents the company’s failure to deal with them in good faith. Before filing for bankruptcy, Blackjewel operated four mines in Appalachia, which employed more than a thousand workers. One afternoon in early July, those workers learned that the mine would be closing immediately, without the mandatory 60-day warning from the company.

The miners also weren’t paid for their last week on the job, and when they tried to cash their last paychecks, they bounced. Blackjewel, per Kentucky law, was supposed to post a bond to cover the workers’ last paychecks. It didn’t. The company now owes each of the miners about $4,200 for back wages and unpaid benefits, lawyers representing the miners told the New York Times.

(snip)


https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8xwawa/bernie-sanders-sent-a-bunch-of-pizzas-to-the-coal-miners-blocking-a-train-in-kentucky