August 4, 2019 – State Executive Committee
A Resolution of Support for Laid Off Blackjewel Miners
WHEREAS, the Blackjewel coal company has filed for bankruptcy on July 1, 2019; and
WHEREAS, former employees of Blackjewel have struggled financially with recoupment of weeks’ worth of back pay, leading many to have trouble paying their mortgages, electrical bills, and groceries; and
WHEREAS, Blackjewel, as every other mining company in Kentucky is presently, is a non-union company; and
WHEREAS, former employees of Blackjewel have inspired the nation by blockading railroad tracks, preventing coal cars from making their regularly-scheduled deliveries; and
WHEREAS, former CEO Jeff Hoops has been forced to resign in Blackjewel’s bankruptcy deal, yet this has not dissuaded him from building a $30 million resort in Cabell County;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the West Virginia Mountain Party hereby unequivocally supports the rights of these workers to engage in civil disobedience that directly impacts their former employer’s ability to continue to profit off their labor; and
BE IT RESOLVED that the West Virginia Mountain Party stands in full support with a worker’s right to unionize at their workplace; and
BE IT RESOLVED that the West Virginia Mountain Party endorses projects of mutual aid to offset the expenses of Blackjewel’s former employees.
