| The 17 member drill team from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union #10 from San Francisco, Calif. drill at the picket line. |
The striking Co-op miners were supported in their cause by people from as far away as San Francisco, Calif. They met at noon on Feb. 7 where the Bear Canyon road meets SR-31 in Huntington Canyon. The miners have been on strike since mid-September against the CW Mining Company. Unfair labor practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board and a ruling has yet to be made in the case at this time.
A bus carrying supporters left Salt Lake and a car caravan traveled to the picket site. The 17 member drill team from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union #10 from San Francisco, Calif. traveled to Utah to show their support for the miner’s cause. The drill team performed at the picket line and also at a solidarity rally held later on at the Canyon View Junior High School in Huntington. A Mexican meal was served at the school and speakers from the UMWA, striking miners, and Utah Jobs with Justice as well as the ILWU addressed the crowd.
The miners are standing firm and continue to gain solidarity from around the country. Four miners recently traveled to the Bay Area of California. They were invited by the Labor Council for Latin Americans. They spoke before unions in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. and they raised more than $10,000 in contributions for the strike.
Two miners will be traveling to Boston, Mass. in March for a one week tour. The tour is being organized by Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and the miners will speak at union meetings in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Bill Estrada and Ana Maria Sanchez spoke at a meeting organized by students at the University of Utah in Salt Lake. The UMWA and Jobs with Justice is organizing an information picket line in front of a Kingston family owned business in Salt Lake on Feb. 21. The CW Mining company is owned by the wealthy, polygamous Kingston family. The secretive group has amassed a $150 million business empire, running Utah companies that include pawn shops, restaurant supply stores and others.
The miners have received many letters of support and donations that have been sent to the UMWA District 22 Office in Price and the UMWA Region IV Western Organizing Office in Wheatridge, Colo. The National Union of Mineworkers in Yorkshire, England recently sent a letter of support and $1,700 to the miners cause.
Miners report they will remain true to the cause as they have diligently demonstrated and fought over and over for the right to justice on the job and worker solidarity. Contributions can be sent to the Co-op Miners Relief Fund, UMWA District 22, 525 East 100 South, Price, UT 84501.