In a press release, the office of Governor Matt Bevin announced an agreement has been reached to pay the back wages due to miners in Eastern Kentucky.
The agreement was reached among the U.S. Department of Labor, Blackjewel LLC, and Blackjewel Marketing and Sales Holdings.
From the press release:
“Our Labor Cabinet has worked diligently with the Trump Administration since July to ensure that the miners affected by the Blackjewel closing are rightfully compensated,” said Gov. Bevin. “I am grateful that our perseverance has provided welcome and deserving news for the miners and their families. May we always appreciate the hard work of our coal miners, and may we always fight as hard on their behalf as they do to keep the lights on in our communities.”
…
The money will be paid out to 658 of Kentucky’s Blackjewel miners from the Black Mountain and Lone Mountain mines.
“This is wonderful news for the Blackjewel coal miners. All the credit belongs to Gov. Bevin who put together a team that never gave up on these miners,” Labor Cabinet Secretary David A. Dickerson said. “The Labor Cabinet, along with the U.S. Department of Labor, have worked tirelessly and persistently since July 8 to get the miners paid. This is an example of the good things that can happen when people never stop working to right a wrong.”
[custom-related-posts title=”Related Posts” none_text=”None found” order_by=”title” order=”ASC”]
A number of individuals issued responses to the news, including Bevin’s Democratic challenger Andy Beshear, as well as the head of the United Mine Workers and a state representative from that area.
Andy Beshear: “These miners were betrayed not only by Blackjewel but by their own state government, which failed to enforce the law that could have protected their wages. Credit goes to our miners who stood strong & captured the attention of the whole country, which led to today’s great news.”
Steve Earle, Vice President of the United Mine Workers of America District 12: “What happened to the Blackjewel miners should never happen again. Our miners face unprecedented challenges and deserve to be paid for their hard work and have opportunities to earn a good living for their families. I’m proud they stood together and won this battle for themselves and their families. But the fact remains that if Matt Bevin had done his job they would have been paid months ago.”
Representative Angie Hatton: “Finally! Great news for BlackJewel Miners & their families. I’m proud of these folks for standing up for themselves. I’m not quite so proud of our Governor taking credit for fixing this when it was his administration’s failure to enforce the bond requirement that allowed it to happen.”
Bill Finn, State Director, Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council: “Shame on the governor and his Labor Cabinet for trying to take credit when the Blackjewel miners would have been paid months ago if Matt Bevin followed the law. Bottom line: This victory is about the Backjewel miners and their families — and the justice they’ve finally received. I am still concerned that Matt Bevin now wants to repeal the law that could have gotten the Blackjewel miners paid because no Kentuckian should ever be put in this situation again.”
–30–