While outlining that it respects the right of employees to engage in lawful strike activities, Warrior Met Coal condemned a recent run of violent protests surrounding an ongoing strike at its facilities.
In a company statement on Monday, Warrior Met Coal sounded the alarm that “striking workers have escalated the amount and severity of criminal behavior.”
The company provided a video showing incidents of car windows being smashed and workers it says were injured in the attacks.
The strike by members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has been ongoing since April 1.
Warrior Met Coal continued with the following statement:
In addition to interfering with the entrance and exit to our facilities, picketers have increased attacks on personal vehicles, property, and uninvolved community members near the Company’s property. The UMWA picketers are engaging in behavior that is clearly in violation of both Alabama’s workers’ rights and the injunction granted by the Judge in Tuscaloosa County.
While unacceptable behavior by the picketers has been occurring since the strike began, actions both on the picket line and in the community have reached a dangerous level over the last week. For example, employees have been attacked in their vehicles, physically intimidated, and assaulted, and had personal vehicles and homes vandalized. The Company’s transport buses are being escorted by law-enforcement vehicles and yet continue to be threatened and attacked by UMWA picketers.
Picketers, who often seek to conceal their personal identity by wearing masks, have also expanded violence and disruption beyond the Company property and into the surrounding community, endangering those families, and our neighbors. Our employees’ homes and vehicles have been shot at from passing cars, and jack rocks and spike strips have been placed on area roads to damage their vehicle tires.
The company concluded by denouncing the incidents, saying, “Warrior Met Coal calls for the UMWA to change its practices, strongly denounce this behavior and take action to stop this violent, unlawful conduct in order to maintain public safety.”
Watch the full video provided by Warrior Met Coal:
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