Coal company offers deal that could pay hundreds of Kentucky miners for unpaid wages
A months-long dispute over the unpaid wages of hundreds of Kentucky coal miners could be nearing a close if a proposal offered Wednesday by an attorney representing the coal company is accepted by a West Virginia bankruptcy court.
After months of litigation and weeks of protests in Harlan County, the deal could provide Blackjewel LLC with about $5.5 million that it would use to pay its former Kentucky employees.
While the deal has yet to be finalized, officials with the U.S. Department of Labor said during Wednesday’s court hearing that they expect to come to an agreement with Blackjewel as early as next week.
Ned Pillersdorf, an attorney representing miners in the bankruptcy case, said the deal represents “a possible light at the end of the tunnel,” but declined to provide additional comments on the specifics of the proposal, saying the miners’ attorneys are in active negotiations with the company.
Blackjewel, one of the largest coal producers in the nation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early July, leaving hundreds of its Kentucky employees with cold checks. Many miners and their families said their checks bounced days after the company handed them out, leaving their bank accounts overdrawn by $1,500 or more.
Following the bankruptcy, a group of former Blackjewel employees blocked a train attempting to haul coal from one of the company’s Harlan County mines. For weeks, the miners and their families remained on the tracks, determined to halt any coal moving from the Blackjewel mines until they received their paychecks.
The protest garnered national attention, and numerous Kentucky officials visited the tracks to offer their support. Local leaders and business owners have said the bankruptcy has been a burden on an already-depressed economy, with one local official saying that if the miners don’t get paid, “This county will see a recession like it hasn’t seen in its 200-year history.”
Last week, after more than two months camped out on the tracks, the few remaining miners and their families packed up and left, bringing to a close a protest reminiscent of famous Harlan County union disputes in the 1930s.
Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley said Wednesday’s proposed deal provides hope for a resolution that miners stood on the train tracks for weeks to accomplish: getting paid all their back wages and any other money they have been shorted, including 401(k) contributions.
“It’s very, very encouraging,” he said of the proposal. “They deserve to get what they’re owed.”
The train has remained at the mine despite the protesting ending. It is blocked by a motion from the Department of Labor which said the coal constitutes “hot goods” because it was produced by workers who haven’t been paid.
The proposed deal on Wednesday could clear up the hot goods issue and allow the train to move from its current location, said Samantha Thomas, an attorney for the Department of Labor.
While the deal may not resolve all of the miners’ disputes with the company, the deal could provide enough money to cover their unpaid wages, she said.
“I think everyone would be pleased to get anything at this point,” said Terry Cornett, a former underground electrician and foreman at Blackjewel’s Cloverlick 3 mine. “I think that would be amazing.”
Stephen Lerner, an attorney representing Blackjewel, said the company is moving forward with an agreement with a company called Blackjewel Marketing and Sales, which owns the coal on the train and is separate from Blackjewel LLC.
Under the proposed agreement, BJMS would agree to pay Blackjewel $5.5 million in cash, which Blackjewel would use to cover the unpaid wages.
“We will clean up the hot goods issue once and for all,” Lerner said.
Blackjewel is also moving ahead with a proposed sale of its Wyoming mines. The purchaser, Eagle Specialty Materials, LLC, said it would offer to re-hire all former Blackjewel employees, and plans to take on additional workers, leading to a net growth of available mining jobs in Blackjewel’s former western division.
David Estep, a Harlan County resident who worked as a foreman and electrician at Blackjewel’s D-28 mine, said he welcomed the potential of receiving his back wages. He said he had gotten to the point that he didn’t believe he would ever receive payment from Blackjewel.
Estep said the company owes him nearly $7,000 in unpaid wages and vacation time. If the deal discussed Wednesday goes through, he would have to pay nearly $4,000 of that to the bank that cashed his last Blackjewel check.
“Something’s better than nothing,” he said.
Estep said he is training to be a utility lineman and is scheduled to graduate Nov. 1. He thinks he’ll find a job with a contractor, but may have to travel out of state for work.
“I ain’t going back” to the mines, he said.
Estep said Kopper Glo, a coal company that purchased many of Blackjewel’s Kentucky mines, recalled a few miners to the Darby Fork mine and started work on Monday. He had not heard of Kopper Glo opening any other former Blackjewel mines.
During previous court hearings, Blackjewel attorneys said Kopper Glo was unable to move forward with its plans to re-open several mines because of issues surrounding the coal train blocked by the Department of Labor and the protesting miners.
Pillersdorf said the department’s hot goods motion effectively blocked the bankruptcy proceeding. Once the hot goods complaint was filed, “everything got frozen,” he said.
Kopper Glo has not returned multiple requests for comment from from the Herald-Leader.
“This has affected too many people and it has gone on too long,” Pillersdorf said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 7:11 PM.
