SEARCH
Peabody Accepts Workers’ Rights. Now, Coal Company Must Live up to Them |
|
Coal miners who work in some of the most dangerous places in the country are one step closer to gaining a strong voice and safe working conditions. On the eve of its annual shareholders’ meeting, Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, agreed to add internationally accepted workers’ rights guarantees to its corporate code of ethics.
Says Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts:
We are pleased that, at the UMWA’s urging, Peabody’s board of directors has agreed to make an explicit commitment to workers’ rights. But the proof will be in the pudding. We urge Peabody Energy to implement these policies immediately so that Peabody’s reputation is not damaged by abusing workers’ rights in the way that other coal companies have in the last few months.
Four months ago, Peabody management tried to quash a union-sponsored resolution that asked the company to abide by workers’ rights standards set by the U.N.’s International Labor Organization (ILO). When the federal Securities and Exchange Commission denied the company’s request to exclude the shareholder proposal from its proxy statement, Peabody agreed to the changes if the union would voluntarily withdraw its proposed resolution.
The guarantees Peabody accepted include recognizing workers’ right to freely choose a union and bargain collectively, refraining from using forced or prison labor and providing a safe and healthy workplace. The giant coal company provides 10 percent of the nation’s electricity and 3 percent of the world’s power.
“The ILO standards are particularly important now that Peabody has announced a partnership with Shenhua Group, a company wholly-owned by the Communist Chinese government,” says Barbara Shailor, executive director of the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center. “China is notorious for its forced prison labor, ban on free trade unions, and horrendous safety record in the coal mines.”
Peabody’s acceptance of workers’ rights guarantees comes as hundreds of nonunion miners at Peabody’s facilities across the country are trying to organize a union. In December, the UMWA responded to workers’ desire for a union by launching the Justice at Peabody campaign.
Peabody says its employees are free to join unions through elections supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
But the NLRB process is long and cumbersome, with employers using the process to delay votes and erode union support. Under the NLRB election process, management also has nearly unlimited and mandatory access to employees, while union supporters have almost none. This would be the equivalent, in a congressional election, of one candidate owning all the local print and broadcast media outlets and denying his or her opponent any access to them.
To change the nation’s malfunctioning labor laws, the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. The act, which has 257 co-sponsors in the House and Senate, would strengthen workers’ rights to choose union representation through the card-check process. It also would provide for binding arbitration of first-contract disputes and authorize stronger penalties for violations of labor law when workers seek to form a union.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
