ILWU Local 5 raises money for striking Alabama coal miners
In 2010, when our ILWU Local 30 siblings at the Rio Tinto borax mine in Boron, CA were locked out by their employer, ILWU Local 5 hosted its first ever “Drinking for Miners’’ event. A local bar agreed to donate a portion of drink sales to the Local 30 Lockout Fund, and we called on our labor family to show up and “drink for a cause, not just because.”
Our fellow workers, union siblings, and allies packed the bar that night, in support of workers they would probably never meet. It was a beautiful demonstration of our union’s motto, “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All,” to see so many people giving their time and resources to help workers hundreds of miles away, whose jobs and circumstances looked nothing like their own.
Fast-forward to today: roughly 900 coal miners in Alabama have been on strike against their employer, Warrior Met Coal, since April 1, 2021 — the longest strike in Alabama history. The camaraderie and dedication these workers and their families have shown is incredible, but the physical, emotional, and financial toll of so many months on the picket line cannot be overstated. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Strike Aid Fund is one of the resources that has been sustaining these brave workers in their fight against corporate greed. Another is solidarity. So in early July, Local 5 hosted its second ever “Drinking for Miners” event, in the hopes of sending them replenishments of both.
On July 7, Local 5 partnered with Workers Tap (a worker-owned Portland bar you should be sure to visit next time you’re in town!) to raise funds for the UMWA Strike Aid Fund, and to show the striking Warrior Met miners that their support network extends all the way to the Pacific Northwest. Workers
Tap generously agreed to donate 20 percent of drink sales for the entire night to the UMWA Strike Aid Fund, and over the course of the evening, we saw a steady stream of individual donations as well. All told, we raised over $900!
But that donation was just one of many happy takeaways. The event helped raise awareness in our community of this struggle happening on the other side of the country. I had so many conversations that night with folks who were either hearing about the Warrior Met strike for the first time, or who were aware, but appalled to learn it was still underway all these months later. Many of those folks wrote handwritten messages of solidarity to accompany their donation. The event also brought workers together from a wide range of industries — social workers, hotel workers, book workers, historical society workers, longshore workers, early childhood educators, and at least one ITF Inspector were all in attendance.
And perhaps happiest of all: the day before the event, workers at the Joyful Noise Child Development Centers won their union vote and became members of Local 5, so the event doubled as a victory party for Portland’s newest group of unionized preschool workers!
We are so appreciative of everyone who showed up, donated, built bridges with their fellow workers, and helped make this event a success. Cross-industry solidarity is a beautiful thing.
To learn more about the Warrior Met strike and/or donate to UMWA Strike Aid Fund, visit the UMWA website: umwa.org
– Tove Holmberg (she/her)
Local 5, Powell’s Burnside
Bargaining Unit Representative