Maple Creek Mine may end operations
Another 470 of the area’s coal miners could be out of work by October, after Maple Creek Mining Co. announced Monday that it is “contemplating the cessation” of the mine because its coal reserves will be depleted soon. However, the union which represents the miners called the statement a “Trojan Horse” in an attempt to pressure the United Mine Workers of America into agreeing to certain concessions as both sides try to come to terms on a new labor agreement.
In a statement issued Monday morning, company president and general manager D. Lynn Shanks said the last of the mineable coal reserve at the Washington County mine near Bentleyville will be extracted by October and that layoffs will begin within two months.
Shanks called the announcement a “tremendous disappointment” for the company’s management and owners.
“Literally tens of millions of dollars have been invested in the operation, and we have been loyal to all of our employees throughout some very difficult times in providing continuous, steady employment to our about 470 employees,” Shanks said. “However, Maple Creek’s economically mineable reserves will be fully depleted by about the end of the year.”
Steven Cohen, manager of public affairs and government relations for the company, said geological conditions coupled with a poor market for coal made further operation of the mine a challenge. He said the economic conditions may have played a part in Monday’s announcement, but the news is more related to the mine’s reserves.
“The company was committed to proceeding, despite those challenges, but it became increasingly apparent that it was economically not feasible to continue,” he said.
Cohen could not provide a timetable for the layoffs, other than to say those who are needed the least will be the first to be let go within 60 days.
He said another challenge the mine has faced since it reopened in 1995 were the company’s recent problems with the Mine Workers. While he stressed the company’s war of words with the union and their ongoing negotiations was not the main reason for the mine’s closure, he said the situation did not help matters at the mine.
“It is regrettable that the relationship with the UMWA has not helped the overall situation at Maple Creek,” Cohen said. “I can only speculate what it would be like had attempts to renegotiate the contract had been proceeding better.”
In Monday’s statement, Shanks said he has made it clear to the union that the company has offered to bargain with the union about the Maple Creek closure and “is awaiting their reply.”
In a statement of his own, UMWA international secretary-treasurer Carlo Tarley said the union has been working with company representatives for three months in an attempt to arrive at a new labor agreement before the current pact expires in December.
Tarley accused company owner Robert Murray of toying with the emotions of the company’s miners as a way of pressuring the union into giving the company a different agreement than the 2002 National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement, which other coal operators have already signed.
“It’s the same offer we are presenting to all other independent operators nationwide – no more, no less,” Tarley said. “The UMWA has already made it clear that if Murray wants an early agreement before the current contract expires, the 2002 agreement is what is on the table – without modifications.”
He said the real issue Monday is not the mine’s closure but the ongoing negotiations between both sides and that miners at Maple Creek have been paid less than miners working under the national agreement. He stressed that the union and the miners agreed to lower wages to help Murray reopen the mine in 1995.
“If you read between the lines, what he (Murray) is saying is ‘entertain our requests for modifications or the UMWA workforce will suffer the consequences,'” Tarley said. “In the UMWA’s opinion, Murray is not well-entrenched in the business, and it’s time to start sharing the wealth with his workers – workers he repeatedly says he cares for.”
Tarley said if Murray is a man of his word, he should pay his workers the wages established in the 2002 agreement and stop using threats and intimidation to play games with miners’ emotions.
“The UMWA’s proposal is still on the table,” he said. “If Mr. Murray would like, we can sign it tomorrow.”
Maple Creek’s announcement comes three weeks after Consol Energy announced that 496 miners will be out of work later this year when it ceases operation at Dilworth Mine in Jefferson Township, Greene County. Mon-View Mining Co. idled its Mathies Mine in Washington County last month, affecting 200 workers there.