Jul 24 Economy “No Pay, We Stay.” A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia It’s a quiet, foggy morning on Highway 119 in Cumberland, Kentucky. A railroad track runs along the highway, and here, Sand Hill Bottom Road crosses the tracks and turns to the right, leaving a rough triangle of gravel spattered with trash. You can hear crickets chirping, birds twittering, cars passing on 119. A billboard advertises […] By Sydney Boles Jul 24 Economy “No Pay, We Stay.” A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia Sydney Boles
Dec 17 Energy & Environment Conservation Groups Concerned About Cleanup Costs For Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Environmental groups sparred with coal company Blackjewel Tuesday over damage left behind in the coal company’s ongoing bankruptcy. The group is calling attention to numerous environmental violations by Blackjewel and its related companies and urging the federal bankruptcy judge to prioritize the environment as the bankruptcy continues. The groups identified more than 400 instances when […] By Sydney Boles Dec 17 Energy & Environment Conservation Groups Concerned About Cleanup Costs For Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Sydney Boles
Oct 24 Economy Blackjewel Miners Get More Of Their Pay As Labor Dept. Acts Against Bankrupt Company Coal miners who went without pay when mining company Blackjewel declared bankruptcy this June are one step closer to receiving lost wages. The checks come weeks after some of the miners ended a long-running protest, and months after the federal Department of Labor first intervened to allege the company violated labor laws in the month […] By Sydney Boles Oct 24 Economy Blackjewel Miners Get More Of Their Pay As Labor Dept. Acts Against Bankrupt Company Sydney Boles
Oct 3 Economy Blackjewel Miners Likely to Receive Pay in DOL Deal The Department of Labor and a company associated with Blackjewel agreed this week to put nearly $5.75 million toward coal miners left unpaid in the company’s chaotic bankruptcy. The July 1 bankruptcy of one of the nation’s largest coal companies left 1,100 coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia out of work and without […] By Sydney Boles Oct 3 Economy Blackjewel Miners Likely to Receive Pay in DOL Deal Sydney Boles
Sep 26 Economy Former Blackjewel Miners End Railroad Blockade In Kentucky The nearly two-month blockade of a Kentucky railroad track is coming to an end as unpaid coal miners end their protest in order to take new jobs, start classes, or move away from their coal-dependent communities. When coal company Blackjewel abruptly declared bankruptcy in July, it left some 1100 Appalachian coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia, […] By Sydney Boles Sep 26 Economy Former Blackjewel Miners End Railroad Blockade In Kentucky Sydney Boles
Sep 18 Economy Paychecks Cut For W.Va. Blackjewel Miners; KY And VA Miners Still Waiting West Virginia employees of coal operator Blackjewel LLC have received their final paychecks more than two months after the company declared bankruptcy on July 1. In an agreement reached last week between the Department of Labor and the company, Blackjewel cut paper checks for all owed wages to a few dozen employees working at the […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 18 Economy Paychecks Cut For W.Va. Blackjewel Miners; KY And VA Miners Still Waiting Brittany Patterson
Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Standing at an overlook on the top of Black Mountain — the tallest point in Kentucky — the wooded Appalachian mountains stretch on like a sea of green for miles. For many, this mountain is synonymous with the coal industry. It straddles the state line separating Harlan County, Kentucky and Wise County, Virginia, two communities […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Brittany Patterson
Aug 9 Economy “Bloody Harlan” Revisited: Blackjewel Miners Draw On Labor History While Facing Uncertain Future Curtis Cress sat in the gravel beside a railroad track in Harlan County, Kentucky. Tall and thin with a long, black beard, Cress is every bit a coal miner, or, he was until a month ago. “It’s part of my heritage, you know? My dad and papaws had always done it,” he said. “And I’m […] By Sydney Boles Aug 9 Economy “Bloody Harlan” Revisited: Blackjewel Miners Draw On Labor History While Facing Uncertain Future Sydney Boles
Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale More than a thousand coal miners left unpaid by the abrupt bankruptcy of Blackjewel mining could soon be getting some – but not all – of the money they are owed. Dozens of miners have staged a week-long protest on railroad tracks in Kentucky’s Harlan County, blocking delivery of a load of coal from a […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Blackjewel coal miners will have to wait at least another day to learn if the sale of the bankrupt coal company’s mines and equipment will deliver their overdue paychecks. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia recessed Monday after an all-day hearing that yielded few results. The court is scheduled to […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles