Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 6, 1993 TAG: 9307060050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: HUNTINGTON, W.VA. LENGTH: Short
Three coal companies that belonged to the association at the start of negotiations in November have left to sign separate agreements with the union.
Under federal labor law, a company that joins a multiemployer bargaining association such as the BCOA may resign at any time. But once negotiations begin, the company is obligated to sign the resulting contract.
Trumka contends talks have not yet begun because the union has refused to recognize the association as its bargaining partner.
"At the beginning of every session, we told them we are not starting negotiations because they have not given us the information we need to determine whether the real employer is there or not. So we've never started," Trumka said.
The dispute over who is "the real employer" dates at least to 1988, when the last contract was signed.
Within weeks, the two sides were squabbling over the meaning of the contract language and just exactly which "employer" was responsible for the new jobs.
The result has been very few new jobs for union members and a long-running legal battle that is still unresolved. - Associated Press
by CNB