Miners at a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary have rejected an attempt to unionize a West Virginia mine, the company said Thursday.
Miners at Massey's Progress Coal Co. voted 180-110 not to be represented by the United Mine Workers of America. The National Labor Relations Board conducted a secret ballot on Wednesday.
"We appreciate the confidence these members have in their company and are pleased our members can now put this event behind them and focus on what they do best - safely mining coal," said Don L. Blankenship, chairman, chief executive officer and president.
The Richmond, Va.-based Massey is a largely nonunion company. The union filed a petition with the NLRB on March 7 to represent workers at the Progress mine near Twilight in Boone County.
Union spokesman Phil Smith said the UMW sought the election after a majority of the mine's employees "signed cards indicating that they wanted a union."
"This election had little to do with actual workplace democracy and workers having a free voice to express their will about whether or not they wanted union representation," Smith said. "It had everything to do with a vicious campaign of fear and intimidation on the part of the company, which is precisely what the Employee Free Choice Act will eliminate."
The law would take away the right of employers to demand secret-ballot elections by workers before unions could be recognized.
