Today three senators, so we've got Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and
Tammy Baldwin have written a letter to a billionaire CEO Larry Fink,
telling him to support the workers of Warrior Met Coal.
Who have been on strike now for getting close to 300 days.
And this is strike that here on TYT.
We've talked about before on other shows on the network and outside of that.
And maybe vice or like democracy now might have checked in a little bit,
has largely gone unnoticed despite the fact that it's a very
long running strike in a sector of the economy.
That politicians and media pretend to care a lot about coal workers.
It's like a stereotypical like working class thing,
literally digging coal out of the ground so that we can have energy.
They pretend all the time that they care about it.
But when those workers are suffering and want help,
suddenly they're not interested anymore.
I don't think they like coal workers.
I think they like coal companies.
I think they like coal CEOs and I think that's about as far as it goes.
But anyway, we wanna remind you a little bit about what this strike is about.
So, take a look at this.
>> Over 1000 coal miners that Warrior Met in Brooklyn Alabama have
been on strike since April 1st.
>> [NOISE].
>> The miners accepted steep pay cuts to save the mind from bankruptcy several
years ago.
Now, Warrior Met is making hundreds of millions in revenue.
But the workers haven't seen a dime.
>> They have made it known that they have the money,
to take care of these guys that are on strike, but they choose not to.
>> We're just ready to go back to work.
The only thing holding us back is Warrior Mets lack of good faith, negotiating.
>> So guess what?
I lost him and I got fired.
I got fired, shortly they brought me back,
but they fought me every step of the way.
>> So Warrior Met doesn't care about their workers.
So, these senators are trying to get Larry fink to step in.
He's the CEO of Blackrock.
Blackrock is the largest shareholder of Warrior Met.
I have a feeling,
I know how that's probably gonna go their attempt to get through to him.
But just a little bit more information.
It said in the video there that these workers made a bunch of concessions to
save the company from bankruptcy.
So that worked, the company didn't go under.
And what happened after that?
How has the company repaid them by not repaying them?
This is back in 2016 and 2017,
Warrior Met rewarded 1.4 billion in dividends to wealthy shareholders.
Handed out bonuses of up to $50,000 to executives.
And now they've offered their workers and
the workers are not accepting a mere $1.50 raise over five years.
And has refused to restore health care and
pension benefits that were taken away from them five days ago.
So they're doing okay.
You got some stock buybacks and dividends, you got bonuses for executives.
Regular workers though are being left out.
So what do you think about this Tina?
It's mind numbing.
Its heart numbing.
It's immoral.
And I'd love to see, I'm glad that these senators are uniting to call
all these fools out because that's exactly what they are.
The workers made the sacrifice.
Like that collective sacrifice so that no one would lose out and
this is the repayment that they get,
they need to rain down hellfire on this company seriously.
This is immoral.
>> Yeah, meanwhile their stock price 250% increase during
the pandemic thanks to those workers who save them from bankruptcy.
I'm reminded of like, the factory takeovers back when like,
the Argentine economy collapsed and workers were like, what do we do?
Let's run it ourselves.
I'm like, let's do that.
Like when all the rich go to Mars or wherever,
they're like little Peter thiel floating island tax haven,
like let's just really like literally seize the means of production.
Obviously we transition the coal mines to like, wind and solar and
all that and we treat people, I'm just future tripping here.
You guys, let me have that moment.
But it's great that senators are putting pressure and
bringing some attention to this and like just shout out to more perfect union.
And Kim Kelly who's been doing an amazing job covering this and
other strikes and the Mainstream media doesn't talk about this at all.
No, They love, they're like, let's talk about just cinema and Mansion,
Mansion and cinema, who's gonna be next like this little palace intrigue Bs.
But this is what matters, this is who we're talking to.
And and here's my other thing.
I would like to see Joe Biden speak out on this, but
not just speak out with words and pressure.
But look, let's get some version of a green new deal through.
Let's, were in an emergency.
We're in a pandemic.
Honestly, whatever it takes to help out workers like these coal miners.
Let's talk about a just transition.
Let's talk about a green new deal.
This is the kind of ideological and political groundwork that you have
to do if you wanna get people on board with your vision.
It's a perfect time to lay out that vision for what a green new deal.
What a workers a green new deal that benefits workers could look like.
>> Exactly, yeah.
>> And we don't see it.
>> And thank you for putting the spotlight on some of you have been covering it well.
I sort of get what, like, I don't expect, Anderson cooper to visit or whatever.
Like I don't expect most on CNN or MSNBC.
They don't generally care about.
>> Like a T shirt though John, you can wear like,
he loves wearing the tight fitting.
>> He would, he's in pretty good shape but here's the funny thing and
obviously I'm gonna lay out a question and everyone, the audience is gonna scoff,
they're gonna laugh and I'll get it.
Where's Fox news?
Why is Tucker Carlson the right wing populist not reporting on locate
where's Jesse Watters?
Where's Sean Hannity?
These are like they actually care about the workers of
America have been left behind.
The mind literal coal miners, where are they, where's Trump?
Why isn't he on the picket line supporting them.
Their populist, they would never, Tucker Carlson wouldn't
be within a mile of a speck of coal that might land on his lapel.
But they have this aura of being like,
they're the ones who are actually concerned about workers.
And I'm like, I want these workers to get what they need.
But I would also love to know because there's gotta be some conservatives in
like among them, do they feel the lack of interest Breitbart ain't there,
Bannon is not, he's not going there.
They're their coal workers.
It's like once the right has like they don't care about the soldiers,
they don't care about them getting healthcare when they come back or
anything and they pretend to like the cops.
But they're perfectly fine with right wing insurrectionists beating them to death
with fire extinguishers and flags and stuff.
But at the very least they're supposed to love coal miners.
That's their thing.
And yet nothing for nearly for 288 days, nothing.
It's ridiculous.
>> The coal miners should feel betrayed.
Really, this is class warfare.
This is a real life and real time example of class warfare.
The working class willing to make a larger sacrifice for the greater good.
And then the company store itself.
Once it's buzzing again, it's extra buzzing right now,
turning their backs on the very people that helped them not only be solvent,
but to be better than solving class warfare.
So they should feel betrayed by these folks.