Thousands protest outside Peabody headquarters, bankruptcy court : Business

Thousands protest outside Peabody headquarters, bankruptcy court : Business

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ST. LOUIS • Union miners outraged by the prospect of losing medical benefits and wages marched on the streets of St. Louis for the third time in as many months Tuesday, drawing roughly 2,000 fellow protesters and the largest crowd so far.

The turnout, organizers say, is evidence that momentum behind their campaign is growing — and that the coal miners' plight is gaining traction beyond the coalfields.

“This is not a coal miners struggle, this is a workers struggle,” Cecil Roberts, head of the United Mine Workers of America, told the gathered miners in a crusading speech outside the downtown headquarters of Peabody Energy. “The rest of the labor movement is getting behind this struggle.”
Roberts told the crowd that the NAACP and the AFL-CIO had both rece
ntly made statements of support for the miners. “The AFL-CIO is eight-million strong,” he said, “and they stand in solidarity with us.”