A McDowell County coal mine featured in a Spike TV reality show is now a union operation.
The United Mine Workers of America announced Thursday workers at Cobalt Coal’s Westchester Mine voted to join the union Wednesday.
UMWA President Cecil Roberts says the National Labor Relations Board oversaw the vote that ended in a 15-7 tally in favor of union representation. Roberts says the union looks forward to sitting down with management and negotiating a fair contract.
The workers at Cobalt were featured in the show “Coal”. The union says concerns about safety practices were raised after the first few episodes and MSHA cited the mine for several violations.
“Coal” ran just one season.