Miners head for showdown

Press, 6 March 1978, Page 9

Miners head for showdown

NZPA-Reuter Washington .America's striking coal miners appear to be heading for a showdown with President Jimmy Carter as incomplete results of a rank-and-file ballot show that the miners are rejecting a negotiated settlement of their four-month dispute. Officials of the miners' union, the United Mine Workers, said that miners in; the areas so far counted had: rejected a proposed three-j year contract by a margin of more than two-to-one. Mr Carter, who had, threatened drastic action if! the strike did not end. followed events from Camp David, the Presidential retreat in Maryland. The Administration is! ready to act immediately —: possibly as early as today — if the U.M.W. vote is: negative when all 160,000! strikers’ ballots are counted,; according to the Labour Sec-! retary (Mr Ray Marshall). Options most favoured by, the Administration are a! back-to-work court order! combined with temporary Government seizure of the! mines. Striking miners have; widely ignored previous in-' junctions to go back to

i jwork under the Taft-Hartley Estrike-breaking law. The law i orders strikers to return to - work for an 80-day cooling -■off period while further ne- - gotiations continue. 1 Temporary seizure of the - mines would require the ■ authority of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Approval of any enter- ! gency legislation sent by the H Administration would be I:swift, according to Congressional sources. i The Senate majority leader (Mr Robert Byrd). 1 whose West . Virginia constituency includes thousands ■ of the striking miners, told i reporters: “Anything other than a ■ negotiated settlement between the United Mine Workers’ Union and the coal operators is, at best, a bad : gamble.” ! And Mr Carter, acknow-: doubts that Government orders to end the ! strike would be obeyed, told a group of college neWs|paper editors at the White; ! House on Friday: “This is not a matter that; ■la President can impose and; ! there is no way I can imjpose a settlement on the (miners and operators that they will honour.”