Alpha Natural Resources is appealing a September 28th ruling by the National Labor Relations Board against former Mammoth Coal Company. The ruling stated that Massey Energy and Mammoth violated the law by selecting to hire only nonunion workers after it purchased a Kanawha County coal mine from Horizon Natural Resources Co. after Horizon filed for bankruptcy in 2004. The NLRB ordered the companies to offer employment to 85 former employees and pay them for lost earnings, recognize the union and bargain with it upon request, as well as restore former employment conditions.
