United Mine Workers of America has announced a new five-year contract at Oak Grove metallurgical coal mine and Concord Preparation Plant in Jefferson County.

The UMWA’s local unions, 2133 and 8982 ratified a new collective bargaining agreement at the facility operated by Crimson Oak Grove Resources.

According to the union, the agreement was ratified with 64.4% support from the membership. The new agreement includes wage increases, and improvements in paid time off, with no changes to health care or other benefits, according to union members.

UMWA International President Cecil Roberts congratulated the bargaining team for its work in negotiations.

He also alluded to the union’s strike against Warrior Met Coal in Tuscaloosa County, the longest in the state’s history.

“These are exactly the kind of talks we have wanted to have for years with Warrior Met Coal to secure the same kind of fair and equitable agreement with its workforce,” Roberts said. “We remain ready to engage in negotiations with Warrior Met to accomplish this goal.”

The UMWA’s members conducted a strike against Warrior Met between April 1, 2021, and February 16, 2023, when the union issued an unconditional return to work.

Last year, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge found that Warrior Met had engaged in unfair labor practices in contract negotiations leading up to the strike.

The union estimates the company incurred a little less than $100 million in idle mine and business interruption expenses associated with the strike, all at a time when the price of metallurgical coal surged globally.