Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts and nine other union members were arrested in front of Peabody Energy’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis yesterday, as more than 750 members and retirees sang Amazing Grace and held signs calling for fairness. Several of those arrested had oxygen tanks, and many in the crowd were brought to tears as the arrested protesters were peacefully loaded into the sheriff’s van while Which Side Are You On played on the loudspeakers. The protesters arrived at Peabody after marching from federal bankruptcy court, where Patriot Coal’s lawyers were inside. Those arrested were released later in the day, according to the St. Louis City Division of Corrections. 

AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report.

Members from the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 2, friends and family came together in South St. Louis in recent days to give the “Women in Transition” organization a much needed makeover.

AFL-CIO Field Communications staffer Cathy Sherwin sends us this report.

When Emerson Electric Co. CEO David Farr sent a letter to his employees urging them to donate their hard-earned money for the Missouri Senate campaign of Rep. Todd Akin (R), he dangled a pretty big carrot for those ponying up $5,000 or more: an intimate dinner with their boss and his wife. He probably didn’t expect the attention his offer would generate.

This is a cross-post from the Actors’ Equity website.

Stages St. Louis opened its 25th season with the smash hit “A Chorus Line” and a check for $25,000 to the Red Cross benefiting the Missouri Tornado and Flood Relief Fund. The cast presented the check to Red Cross Executive Director Cindy Erickson at its June 29 performance.

On Day 24 of rallies and marches at the Indiana Statehouse yesterday, many of the protesters were dressed in camouflage to symbolize that they were under siege.