I find myself oddly in favor of a coal strike. You would probably have management AND union members BOTH on the picket lines. I would definitely be absolutely willing to go without electricity for a week or two and be hot (or cold), just so I could see the spectacle of Obama sending out the Army to dig coal and to hear about the Northeast going down in riot flames within 4 hours of a grid collapse.
They should do it in Winter for maximum effect.