United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm traveled to West Virginia to see firsthand just how productive UMWA coal miners can be, as she joined President Roberts and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) to go underground on June 4, 2021, at American Consolidated Natural Resources’ (ACNR) Harrison County mine, formerly known as the Robinson Run mine. “It is very important for high-level federal officials to see firsthand what coal miners do and how their work fits into America’s overall energy picture,” President Roberts said. “We have been trying for many years to get someone from Washington to a coal mine. Secretary Granholm stepped up and took on the challenge, and I commend her for doing that.”
Granholm’s tour included a discussion with ACNR company officials, local union leaders, President Roberts and Senator Manchin. After completing the mandatory safety training, the group geared up and traveled to the mantrips. The first stop was the longwall, then the group walked some of the belt line. “It was a short trip, but well worth it,” Roberts said. “These are some of the best miners in the world, and they were proud to show her what they do. As some in Washington continue to work to eliminate coal from our nation’s energy mix, it is critical that we continue to demonstrate just how important coal and coal miners are to our families and our communities.”
The New York State Assembly in early June passed legislation that would make it more difficult for firearms manufacturers to operate in the state by making it easier for them to be sued if it can be shown that their products were used illegally.
“Like everyone else, the UMWA is concerned about the rising use of firearms in the commission of crimes in the United States,” President Roberts said.
“Hundreds are killed or wounded each year, and we agree that action must be taken to stop it but punishing the makers of firearms used by individual people to commit crimes is the same thing as punishing carmakers for fatalities or injuries caused by a drunk driver. It makes no sense and punishes the wrong people.”
In a letter to the leaders of the New York Assembly, Roberts wrote:
“As you may know, 600 members of UMWA Local 717 in Ilion, NY were laid off by Remington Arms on October 26, 2020. The workers lost benefits, as well as the ability to provide for their family in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The workers have just recently begun being called back to work. We fear if S. 1048-A/676-A should pass, that it could prevent Remington Arms from operating in the State of New York.
“The potential loss of these jobs due to COVID-19 have a devastating impact on the workers in these factories, their families and their communities who have done nothing wrong, but instead go to work each day to provide for their families.”
As of the date this article was written, the legislation had been sent to the Governor for his signature. He is expected to sign it.
After three letters over the course of a year to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the agency has yet to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to address the risks miners face every day from COVID-19. Two Administrations have passed and neither one has felt it necessary to issue workplace protections for workers covered by both Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and MSHA. “An ETS is long overdue, and something should have been done at the beginning of the pandemic,” said President Roberts. “You would think that the government agencies that are charged with protecting workers on the job would not have to be forced to do so, but that is where we find ourselves today.”
Now, with the new CDC guidelines that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask, states and businesses across the country immediately began to roll back their COVID protections. This leaves essential workers across the country to fend for themselves. This has created a very confusing situation for everyone, as well as making it virtually impossible to know who has been vaccinated and those who have not. “It
is ridiculous that government agencies did not have an ETS when we were all first aware of the pandemic,” said Secretary-Treasurer Allen. “Here we are more than a year later with COVID restrictions being lifted all across our country and yet nothing has been done to protect workers in this country. The primary focus of OSHA and MSHA is to ensure the safety of workers, and, quite frankly, they have failed to do just that.”
It is becoming clear that neither OSHA nor MSHA will be issuing an ETS and will be depending on vaccines to be all the protection workers need. “It is disappointing to see that while only 38 percent of the U.S. population has been vaccinated, the agencies do not feel workers need enforceable workplace protections in order to keep them safe from this deadly virus,” said President Roberts. “We will continue to push for an ETS until this pandemic is over. And while we have made great progress in pushing the virus back, we are certainly not out of the woods yet.”
On April 1, 2021 the UMWA International Executive Board announced unanimous support for the unfair labor practice strike against Warrior Met Coal. Negotiations between the UMWA and Warrior Met Coal have been going on since January 2021. After going on an unfair labor practice strike in April 21, 2021, the UMWA held its first of many solidarity rallies at Tannehill State Park in Bessemer, Alabama to bring miners, families and supporters together to discuss the importance of remaining diligent in the fight against the coal company. The UMWA has received an immense amount of support from our labor brothers and sisters, local politicians and the surrounding communities since announcing its action to strike.
The UMWA represents approximately 900 workers at Warrior Met’s #4 Mine, #5 Mine processing plant, #7 Mine and the company’s Central Shop, all located near Brookwood, Ala. The miners are members of UMWA Local Unions 2245, 2397, 2368 and 2427.
Warrior Met Coal recently paid bonuses to upper-level management, while miners accepted pay cuts in 2016 to keep the company viable after filing bankruptcy. “We risk our lives every day to go underground and do a dangerous job,” said Local Union 2397, Number 7 Mine and Longwall Shear Operator Josh Stewart. “We need to be compensated for that and taken care of. We work six, seven days a week, ten, twelve hours a day and miss all this time with our families. You miss time with your kids, your parents and you can’t get that time back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Local Union Mine Committeeman Brandon Lloyd has worked as a roof bolter for Warrior Met Coal Number 4 Mine for 12 years. “We all have to come out here and show Warrior Met that we’re still together on these picket lines and show them that we mean business and we’re not going to take being pushed around anymore. We’ve done it for five years, and it’s time that we all step up and do what we’re supposed to do and make this fight a success.” Brandon’s wife Brooke, along with other miners’ spouses, have established a food bank for the striking miners’ families walking the picket lines. “Right now, money is tight,” said Brooke. “People got to eat and their money needs to be going towards paying their bills, house payments and medical needs. Any little bit we can do to help, we just needed to do it. It’s as simple as that.”
Support Through Solidarity
Charles Smith, owner of Betty Hill Grocery, opens his store after closing hours at 7:00 p.m. on storming nights so that nearby miners can have shelter until the storm passes. He also brings ice to the picket lines whenever he can. “I support the striking miners because it’s the right thing to do,” said Charles. “Those miners are my neighbors and have supported my business for the past 20 years. They have been with us for all these years, now it’s time for the community to stand with them.”
During the fight for healthcare and pensions, we relied heavily on all UMWA active and retired members, nurses, corrections officers and anyone that saw our struggle and was ready to stand up and fight with us. “As retirees, we have been where they are at,” said Local Union 1928 President Pearly Longhorn. “We know what they’re going through. We’ve missed shifts and paychecks and we are here to show them that we support them in whatever they are doing. If I could tell the striking miners one thing right now it would be don’t give up. As President Roberts always says, we have to stick together; united we stand; divided we will fall. A hurt to one is a hurt to all.”
“Somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 workers die from occupational illnesses like black lung,” said President Roberts at one the many solidarity rallies held at Tannehill Park. “They’re dying because companies have historically failed to comply with respirable dust standards. Warrior Met Coal is a dangerous company to work for.”
UMWA Members Raising the Stakes
On May 25, 2021, hundreds of miners and their families marched to Warrior Met Coal #7 Mine’s North Portal. A group of 11 miners led by President Roberts blocked the mine entrance to stop scabs from entering or leaving the mine at shift change. They were arrested and charged by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff ’s Department with trespassing on company property. They were released on bond on May 26th, around 4:00 a.m. Later that day, the Union held a solidarity rally at Tannehill State Park, west of Birmingham.
Warrior Met workers made sacrifices that brought the company out of bankruptcy and while management was receiving bonuses, miners took pay cuts and benefit deductions. Wall Street doesn’t know us, our families or our communities,” said Local Union 2427 Recording Secretary Brian Seabolt. “We don’t need Wall Street corporate values operating these mines. We need Alabama working values. What the coal companies like Warrior Met don’t understand is that we want them to be successful, but they need to realize they can be both successful and fair to workers at the same time.”
Hundreds of our UMWA Brothers and Sisters are currently engaged in an Unfair Labor Practice Strike against Warrior Met Coal in Alabama. We have established a Strike Aid Fund and are accepting donations that will be used to help our Brothers and Sisters in their time of need. The UMWA International added the first $50,000 to the fund. This is to provide additional support on top of the selective strike benefits they receive. We want to thank those who have already contributed along with those who will contribute to assist our brothers and sisters in need. All donation checks are to be made out to the UMWA 2021 Strike Aid Fund, and mailed to:
UMWA 2021 Strike Aid Fund
P.O. Box 513
Dumfries, VA 22026
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), introduced a bill aimed towards helping the families of miners who have passed of black lung disease. The Relief for Survivors of Miners Act would help lift the burden off families who currently must provide proof that black lung was the substantial, contributing cause of death in order to access benefits.
The Bill would also ensure that miners and their families would have greater access to legal representation for their cases, as well as establishing a payment program for any attorneys’ fees and other medical expenses incurred while establishing their case. The program would also prevent the survivors of these miners from being turned away because of their income. Senator Manchin is joined by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as cosponsors of the Bill.
The 1972 Black Lung Benefits Act provides monthly benefits to the surviving family members of coal miners who die from black lung disease. These benefits are paid for either by respective coal mining companies or the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. The United States Government of Accountability Office (GAO) estimated in January, 2020, that $865 million in black lung benefit responsibility has been transferred to the fund due to coal company bankruptcies, with the fund currently in debt of around $4 billion to the U.S. Treasury.
In December, 2020, Congress added a one-year extension to the Black Lung Excise Tax, which funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, to its 2021 Omnibus spending bill. This is the second year that a one-year extension has been included in the spending bill. The current Excise Tax of $1.10 per ton of underground coal and 55 cents for surface coal will expire at the end of this year.
The UMWA is currently working with members of Congress to ensure the long-term solvency of the Trust Fund, as well as securing the needed funding for a more extended amount of time. Thousands of miners and their families depend on the modest benefits provided by this fund. Miners with no beneficiaries often receive less than $9,000 annually, while those with three or more dependents receive less than $16,500 per year.
“Miners have given their health and livelihoods to provide the electricity and steel that made this nation the superpower of the world,” said President Roberts. “The very least we could do is ensure that the miners and families who depend on these benefits are free from worry about having them reduced or eliminated.”
On January 14, 2021, workers at Glancy Surface Mine located in Boone County, West Virginia were successful in reaching an agreement after a four-year battle for union representation. The miners are now members of UMWA Local Union 1503.
On August 3, 2017, Glancy Surface Mine voted for union representation to improve the jobs and lives of all that worked at the mine. The company, Rockwell Mining, LLC, objected to the election which resulted in litigation that lasted for over two years, until November 18, 2019.
The United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Court ruled that Glancy Surface Mine must bargain with the UMWA.
Bargaining between the UMWA and Glancy Surface Mine began in December 2019 and continued until January 2021. On January 14, 2021, not only was a tentative agreement reached and voted on, Glancy Surface Mine’s first contract was agreed to by a 100 percent vote by all eligible voters in favor of the agreement.
“The workers organized because they wanted a legal, binding agreement that would set up a bidding process, include rights for safety and grievance committees, and provide other protections,” said International District 17 Vice President Brian Lacy. “We were hell-bent on fighting until we got that.”
Safety issues for surface mine workers include stable footing and roads for the large machinery, the proximity of the dragline and dumping areas for other workers, operating conditions of trucks and other machinery to lower long-term back and muscle issues from driving or operating large machines on rough terrain.
“At Glancy Surface Mine we sought UMWA representation to improve our working conditions,” said James “Curly” McDonald. “We didn’t have anyone to represent us.” James McDonald, Randy Moore, and Chris Malcolm are new members of Local Union 1503. James and Randy played a pivotal role on the bargaining team and both James and Chris were on the MSCC for Glancy.
On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Fayette County, Pennsylvania and the United Mine Workers of America celebrated a long-awaited victory. UMWA staff, International Executive Board members, International Executive Board Emeritus members, local union officers and policy makers attended the ceremony at the site of where the new Fayette County Prison would be erected. The current Fayette County Prison facility is over 130 years old and stands in the heart of Downtown Uniontown in southeast Pennsylvania. In July of 2013, International Safety Director of Field Operations Ron Bowersox conducted a safety inspection of the facility and deemed it, as all that visit Fayette County Prison do, ‘an abomination to health standards and an utter slap in the face to prison inmates and corrections officers.’
“Every single person that visits Fayette County Prison says it’s the worst prison they’ve seen in at least 20 years,” said Chris Bennett, International District 2 Representative. “We have waited years and years with no movement but are now breaking ground and finally moving forward for our members.”
Local Union 9113 Acting President Kevin Locke and Recording Secretary and Grievance Committee member Shannon Matty were ecstatic at the plan being finalized to relocate Uniontown’s crumbling prison. “We’ve been waiting 17 years for a new start with this facility,” said Matty. “Being located downtown and having inadequate space, we would have to transfer inmates down the street for the public to see”, said Locke. “If inmates were sick, we didn’t have the ability to keep them isolated and illnesses would spread like wildfire.”
Seven years ago, in November, 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections issued a report stating the facility “does not meet minimum operating standards.” Since then, the UMWA has worked tirelessly to make the relocation and construction of a new Fayette County Prison a reality. The sanitary conditions at the current prison present a danger to UMWA correction officers and inmates. “In 2015, I took a personal tour of the facility, if that’s what you want to call it,” said President Cecil Roberts.
Working Conditions are Our Top Priority
Since this fight started, UMWA District 2 and Region 1 Officers and Staff have attended several local meetings, commissioner meetings, the UMWA has held and attended rallies, the UMW Journal has written several articles describing in great detail the deplorable conditions of the prison. The union has filed com-plaints and sent several letters to the Prison Board and Board of Commissioners.
At the December 19, 2019, Fayette County Commissioners meeting the Commissioners passed a 2020 budget that included funding for the prison rebuilding project. The estimated cost of the new prison is $40 million and was anticipated to take four years to build. “This ceremony marks a transition point for the prison workers and citizens of Fayette County,” said International District 2 Vice President Chuck Knisell. “The modernizing, updating and re-entry program of this prison is not only a service to the community for years to come, it’s a great day for workers.”
“This is the largest rebuilding program in the history of Fayette County,” said Region I Director Mike Payton. “The workers deserve this facility, and I want to thank everyone from the District, Region, and Local Union for working so hard to get this done.”
Meetings have been held every two weeks virtually during CO-VID-19 in preparation for the prison building project. By spring, 2023, the new Fayette County Prison is anticipated to be completed. President Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Allen would like to thank everyone that helped turn this longstanding fight for workers into a success, including UMWA retirees, the members and officers of Local Union 9113 and UMWA staff at the District and Regional levels.
At the end of 2011, there were nearly 92,000 people working in the American coal industry, the most since 1997. Coal production in the United State topped a billion tons for the 21st consecutive year. Both thermal and metallurgical coal were selling at premium prices and companies were making large profits.
Then the bottom fell out. Over the next 4 years, coal prices cratered, especially in metallurgical coal but also in thermal coal. The global economy slowed, putting pressure on steelmaking and metallurgical coal production. Foreign competition from China, Australia, India and elsewhere cut into met coal production.
Domestically, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale formations opened up previously untapped natural gas fields, caused the price of gas to drop below that of coal for the first time in years. Utilities began switching the fuel they used to generate electricity from coal to gas. Environmental regulations coming from the Obama administration also impacted coal employment. By 2016, just 51,800 people were working in the coal industry. 41,000 jobs had been lost.
Companies went bankrupt. Retirees’ hard-won retiree health care and pensions were threatened. Active miners saw their contracts, including provisions that had been negotiated over decades, thrown out by federal bankruptcy courts. From 2012 to today, more than 60 coal companies have filed for either Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy or Chapter 7 liquidation. Almost no company has been immune.
“Just since 2015 we have had companies like Peabody, Arch, Alpha Natural Resources, Walter Energy, Westmoreland and Murray Energy all go bankrupt,” President Roberts said. “Patriot Coal went bankrupt twice. Retirees’ health care was on the brink, but we were successful in preserving that in 2017. The 1974 Pension Fund was on the path to insolvency, but we were able to save that in 2019.
“Even though our contracts were thrown out by bankruptcy judges at company after company, we were successful in preserving union recognition, our members’ jobs and reasonable levels of pay and benefits at every company as they emerged from bankruptcy,” Roberts said. “But in no case has the contract that came out of bankruptcy been the same as the one our members enjoyed when a company went into bankruptcy. This has been extremely painful all the way around.”
Coal employment falling again
The pain hasn’t let up. Coal employment stayed relatively flat from 2016-2019, but coal-fired power plants were still closing at an accelerating pace. Although President Trump took office promising a strong rebound in coal production and employment, it never occurred. Employment in thermal coal slipped, while metallurgical jobs briefly ticked up but dropped again.
Then came the Coronavirus. The global economy came nearly to a halt. Tens of millions lost their jobs nearly overnight, including thou-sands of workers in the coal industry. Electric power demand dropped significantly, causing production cuts at thermal coal mines. Worldwide steel production slowed, causing a drop in metallurgical coal prices. Miners were laid off or worked short weeks for months. Some mines closed entirely and are still shut down today.
The virus itself rippled through America’s mines, causing sickness and death. Nearly 833 positive tests for COVID-19 infection have been recorded in mines where the UMWA represents the workers, and at least two of our active members have died from the disease. Dozens of retirees and their spouses, many who were he parents or grandparents of active miners, have died prematurely from the virus.
By December, 2020, U.S. coal employment had fallen to 44,100 jobs, 7,000 fewer than in January of that year. Of those 44,100, roughly 34,000 are hourly workers; the rest are foremen, office workers, sales-people, mining engineers and other management.
Rank-and-file coal miners have become scarce. There are fewer hourly coal miners working in the country today than at any time since the federal government began keeping statistics. The rise of renewable energy – windmills, solar panels, geothermal energy – is transforming the energy marketplace and the jobs that go with it. And impending action in Washington has the potential to dramatically slash coal employment further, and soon.
Change is upon us
“We have to be realistic,” President Roberts said. “Whether people agree that it needs to happen or not, an energy transition is going on in the United States. We need to be upfront about that. A lot of it is driven by politics and what is happening in Washington. But a lot of it is being driven by the utility companies and the energy marketplace.”
Coal is becoming more expensive to use to make electricity than other forms of energy generation. Utilities are closing coal-fired power plants at an accelerating pace, and there is currently not a single coal-fired power plant, either under construction or planned, in the United States. The utility companies do not believe they can earn a profit from coal-fired power any longer.
“As the only organization that stands up for coal miners, their families and their communities, the UMWA must engage in the fight to maintain UMWA jobs, create new jobs for UMWA members and preserve UMWA families and com-munities going forward,” Roberts said. “We have developed an initiative to do just that, and along with our labor and political allies we are going to fight for it every day until we prevail.
Where are the jobs?
The people of Appalachia have been promised an economic renewal for generations, by politicians from both political parties. Nothing has ever happened. Now the employment crisis in America’s coalfields is upon us. Close to 200,000 jobs have already been lost in the last decade, when direct coal jobs and the jobs that depend on the coal industry are counted. Appalachia needed an economic transformation a long time ago.
“We have a president of the United States who campaigned on transforming America’s energy sector away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy,” President Roberts said. “He also campaigned on creating family-sustaining union jobs for coal miners and other energy workers to transition into if they lose their traditional energy jobs. Frankly, if there are not good union jobs with equivalent wages and benefits avail-able for miners to move into on the day their mine shuts down, then this will be just one more empty promise from a politician.”
The scale of solving this issue is huge, but so far, any legislative proposals that have been put forward do not come close to providing the resources that will actually be needed. Some, like the Green New Deal, have no funding attached to them at all. They use phrases like “just transition” but offer no specifics of what that might be or how it could be achieved.
“I am tired of hearing people talk about a so-called ‘just transition’ in America’s coalfields,” President Roberts said. “There never has been any such thing in the history of our nation. UMWA members know that, their families know that, and the people in their communities know that. Let’s stop talking about this in meaningless terms. Let’s start talking about what reality looks like and what can actually be achieved.”
Congressional action on the horizon
“We anticipate that Congress will take action this year that could have a significant impact on the future of coal production for the generation of electricity,” President Roberts said. “Some are promoting a carbon tax, which would place a tax on carbon emissions from utilities and would lead to just about every coal-fired power plant to shut down within a very short period of time. This is a bad idea that will end up costing hundreds of thousands – if not more than a million – workers their jobs. We strongly oppose any and all legislative efforts to enact a carbon tax.”
Another mechanism some in Washington support is called a “Clean Energy Standard,” which would set even smaller limits on how much carbon could be emitted into the atmosphere from the utility sec-tor, reaching zero by 2035.
“2035 simply does not pro-vide enough time to deploy carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology on a commercial scale for coal-fired power plants,” Roberts said. “There is no magic about the 2035 date; it is not supported by science. We believe that date should be pushed further so that CCS technology can be established, the infrastructure built out to support it, and the cost to utilities driven down so that they will have incentives to install it.”
Congress has already taken action to support more rapid development of CCS with the passage of energy legislation at the end of 2020 sponsored by Senators Joe Man-chin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). That legislation requires the Department of Energy to establish six CCS demonstration plants, two of which must be coal-fired utility generation units.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, WV, which is staffed by members of UMWA Local Union 1717, is developing the next generation of CCS technology and exploring how best to store the captured carbon under-ground for centuries. The technology developed at NETL must be quickly scaled-up to enable it to be attached to commercial utility units. That will require significantly more funding for research and development than the government currently provides.
“Coalfield communities and our members cannot wait any longer for action,” President Roberts said. “For far too long, people who have absolutely no connection to coal miners and our families, no connection to where we live, no connection to our working-class roots have been making decisions that are harming us and our way of life. That has to stop, and our voices must be heard.
“We recognize that change is coming,” Roberts said. “Our task now is to mold that change so that it leaves our members, their families, their communities and our union whole. It is without question the biggest challenge we have faced since mechanization first came to the mines in the 1950s. But UMWA members have always demonstrated that we are up to meeting any challenge as long as we stay united. This will be no different.”
“I’m extremely worried about my job being threatened by these changes in the energy market,” said Local Union 9909 member Gary Campbell. “I would love for coal to last forever, but that is just not going to happen. I’m glad the UMWA is taking action to provide opportunities for everyone down the road.”
“No other jobs where I live in West Virginia offer remotely the same pay or benefits as mining coal,” said Local Union 1501 member Ryan Cottrel. “Mining coal is dangerous, but I’ve grown to love my job. I’d be very sad if the day comes where we can’t work anymore and support our families like we have for years. Working to preserve what we have now is what’s important. That’s what started the labor movement. Keeping the union strong and alive is about securing the jobs we have now and finding real solutions to transitioning to new ones.”
Local Union 1440 and District 17 Member Charles “Hawkeye” Dixon began his mining career in March of 1971 at the Island Creek No. 14 Mine in Nicholas County, West Virginia and continued working there until April of 1976. “I worked in lowcoal, about 36 inches,” said Dixon. “It was grueling work, but I knew I had the union to support me each and every day I went underground. I always felt safe because I knew the union had my back.” After leaving Island Creek, Brother Dixon spent one year at the ABC Coal Company and from April of 1978 until October 1, 1984, he was employed with the Pike County Coal Company in eastern Kentucky until he was terminated during the selective strike in October of 1984.
After being terminated during the selective strike, Brother Dixon became an International Representative for the former District 30 in June of 1985. Hawkeye was elected to the International Executive Board from 1985 to 2004. After 33 years of service to the UMWA, Brother Dixon retired on December 31, 2004. “Hawkeye’s dedication to the union didn’t stop when he retired,” said President Roberts. “He has been a devoted and loyal member of our union for more than four decades now. Anything this union has ever asked of him, he has wholeheartedly given it his all. His tireless hard work, devotion and love for this union is unwavering. The Union is blessed to have someone who has dedicated their entire working life for the benefit of others.”
Upon Brother Dixon’s retirement, he attended rallies all across the country, including St. Louis, Missouri, Charleston, WV and Washington, DC. He has walked the halls of Congress over the past five years fighting for retiree healthcare and pensions they earned over a lifetime of backbreaking work in the Nation’s coal mines. As of December, 2019, our retirees can now live out the rest of their lives knowing that those benefits are secure. “At every turn, Brother Dixon has been there to show his undeniable support to help every member of this union,” said Secretary-Treasurer Allen. “Whether he was called upon to be a bus caption traveling to a rally or serving as a local union president or speaking with members of Congress, he has been there every step of the way to support every brother and sister of this union.”
“No one can ever question Brother Dixon’s dedication to the United Mine Workers, that’s for sure,” said International District 17 Vice President Brian Lacy. “He was very active in COMPAC this past election year, and he has truly devoted his entire life to the labor movement and works day in and day out to represent his fellow brothers and sisters. He has always supported the union and its members.”
Brother Dixon has been the Financial Secretary for Local Union 1440 since 2009. “We have a beautiful Local Union Hall in Matewan, West Virginia,” said Brother Dixon. “We have anywhere from 50 to 60 attendees at each of our local union meetings. I enjoy helping the membership and doing anything I can to assist them. I love doing it, and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As well as his involvement with COMPAC, he also serves on the Organizing and Pensioner Leadership Committees. “Hawkeye has been there every step of the way in every struggle we have faced,” said President Roberts. “When you have someone working just as hard as the day he started working in the mines, that’s loyalty, and I’m very proud of everything my friend and brother has done for the United Mine Workers of America.”
Residents of Mt. Pleasant in Sanpete County, Utah feel very fortunate to have an organization like the Sanpete Pantry, which serves 275 families in the county through its weekly meal distribution program. The Sanpete Pantry is the only food bank in the entire county, and they offer much more than just meals. Executive Director, Jeff Jarman, is a retired member of UMWA Local 1769 where he served nearly three elected terms as an officer.
The Sanpete Pantry provides weekly food distribution from their main facility in Mt. Pleasant every Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition to a local distribution location, the pantry makes mobile food drops at Ephraim and Gunnison on a regular basis to the people of the community who are not able to travel to them to receive meals. The Pantry is in the planning process of reaching out to other areas of the county as well.
KidsPack Weekend Meal Distribution
Not only does the Sanpete Pantry offer meals on a weekly basis to the citizens of Sanpete County, they offer a KidsPack Weekend Program. The program works with local volunteers that help prepare packed meals for children to take home to serve as sustenance over the weekend until they are able to attend school and receive their two meals a day. “There are disadvantaged children that go hungry every day, but we don’t hear about them,” says Jarman. “Public schools offer subsidized breakfast and lunch programs during school hours, but what happens to those same children on the weekends? The KidsPack program strives to bridge that gap.”
Hunger has a direct impact on a child’s ability to learn, as well as their overall health later on in life. The Sanpete Pantry delivers meal packs for distribution to these children every week in an effort to help nourish their minds and bodies in preparation for learning and growing.
The Sanpete Pantry relies heavily on its community partners through donations. Since COVID-19, operating funds have increased while donations have severely dwindled. During peak employment at Deer Creek Mine, roughly 40 percent of nearly 600 employees were residing in Sanpete County. Many families and extended family members of former employees experienced layoffs, unemployment and COVID-19 related illnesses.
Donations are what keeps the people of Sanpete County fed. If you’d like to make a donation, you can do so by sending a check or stopping by the main facility at:
Sanpete Pantry 1080 Blackhawk Blvd. Mt Pleasant, UT 84647 435-462-3006
“I am tired of hearing people talk about a so-called ‘just transition’ in America’s coalfields,” President Roberts said. “There never has been any such thing in the history of our nation. UMWA members know that, their families know that, and the people in their communities know that. Let’s stop talking about this in meaningless terms. Let’s start talking about what reality looks like and what can actually be achieved.”
