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Union Plus: Scholarships for Members and Their Children

SOURCE: Union Plus   Since 1991, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $5 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. More than 3,400 families have benefited from our commitment to higher education.   How the Union Plus Scholarship Program works Eligibility Current and retired […]

Alabama coalminers on strike for 10 months vow not to be ‘starved out’

SOURCE: The Guardian January 25, 2022 Alabama coal miners on strike for 10 months vow not to be ‘starved out’ About 1,100 coalminers in Alabama have entered 2022 still on strike, more than 10 months since they walked out back in April last year, making it the longest strike in the US since the Covid-19 […]

Scott, Adams Introduce Bill to Protect Future Benefits, Health Care for Miners with Black Lung Disease

  January 20, 2022 WASHINGTON – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12), introduced the Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund Solvency Act of 2022 (H.R. 6462). This legislation would extend the black lung excise tax rate, which expired at the end of last year, to fund […]

Union Plus: Now is the perfect time to save on that crown or root canal!

Source: Union Plus It’s a new year and time to get that expensive dental work done. Save 20% to 50% on routine and major dental work with the Union Plus Dental Discount Plan. Plans start at just $7.95/month or $79.00/year.*   Save on: Root canals, crowns, extractions Bridges, dentures Annual exams, cleanings. fillings, X-rays   […]

Place Your Order for Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

Place Your Order for Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests     The federal government’s website for Americans to order at-home rapid Covid-19 testing kits launched on Tuesday. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order free at-home COVID-⁠19 tests.   The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.   Here’s what […]

Sanders, Warren and Baldwin urge Larry Fink to intervene in strike at coal company partially owned by BlackRock

SOURCE: CNBC January 14, 2022 Sanders, Warren and Baldwin urge Larry Fink to intervene in strike at coal company partially owned by BlackRock Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin pressed BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to use his firm’s sizable financial stake in Warrior Met Coal to compel the company’s management to broker a […]

‘It just ain’t right’: WV retired miners condemn Congress’ failure to restore tax behind black lung benefits

Source: Charleston Gazette-Mail January 15, 2021   ‘It just ain’t right’: WV retired miners condemn Congress’ failure to restore tax behind black lung benefits Jerry Coleman used to hunt. But 37 years in the mines took away the breathing capacity he needed to walk up a hill or drag a deer, leaving him with black […]

A Portrait of a Modern Day Union Man on the Picket Line

Source: MelMagazine January 13, 2021   Union leader Bryan Kelly and more than 1,000 other coal miners in Alabama are picketing hedge-fund ownership over broken promises and cut pay. It’s another chapter in a long history of miners who pioneered the art of the strike — to the benefit of all   To everyone who […]

Status of the UMWA’s 56th Consecutive Constitutional Convention

The UMWA has always believed that the health and safety of the delegates and guests who attend our convention is the number one priority. In the past few months, there has been a rapid rise in recorded numbers of COVID-19 infections. A considerable number of our elected Delegates, who are already suffering from respiratory conditions […]

Why Alabama Coal Miners Are Still on Strike

Source: The Nation. January 7, 2022   Greg Pilkerton has been fighting for better pay and working conditions for 10 months. He explains why he and his union comrades aren’t giving up.   “Happy miners run more coal.”   When coal miner Greg Pilkerton spoke those words to me in his gruff Alabama drawl, it […]

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