MEDIA ADVISORY
September 3, 2019
Mine Workers Pres. Cecil Roberts Address and News Conference National Press Club Wed., Sept. 4, 10 a.m. Eastern Will Discuss Future of Coal, Jobs, Pensions, Climate Change, the Green New Deal and the 2020 Presidential Campaigns
WASHINGTON — On the Wednesday after Labor Day, Sept. 4, at a 10 a.m. ET at a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker, the International President of the United Mine Workers of America, Cecil Roberts, will discuss the future of the coal industry and the jobs outlook for coal producing regions if climate change legislation and initiatives such as “The Green New Deal,” “Keep it in the Ground,” or Michael Bloomberg’s campaign to close every coal-fired power plant in the United States are implemented. With the passage of a carbon tax, for example, according to a UMWA analysis, some two million direct jobs in 14 energy-intensive industries would be at immediate risk, along with seven million indirect jobs.
Roberts also is expected to discuss energy and coal issues and how they will effect the 2020 election. The UMWA has reached out to the Democratic presidential candidates with advice on initiatives that could help decarbonize U.S. fossil fuel energy production while preserving jobs and has invited each of the campaigns to visit a coal mine. The UMWA leader has been critical of a lack of details on how a transition from coal power to alternative fuels would be made and provisions for workers currently employed in coal and oil production.
Additionally, the UMWA president, who also serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO, will talk about pending legislation to help troubled multiemployer pension funds. Absent congressional action, the UMWA multiemployer pension fund is expected to become insolvent by 2023 at the latest, the first of several major pension funds to do so.
The Headliners Newsmaker news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m., Sept. 4, in the National Press Club’s First Amendment Lounge.
Please RSVP to Amy Shenker at askpr2011@gmail.com if you plan to cover the event via live stream and to receive instructions for the link and background materials in advance of the event. Following registration, reporters also will be provided with information on how to submit questions prior to and during the news event. News organizations wishing to simulcast also are free to do so, but should register intent with the UMWA via Amy Shenker.
The National Press Club is located on the 13th Floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. This event is open to credentialed media and club members in the Washington area free of charge, with advance registration required. Please click here to register.
