FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2025
UMWA President Emeritus Cecil E. Roberts Responds to 2025 West Virginian of the Year Honor
[TRIANGLE, VA] Cecil E. Roberts, President Emeritus of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), today expressed his gratitude to the Charleston Gazette-Mail for naming him its 2025 West Virginian of the Year, while emphasizing that the honor belongs not to one individual, but to the men and women of the United Mine Workers of America and the generations of working families they represent.
“I am deeply thankful for this recognition and for the kind words that accompanied it,” Roberts said. “But I want to be very clear: this award does not belong to me. It belongs to the United Mine Workers of America, to its members, retirees, widows, and families, past and present, who stood together, sacrificed together, and fought together to make a better life possible.
“I have never done anything by myself,” Roberts said. “Every gain we’ve made; pensions, health care, safer mines, dignity on the job, came from the courage of working people who were willing to stand up, often at great personal cost, and demand what was right. If I played any role at all, it was helping organize those efforts into a union strong enough to win.
“This recognition is a reflection of West Virginia’s labor history, of miners who powered this nation, who fought company guards and unjust laws, and who believed that solidarity could overcome even the most powerful opposition,” Roberts said. “It is their story, not mine alone.”
As President Emeritus, Roberts said he remains committed to advocating for working people, especially at a time when labor protections, mine safety enforcement, and workers’ health care are under renewed threat.
“The work of the UMWA is far from finished,” Roberts said. “Unions are still fighting every day to protect workers, to lift families into the middle class, and to make sure no one has to choose between a paycheck and their life. That fight belongs to all of us.
“If this honor stands for anything,” Roberts said, “I hope it stands for the simple truth that when working people stand together, you can fight, and you can win.”
