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We continue to fight in the bankruptcy court for the jobs of our members at Local Union 717 at Remington Arms.
The UMWA today filed an objection to Remington’s plan to sell its assets through the bankruptcy process without first negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.
“By their own actions, the Debtors have already prevented the possible occurrence of good faith negotiations,” the UMWA’s objection says.
Source: ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT HEALTH
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has not done enough to protect coal miners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from an oversight agency released Tuesday.
Through interviews with MSHA officials and union representatives, as well as reviews of state and national policies, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General concluded that MSHA could do more to track coronavirus cases among coal miners, address a growing backlog of inspections, and mandate safety precautions underground.
Following the March determination that coal mines would be considered “critical infrastructure” and exempt from coronavirus-related shutdowns, MSHA issued voluntary guidelines to protect miners during the pandemic, including measures such as frequent hand-washing, wearing masks and maintaining social distance when possible. But the agency has faced significant pressure to make those guidelines mandatory.
“We’ve been trying to get the Mine Safety and Health Administration to establish regulations, emergency temporary standards, to set up a regulation that everybody has to follow, that is enforceable, instead of us going from mine to mine to mine and trying to work something out,” said United Mine Workers of America spokesperson Phil Smith. “Because at the mines where there is no union, there is no protection. It’s that simple.”
The National Coalition of Black Lung and Respiratory Disease Clinics wrote to MSHA requesting an emergency temporary standard, and a bipartisan group of senators in May filed the COVID-19 Mine Worker Protection Act to require the issuance of such a measure.
MSHA has not yet committed to issuing an emergency temporary standard, the inspector general said.
The inspector general’s report also found that because of the coronavirus, MSHA suspended five categories of enforcement actions and seriously reduced 13 more, including ventilation investigations, non-fatal accident investigations and compliance assistance visits. Regular safety and health inspections, plus 14 other enforcement categories, have continued to operate at full capacity.
The report said those suspensions and reductions were a tradeoff: They limited contact between miners and mine safety inspectors and protected MSHA’s workforce from potential exposure to COVID-19, but they resulted in a backlog and increased the safety risk for miners.
Adding to the backlog was the number of MSHA inspectors who self-identified as being at high risk of contracting the coronavirus. About 100 of MSHA’s 750 inspectors, or 13 percent, have removed themselves from regular inspection duties out of concern for their own health.
In a response to the inspector general’s report included in its appendices, MSHA head David Zatezelo said, “MSHA agrees with OIG recommendations to develop a plan to manage the potential backlog of suspended or reduced activities, once full operations resume, and to monitor COVID-19 outbreaks at mines and to use that information to reevaluate our decision not to issue an emergency temporary standard.”
Some potential coronavirus prevention measures for coal mines include PPE, sanitization and staggered shifts. But these measures are an added expense for mine operators already struggling to remain profitable as the industry contracts.
Source: azcentral.
August 14, 2020
Following nearly two months of declining COVID-19 cases, the Navajo Nation on Thursday announced businesses could begin reopening in phases as early as next week.
Most businesses on Aug. 17 can begin operating at 25% maximum occupancy, according to a public health order from the Navajo Department of Health. This includes allowing drive-thru services only for dining establishments and permitting salons, barbershops, marinas and parks to reopen and operate by appointment only, the order states.
Youth programs, casinos and video poker, museums, flea markets, roadside markets, gyms, recreation facilities and movie theaters would remain closed, according to the order.
“Through contact tracing, we are learning more about the movement of the virus and we know that the fight is not over, but we have to find new ways to move forward,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez stated in a news release announcing the order.
“We cannot rush to reopen the Nation. We must reopen slowly and cautiously, and most importantly, rely on the data and advice of our health care experts,” he continued. “When states reopened in May, we saw how quickly the coronavirus can re-emerge and spread and that’s what we want to avoid.”
The announcement came days before the expiration of the tribe’s executive order declaring a state of emergency and government closures until Aug. 16.
Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation’s 32-hour curfew remains in effect for the next three weekends along with its nightly curfew. All businesses are required to close during the curfews, officials previously said.
The Navajo Nation at one point was among COVID-19’s hardest-hit communities in the country. But cases have recently declined.
“The Navajo Nation has had 49 consecutive days with less than 100 reported daily cases of COVID-19, and 14 consecutive days under 50 daily cases,” Vice President Myron Lizer said in a separate news release on Thursday.
As of Thursday, the Navajo Nation had 9,394 identified COVID-19 cases and 478 known deaths. But nearly 7,000 people have had the disease and recovered, according to the tribe.
The health department’s order on Thursday was part of a larger plan to reopen the Navajo Nation in phases, according to the news release from the tribe’s executive branch.
The status of the tribe’s reopening would be based on a color-coded system in which each color represents a different level of reopening activity. The health department’s order, for example, declared the Navajo Nation to be in an orange status, or “moderate-high restrictions” status, the news release explained.
The other statuses were as follows:
The tribe’s reopening status would vary over time depending on its number of COVID-19 cases, its level of testing and its capacity to treat patients, according to the website. The tribe’s health command center, which is operated by its health department, would determine the tribe’s status.
The plan also outlines “best practices” to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and policies and procedures that businesses should implement during the pandemic, such as increasing building ventilation, adding plexiglass barriers, allowing flexible work schedules and giving employees flexible leave policies.
Reach the reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.
Written by: Chelsea Curtis
The UMWA mourns Brother Jimmy Thomas, the President of UMWA Local Union 1928, who passed away from COVID-19 this morning.
Jimmy marched, rallied and lobbied for 10 years to save UMWA retirees’ pensions and health care. If you have a pension and retiree health care today, Jimmy is a major reason why. We will be eternally grateful to Brother Thomas, and ask everyone to join with us in prayers for him and his family.
He was the son of Booker, Sr. and Lue Bell Gibson Thomas and graduate of Westfield High School.
Since retirement in 1999 from Jim Walter Resources #3 Mine, Jimmy worked with Thomason Law. He was currently president of UMWA Local #1928 and had been an advocate for miners’ pensions and healthcare.
A daughter, Tamika Dial and brothers, Booker, Jr., James D., Allen and Kenneth predeceased him. Memories remain with sons, Eric Bevelle and Marco Thomas; siblings, Joyce, Eddie, Glenn, Don (Constance), Charles and James E. (Vanessa) Thomas; granddaughter, Aly.
Calling Hours at Johnson Memorial, Bessemer, Wednesday Noon until 8:00. Remembrance Hour is 11:00 Thursday at Highland Memorial.
To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
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Source: WV Gazette-Mail
July 28, 2020
It was startling to read a recent report that more than $274 million has been paid to lawyers and financial advisers in just 20 of the coal industry’s 56 bankruptcies since 2012. Two hundred, seventy-four million! While that is just a blip on the balance sheets of these huge law firms and Wall Street financial houses, it would go a long way in the coalfields.
Bankrupt coal companies often pay legal fees that can run up to $1,800 per hour. I ask you: Who is worth $1,800 an hour? That’s about 58 times what a coal miner earns. I can make a good argument that what the coal miner produces is much more valuable to America than what a bankruptcy lawyer produces.
Two hundred, seventy-four million dollars! Yet, retired union coal miners had to fight down to the wire to preserve their pensions and health care. Coalfield clinics, pharmacies, therapists, hospitals and other health care providers are dealing with decreasing revenue and are struggling to stay open. Indeed, many have closed their doors, slashing health care access for everyone.
Two hundred, seventy-four million dollars! Yet, coal communities affected by bankruptcies are seeing tax revenue dry up. They cannot pay for local police forces, deputy sheriffs, firefighters, EMT’s and more. Their infrastructure is crumbling, and they do not have the resources to do anything about it.
Let’s face it, America’s bankruptcy system is a scam. It’s rigged to siphon off millions of dollars from working-class communities and send it to Wall Street. And just what is it that these lawyers and financial advisers are providing?
The American bankruptcy process is straightforward. The steps are clear and bankruptcy courts’ decisions almost always follow the same rules, no matter where that court is located:
That is exactly how it works. The workers and retirees get nothing and the lawyers and advisers always get paid. They have been running this scam especially hard in the coalfields lately.
No one knows better than I that the coal industry has been hit hard. The markets for traditional energy fuels, such as coal and natural gas, are depressed. The market for metallurgical coal has looked like a yo-yo the past several years; some years are good, some years are bad. Coal-fired power plants are closing at an accelerating pace. Companies sometimes have to turn to bankruptcy.
But the rules I laid out above are almost always followed by bankruptcy courts. I know that, and the companies know that. I cannot figure out why the companies need to pay $274 million for someone to explain rules they already know. But they did, and they are paying now, and more companies will be paying in the future. I do not know what value they are getting for that money.
In the meantime, the resources and funding that workers, families and communities in America’s coalfields so desperately need is sucked away, never to return. It is a con game and, in the end, we all pay for it.
Written by: UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts
Source: Pittsburgh Action News 4
July 24, 2020
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — No visitation or public admittance will be allowed at the Fayette County Prison for at least two weeks — a move prompted by recent positive COVID-19 tests among inmates and correctional officers, the district attorney said Friday.
The new safety measures are being taken after three correctional officers and two inmates tested positive for the virus this week, District Attorney Rich Bower said.
County officials said these cases are the first at the prison since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Along with the five positive tests, nine other officers are self-quarantining while they await test results, Bower said.
Officials said the county is in the process of testing all 200-plus people who are at the prison, including staff and inmates.
This is a developing story. Follow @JimWTAE for updates and watch his report tonight on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 at 5 p.m. Download the WTAE mobile app to stay connected with breaking news.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 14, 2020
[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts, a Vietnam combat veteran and Chair of the AFL-CIO’s Veterans Committee, issued the following statement today:
“The admission by a former nursing assistant that she murdered patients under her care at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Clarksburg, W.Va., is shocking and beyond comprehension. We grieve for all those lost, and we send our prayers to their families. While justice may finally be coming in this case, nothing can bring back their loved ones.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs must get to the bottom of how this could happen, and establish protocols so that it can never happen again. I am very concerned that funding for our veterans’ health care system, including the VA hospitals, has continued to face cuts from Washington politicians at the same time that thousands of Vietnam veterans need health care the most.
“I urge West Virginia’s congressional delegation to demand Congress restore adequate funding for America’s veterans. They put their lives on the line for all of us. For them to be subject to unspeakable tragedies like this is unacceptable.”
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Source: The Intelligencer – Wheeling News Register
July 13, 2020
POWHATAN POINT – A local business donated its services to help restore the Powhatan United Mine Workers of America memorial.
The more than 10-foot granite stone monument in Powhatan Cemetery is dedicated in memory of 66 men who died in the 1944 Powhatan Mine fire.
Randall L. Gallagher Memorials Inc. of St. Clairsville helped to restore the memorial, free of charge. Employees Justin Gallagher and Randall Purtiman spent Friday morning cleaning and power washing the memorial. Gallagher said the monument was covered in dirt, grime and moss.
This is not the first time the company has aided in a memorial restoration. Last month, it donated its services to help with the Dough Boy monument restoration at Wheeling Park.
“We do a lot for certain organizations. We try to help out the different communities,” Gallagher said.
Prior to Friday’s cleaning, the monument had not been cleaned in more than 20 years.
Jerry Binni, retired secretary/treasurer of District 6 UMWA, said the monument was erected in the early 1950s by Local Union 5497 UMWA. The last time it was cleaned was on the 50th anniversary of the fire that claimed those 66 lives, he said. Binni said July 5 marked the 76th anniversary of the fatal fire.
“On July 5, 1944, the fire started … These men ended up not being able to make it out. They barricaded themselves in and after a couple of days of fighting the fire, they were unable to put out the fire. The decision was then made to seal the mine and cut the air. While the men were barricaded in down there, most of them were overcome by smoke and carbon dioxide and eventually died,” he said.
It took nearly two years for all of the men’s bodies to be recovered, Binni said.
Notes and letters the men had written to their loved ones were found.
Members from various local unions of the UMWA gathered to admire the monument after its deep cleaning.
“We really appreciate Gallagher Monuments cleaning this. After all, this is just a year after the 75th anniversary of the fire,” Binni said.
Written by: Carri Graham
Source: The Herald Dispatch
June 26, 2020
Murray Energy filed a new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice Friday as part of the federal bankruptcy process, but officials with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) said it is not likely to lead to layoffs.
“At the end of the bankruptcy process, Murray Energy as we know it will cease to exist and new owners will take over the company,” UMWA International President Cecil Roberts said in a press release. “The new owners will immediately rehire the employees, but since they will technically be transferring to a new employer, Murray Energy is required under the WARN Act to issue a notice.”
This is the third WARN Act notice Murray Energy has issued as a result of changing dates for completion of the bankruptcy. Each time the date changes, the company must issue a new WARN Act notice.
“I do not anticipate any layoffs of UMWA members as a result of this WARN Act notice or change of ownership,” Roberts added. “Indeed, the new owners have agreed in writing — as part of a collective bargaining agreement our members ratified in April — that they will rehire UMWA members when they take ownership of the company.”
Murray’s creditors will become the owners of the new company that emerges from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. They are mostly Wall Street banks and investment houses.
In May, six Murray Energy Corp. subsidiaries filed WARN notices covering 2,453 employees in West Virginia, which included operations in Ohio, Marshall and Marion counties.
Murray Energy, the largest privately held coal company in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2019 while facing more than $8 billion in potential and actual legacy liabilities and $2.7 billion in outstanding funded debt obligations.
Murray Energy acknowledged in June it had defaulted on its $440 million bankruptcy financing package, setting up a pivotal month for the nation’s largest private coal producer as it aims to leave Chapter 11 amid a market downturn exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Telephone and email messages seeking comment from Murray Energy were not immediately returned.
Written by: Fred Pace
Source: Fox10
HINLE, Ariz. – The Navajo Police Department says a 29-year-veteran of the department has died from the coronavirus. The department says Officer Michael Lee of the Chinle Police District died early Friday morning.
“It is with great sorrow that the Navajo Police Department announces the passing of Officer Michael Lee. We are devastated and heartbroken.” Chief Phillip Francisco said.
“Officer Lee was a husband, a father, a son and a protector of his community. We ask the public to join us in remembering his commitment and contribution to his community and to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers today.”
The department says Lee is the first Navajo officer to die of COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Officer Lee began his career with the Navajo Police Academy in 1990.
Officer Lee is survived by his wife and children. A procession will bring Officer Lee from Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix to Gallup, New Mexico.
Written by: Brent Corrado
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