Archives: News

This is for all News Pages

Navajo Nation president says the ‘curve is flattening’ with COVID-19 cases

Source: AZCentral.

Despite recently surpassing New York to have the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the country, Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez said on Memorial Day that “the curve is flattening on the Navajo Nation.”

As of Monday, the Navajo Nation had 4,794 cases of COVID-19 and the number of deaths associated with the disease reached 157. Nearly 1,500 people have recovered from the virus, according to updated numbers from the Navajo Department of Health.

The infection rate in Kayenta outpaces even the worst-hit ZIP codes in New York City, although New York ZIP codes have far more COVID-19 deaths.

According to Nez, “The curve is flattening on the Navajo Nation, even as we test aggressively.”

“The Navajo Nation continues to test at a higher rate per capita than any state in the country,” he said in a statement Monday, adding that 14.6% of citizens have been tested so far. Meanwhile, 2.3% of the population in Arizona has been tested, according to the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

“Testing, contact tracing, and the public health orders that were implemented months ago requiring protective masks in public and weekend lockdowns are working and flattening the curve,” Nez said in the statement.

“The numbers are high, but it’s great to see that overall the rate of new cases is flattening, so let’s keep up the good practices and continue to pray for everyone,” Vice President Myron Lizer said in the statement.

Franklin Graham spends Memorial Day on Navajo Nation

Nez spent time on Memorial Day with Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham and president of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.

Graham visited the Navajo Nation on Monday and discussed a coronavirus response plan, according to tweet from Graham.

“We are here to visit and just talk with their leadership because the locals here have just been decimated by coronavirus,” Franklin’s son Edward Graham said in a video on Twitter.

Graham, Nez and Lizer discussed a plan to place a Samaritan’s Purse field hospital on the Navajo Nation to help in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Samaritan’s Purse is an nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that provides medical aid to those in need around the world, according to their mission statement.

Written by: Tina Giuliano

Black lung is back: why more is needed to fight dust

Source: Mining Technology

Despite improvements in health and safety in US mining, dust inhalation remains a real threat, with black lung seeing a resurgence in cases. We speak to the Mine Safety and Health Administration about this challenge, and how it aims to tackle it.

US mining has enjoyed years of continued improvements with regard to safe operations, with falling fatalities highlighting an industry that is more aware than ever of the risks faced by its employees. Figures from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show that fatalities at US mining operations have fallen slightly in recent years, from 28 in 2017 to 27 in 2019, and significantly since the turn of the millennium, with the 85 deaths reported in 2000 close to triple the 2019 figure.

Yet while the industry does its best to clamp down on the hazardous practices it can control, such as implementing a culture of safety above all else and investing in adequate safety equipment, there is an inherent risk faced by miners in this sector: that of dust inhalation. Mining, by design, kicks up vast quantities of dust, and the enclosed subterranean spaces where many miners work are difficult to adequately ventilate, resulting in a significant threat to miners’ respiratory health.

Most worryingly, this trend is not improving, with reports from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part of the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noting that the prevalence of conditions such as coalworkers’ pneumoconiosis, known colloquially as ‘black lung’, is, in fact, increasing amongst US miners, raising questions about the industry’s response to the threat.

Significant risks and uneven progress

The production of dust poses significant risks for mineworkers, with both long-term health conditions arising from dust inhalation, and short-term risks of ignition and explosion, threatening miners.

Written by: JP Casey

Matewan massacre remembered 100 years later

Source: WV MetroNews

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tuesday marks the 100th anniversary of the Matewan massacre, in which Mingo County officials and detectives with Baldwin-Felts Detectives Inc. engaged in a conflict that would lead to the West Virginia Mine War.

Thirteen detectives traveled to Matewan to evict union coal miners out of their homes, which were owned by the Stone Mountain Coal Company. Matewan police chief Sid Hatfield and Mayor Cable Testerman confronted the detectives while armed miners stood away from the scene unknown to the detectives.

Eleven people died in an ensuing gun battle, including 7 detectives and Testerman. Hatfield and 17 miners were charged for murder but later acquitted.

Hatfield was fatally shot in August 1921 during an incident involving Baldwin-Felts detectives. Union members reacted with a march in Logan County, which ended in the Battle of Blair Mountain.

“Without these conflicts, without these miners rising up, we would have never become — by 1935 — the largest union in the United States of America with over 800,000 members,” United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts said in a video released Monday.

Cecil Roberts: Postal Service a lifeline for rural West Virginia

Source: West Virginia Gazette

May 9, 2020

 

In the midst of the gravest crisis our nation has confronted in decades, it is beyond disappointing to see national political leaders use the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to destroy the United States Postal Service. The refusal by the White House and others in Congress to even consider providing the USPS with the help it desperately needs to survive is a slap in the face to every rural postal customer in America.

If the anti-public Postal Service politicians in Washington get their way, they will put lives at risk and raise costs to millions of rural Americans, including nearly a million people here in West Virginia. And they will put thousands of West Virginians who are employed by the USPS out of work, including hundreds of veterans.

West Virginia is the third-most rural state in the country, with 51% of the population living in rural areas. Rural Americans, who are more elderly and more isolated than those living in urban or suburban areas, count on the reliability and consistent pricing of the USPS for delivery of prescription drugs. During this pandemic, as many pharmacies in rural areas have shut down or drastically reduced hours, it is even more critical that the delivery of life-sustaining prescription drugs continues without disruption or increased costs.

The for-profit delivery companies, whose Washington lobbyists are driving the political attacks on the USPS, already charge more to deliver packages to rural areas than they do to cities and suburbs. The Postal Service, on the other hand, is required to charge the same fee to reliably deliver packages and letters anywhere in the country — and that fee is the only thing keeping the for-profit companies from raising their prices even more.

USPS handled an estimated 55% of the final stretch of Amazon’s deliveries in 2018. Indeed, Amazon, FedEx, UPS and the other delivery corporations rely on the Postal Service to get packages the “last mile” to your door, because they simply do not have the door-to-door network the Postal Service has. That is especially true in rural America.

As a Vietnam veteran, I am especially troubled by the effect wiping out the USPS would have on veterans, both those who work for it and those who rely on it. Rural Appalachian communities have always provided an outsized portion of our sons and daughters to the United States armed forces. When our nation calls, we answer, in higher proportions than other areas of the country.

There are more than 97,000 veterans employed by the Postal Service, or 18% of its entire workforce. That’s almost three times higher than the veterans’ share of the national workforce. And with more than 80% of veterans receiving their prescription drugs by mail, a lot of them living in rural America, the disruption of that critical lifeline becomes a matter of life or death for hundreds of thousands.

The USPS has always funded itself through the sale of stamps and postage. Taxpayer money has never been part of its budget. But because of bone-headed laws passed by Congress years ago that were designed to unfairly drive the Postal Service’s costs up, the USPS is now on the road to failure through no fault of its own. It needs help, and it needs it fast.

Lawmakers should be talking about how to reverse the ridiculous burden they placed on the USPS to pre-fund retirement health care costs for workers who have not even been born yet, not plotting ways to eliminate one of the most reliable and secure services in the history of our nation.

The UMWA stands with our brothers and sisters who work for the United States Postal Service. They are part of our families, they are our neighbors, they are our friends and most importantly they are the vital lifeline so many of our members and retirees need to remain healthy and connected to the world.

There are many urgent actions our government needs to take to preserve our people and our way of life in the current pandemic. Destroying the USPS is not one of them. I strongly urge West Virginia’s congressional delegation to reject the attacks on the public Postal Service and instead work to secure its future. That is the only sensible path forward for all West Virginians.

Mine workers’ union supports Salvation Army

Source: Estevan 

May 07, 2020

Estevan Salvation Army director of ministry Ronza Reynard accepts a cheque for $3,000 from Ashley Johnson, the financial secretary for the United Mine Workers of America Local 7606.

The union recently made the cheque presentation through a collection that they had for the food bank.

Johnson said they chose to support the Salvation Army because they know the food bank has been experiencing an increase in the number of clients in the community, and many of the mine employees know someone who has accessed the food bank’s services.

UMWA furious over Consol’s motion to dissolve Murray Energy

Source: WV MetroNews

April 29, 2020

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va.– The United Mine Workers of America is livid over a request by Consol Energy to have the assets of bankrupt coal producer Murray Energy liquidated.

Consol, one of Murray’s largest creditors, recently asked a bankruptcy judge to change the company’s Chapter 11 filing in which they are attempting to reorganize to a Chapter 7 filing which would require the immediate liquidation of all asserts.

“This is one of the most outrageous things I have ever seen a coal company do,” said United Mine Workers of American President Cecil Roberts in a statement about the action. “And that is saying a lot.”

Consol claims in its filing that Murray is mismanaged to the point that it will never be able to reorganize and should be liquidated immediately. But the union and Roberts claim if that were to happen, it could put nearly 2,000 coal miners out of work and leave them with no options for healthcare in the time of a global pandemic.

“We have very strong opinions about this sort of tactic which would put our members and their families at grave risk, cutting off their health care and forcing them to look for other work at the time of a global pandemic,” Roberts said.

The UMWA recently ratified a new contract with Murray, which had the blessings of the company’s creditors and was to be honored by the new company once it emerged from bankruptcy. Consol’s motion would be that the company never emerge.

Roberts bristled at Consol’s action and noted while he couldn’t bring the union’s normal pressure to bare due to the social distancing restrictions, he added the organization would not stand silent in the process.

“We cannot do what we would normally do, which is to get several thousand people out in front of Consol’s shiny headquarters and say a few things in protest,” Roberts said. “But that does not mean we will be silent about this. It seems clear that Consol’s plan puts people’s lives and livelihoods at risk. We will not stand idly by while it threatens our members, their families and their communities.”

Written by:

Dr Cohen’s letter concerning DOL’s Black Lung examinations during the Coronavirus pandemic

Dr. Cohen, the principal investigator of the Black Lung Clinic Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, sent the following letter to the nation’s black lung clinics this week.

The letter is in regards to the Department of Labor’s Black Lung examination policy during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Because miners with black lung are at a higher risk of catching and becoming severely ill from COVID-19, Dr. Cohen, the world’s leading specialist in black lung research, believes that those who have or possibly have black lung should stay home until all shelter-in-place orders are no longer in effect.

 

Colleagues,

 

We have just reviewed the guidance from the DOL regarding appointments for 413B Exams*. We were dismayed that DOL took the stance that it was up to the patient and the testing site to determine if it was safe. The fact that some sites are still performing exams is also putting pressure on some clinics and physicians to reopen prematurely for fear of losing the business.

 

We would strongly advise all of our patients and clinics to defer testing until a safer time. Certainly, it does not seem safe at a time when there are shelter in place orders in effect throughout most of the country, when there is a huge shortage of testing, and the pandemic still is out of control.

 

Of especially great concern are lung function tests which are aerosol-generating procedures favoring transmission. At our hospital, we have canceled all of these tests except for transplant patients. The recommendation for those who do get tested is that this be done in a negative pressure room with the technician wearing full PPE including gloves, gowns, N95 masks, and face shields. The room must then be fully cleaned prior to the next patient. You can imagine that this is unlikely to occur in a clinic doing 413B exams.

 

We believe at this time that miners can safely perform telemedicine visits with examiners to get all of the information prepared. The in-person visit and testing should be deferred.

 

Remember that even though there are relatively few confirmed cases in some parts of the country, it is highly likely that there are many other cases that have gone undetected because of the lack of testing. Infected individuals without symptoms or mild disease put miners at risk of infection. It would be a shame for a miner to contract COVID-19 as a result of venturing out to a clinic to be examined, and tragic if they died due to COVID-19 while also jeopardizing their claim.

 

Bob Cohen & Leonard Go

Mining Education and Research Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health

 

 

*The 413B exam is the Department Of Labors’s exam to look for the presence of black lung. It includes:
  • A review of medical and work history
  • Physical exam
  • Chest X-ray with NIOSH B read
  • Spirometry (breathing test)
  • Pre and post inhaled bronchodilator
  • Arterial blood gas test (rest and sometimes with exercise)
  • EKG (optional)

More unions rescind Hutchison campaign endorsements following right-to-work ruling

Source: West Virginia Record

April 27,2020

 

CHARLESTON – At least four more unions have rescinded their endorsements of Justice John Hutchison’s state Supreme Court campaign following his vote to uphold the state’s right-to-work law.

Political Action Committees for the United Mine Workers of America, the United Steelworkers, the state branch of the American Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association all announced their decisions to rescind endorsements, just days after the ruling was issued and a day after the state AFL-CIO rescinded its endorsement for Hutchison.

The West Virginia State Council of COMPAC, the United Mine Workers of America’s political arm, said its April 23 vote to withdraw the endorsement was unanimous.

“Since 1890, the core principles of the UMWA have always been to fight for workers’ rights to safe and healthy jobs; to be paid a fair and living wage; to be treated equally no matter their race, creed, gender, faith or color; to speak out on the job without fear of retribution; and to be able to hold their jobs free of favoritism from their employer,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said in a statement. “So-called ‘Right to Work’ laws, born from racism and discrimination, are a frontal attack on all those principles.

“The West Virginia state legislators who passed this law and the Justices of the West Virginia Court of Appeals who upheld it clearly do not share our principles. They do not think workers should have those rights. We cannot and will not support officeholders at any level of government who believe that.”

The union sent a letter to Hutchison’s campaign informing it of the decision and asking for it’s campaign donation to be returned.

UMWA spokesman Phil Smith said this is first time he remembers such a move.

“I think President Roberts’ statement speaks for itself,” Smith told The West Virginia Record. “We operate and we represent our members with a set of core values that we don’t stray from. We had the assumption that Justice Hutchison shared those values. It was very disappointing.

“For him to say (in his concurring opinion) essentially that he had no other choice than vote the way he did, that is bullshit. It’s that simple. No, he didn’t have to vote that way.”

The USW announced its decision April 24.

“Our union will never back any candidate of any party who fails to support working people,” Billy Thompson, director of USW District 8, said in a statement. “This legislation was designed to help greedy employers lower wages, reduce benefits and eliminate safety protections.

“Voting to uphold it revealed Justice Hutchison’s true colors, leaving us no choice but revoke our support for his candidacy. West Virginia workers deserve elected officials in every office that puts their needs above corporate profits. Unfortunately, John Hutchison is not one of them.”

AFT-WV President Fred Albert said his organization’s Committee On Political Education voted unanimously April 24 to rescind its endorsement.

“Our members deserve someone who supports working families,” Albert told The Record. “But Justice Hutchison’s actions show that he probably isn’t supportive of working families and labor unions.”

He said he couldn’t recall AFT-WV ever rescinding an endorsement before.

“I’ve with the AFT for more than 26 years, and I don’t remember another instance,” Albert said. “It’s very unusual, but these are unusual circumstances.”

The WVSSPA PAC said it overwhelmingly voted April 23 to rescind the endorsement.

“Although school service employees and state employees are not directly affected by ‘Right To Work,’ we feel it is an affront to everyday working West Virginians and places more of our money in the hands of out-of-state corporations,” the group said in its statement posted on its Facebook page. “WVSSPA is not an affiliate of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, through no fault of ours, but we stand with all working-class West Virginians in saying ‘Right To Work’ is wrong.

The justices, in their April 21 opinion, reversed and remanded a 2017 opinion by Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey that said the Workplace Freedom Act unconstitutionally infringes upon the rights of labor unions to associate, as well as their liberty and property rights.

In the 69-page ruling, Justice Evan Jenkins spells out the reasoning.

“We conclude that the act does not violate constitutional rights of association, property, or liberty,” Jenkins wrote. “Therefore, we reverse the circuit court’s contrary rulings and remand this case for summary judgment in favor of the state consistent with this decision.”

Enacted in 2016, the Workplace Freedom Act essentially says a worker may not be required to become a member of a labor organization or pay any dues or fees assessments. The unions say the law amounts to illegal taking because non-union employees would gain the benefits of contract negotiation and other benefits without having to pay. The unions also say federal law already says workers don’t have to join.

The West Virginia AFL-CIO and other unions have fought the law since it before it was enacted in 2016 by the Republican-led Legislature. Then-Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democrat, vetoed the measure, but the Legislature overrode that veto. That kicked off a court challenge.

Bailey issued a preliminary injunction early in 2017. Soon, the state Supreme Court reversed that preliminary injunction, saying it stacked things against the union. But the makeup of the court was different then.

In February 2019, Bailey issued her final ruling essentially striking down the law. In March 2019, the Supreme Court issued a stay on Bailey’s order so they could hear the case.

West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said the law was created “solely to undermine and weaken unions in their efforts to protect workers and represent workers’ rights.”

“Obviously, we’re disappointed in the ruling,” Sword told The Record. “But, we are not all that surprised. We knew the makeup of the court going into this, generally knowing the position they’d have and the result they’d issue.

“Circuit Judge Bailey had rightfully ruled that the so-called ‘Right to Work’ act clearly violates the West Virginia Constitutional rights of unions and individuals with regard to the illegal taking of their property. This law has been the centerpiece of a years-long, partisan-driven agenda by the anti-worker majority to lower wages and benefits and eliminate workplace safety regulations – all in order to place corporate profits far above the health and safety of West Virginia workers, which is shameful particularly in light of the current pandemic we’re facing.”

Sword said the AFL-CIO now will turn its attention to the 2020 election and “hope to make some real changes that way.” That includes rescinding its previous endorsement of Hutchison.

“Justice Hutchison approached our organization and met with many members, seeking our endorsement of his candidacy and our support,” Sword said. “Despite his statements both to us and in his concurring opinion that he values the work of unions, his vote to concur with the politically motivated decision in support of the state’s ‘Right to Work’ law made clear to us that he has put the interests of out-of-state corporations over the interests of West Virginia working families.”

It was a concurring opinion, but Hutchison didn’t seem to give it an overwhelming endorsement.

“The law dictates that I must concur because the gist of the majority opinion is true: what the Legislature gives, the Legislature can constitutionally take away,” he wrote. “No other court in America has found a right-to-work legislative enactment unconstitutional, and the majority opinion has done nothing different.”

Hutchison said he has studied past right-to-work challenges, including countless U.S. Supreme Court, state court and federal court cases.

“With almost clarion unity, courts repeatedly hold that legislatures may give rights to unions and can just as quickly take those rights away with constitutional impunity,” he wrote. “The (West Viginia Supreme) Court acknowledged as much in 2017, saying that ‘27 other states have adopted right to work laws similar to West Virginia’s, and the unions have not shown a single one that has been struck down by an appellate court.’

“(That Supreme) Court hinted that the unions’ lawyers needed to come up with better legal arguments.”

But, Hutchison said he doesn’t there this is a better argument.

“I now think the solution lies in the ballot box, not the courtroom,” he wrote. “Having taken a constitutional oath as a justice, it is my sworn duty to uphold the law. I am, therefore, compelled by the law and my obligations as a justice to respectfully concur with the majority opinion.

Through state Supreme Court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy, Hutchison said he cannot comment on anything related to the case, adding that “his concurring opinion spells out his position.”

Sword said Hutchison’s words and his vote didn’t hold water, but said he also thinks the solution lies in the ballot box.

“Here’s the way I see it,” Sword told The Record. “I’m going to use a legislative analogy. We have delegates and senators take to the floor and speak passionately about things every day during the session. In many cases, it lays the foundation on how they’re going to vote. You can get up and say whatever during the session, but we’re for working people or against working people.

“What Justice Hutchison did in his concurring opinion was that he essentially took the floor and gave a speech about how great unions are and how important they are. But when it came down to it, he voted against working families of West Virginia.”

Noting Justice Margaret Workman’s concurring and dissenting opinion as well, Sword said it’s unfortunate the more conservative balance of the court comes into play, especially on a decision like this.

“(Hutchison and Workman) know the makeup of the court better than anyone,” Sword said. “This issue (right to work legislation) has been politicized all over the country for decades, like a woman’s right to choose and Second Amendment rights.

“We saw a political decision from anti-worker Supreme Court majority.”

All three of the Supreme Court races are non-partisan. The Division 1 and 2 races are for regular 12-year terms on the Supreme Court. The Division 3 race is to fill the seat formerly held by Allen Loughry. Gov. Jim Justice appointed Hutchison to fill that seat in December 2018. The term for the Division 3 seat will end in 2024

Hutchison is seeking re-election for the Division 3 seat. He was appointed after former Justice Allen Loughry resigned. The term is to finish the rest of Loughry’s term and will end in 2024. Charleston attorney Bill Schwartz and Fifth Circuit Judge Lora Dyer also are running for the seat.

For the Division 1 seat, incumbent Justice Tim Armstead is being challenged by former Justice Richard Neely and northern panhandle Circuit Judge David Hummel.

Running for the Division 2 seat currently occupied by Workman are Putnam County Assistant Prosecutor Kris Raynes, Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit, Kanawha Family Court Judge Jim Douglas and former legislator and Supreme Court candidate Bill Wooton. Workman is not seeking re-election.

In 2018, Tabit finished third in a special election for two seats on the Supreme Court left by the retirements of Robin Jean Davis and Menis Ketchum. Armstead and Justice Evan Jenkins, both of whom had been appointed by Justice to temporarily fill those seats, won those elections. Douglas, Wooton and Schwartz all ran in the 2018 election as well.

The non-partisan court election is part of West Virginia’s primary election, which has been rescheduled for June 9 because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Written by: Chris Dickerson

 

Residents encouraged to light a candle on April 28

Source: Estevan Mercury Publications 

April 22, 2020

 

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) are encouraging local residents to light a candle in honour of the annual Day of Mourning on April 28.

 

 

Traditionally the labour committee holds a brief Day of Mourning service at the coal car at the corner of Souris Avenue South and Fourth Street. (The coal car has been temporarily removed from the site for a restoration project).

But due to crowd restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional Estevan ceremony has been cancelled. The CLC has recommended that people post tributes online.

“They want everybody to light a candle that day to honour the fallen who gave their lives up in the workplace,” said local resident Garry Malaryk with the United Mine Workers of America Local 7606.

They are also encouraging front-line workers to take an individual or a group photo and post it on social media with a hashtag such as Stop the Pandemic or Safety First.

The UMWA Local will also have something online to mark the day.

The local service has often had small crowds, but the weather has often failed to co-operate. Last year it snowed the day of the ceremony.

Each year during the ceremony, a member of the local labour committee will read out the roll of honour – the list of Saskatchewan workers who died in workplace accidents the previous year. A candle will be lit for each one, and a wreath will be laid in front of the coal car.

Saskatchewan had 36 workplace-related fatalities last year. Sixteen of them were from asbestos exposure.

Among those who died on the job was Mark Biglin of Kenosee Lake, a 38-year-old rig manager for Aaron Well Servicing who died in August after he was struck by equipment at a worksite near Stoughton.

I’ve already got infected lungs’: for sick coal miners COVID-19 is a death sentence

Source: The Guardian

April 20, 2020

 

Seven years ago John Robinson of Coeburn, Virginia, was diagnosed with black lung. A coal miner for nearly 30 years, 54-year-old Robinson and many of his fellow workers already faced years of health issues. And then came Covid-19.

“It’s easier for us to get sick because of lung damage. We get colds easier. We pick up germs easier. It’s something we deal with all of the time. But the Covid-19 has it doubled up on us,” said Robinson. “It’s made it that much worse.”

Robinson currently has an upper respiratory infection, which he develops a few times a year due to black lung. The last few years he spent in the mines before retiring, he regularly ate cough drops to try to alleviate his breathing issues. He tries to stay active, but finds himself increasingly short of breath and struggling to get air as his black lung progresses.

It took several years for Robinson’s federal black lung benefits claim to be accepted, and he’s still going through court processes that will decide if he continues receiving his benefits for life, despite being diagnosed with the disease.

While miners with black lung struggle during the pandemic, the coal industry is seeking to use the crisis to its advantage, cutting payouts to the federal black lung funds. Last month the National Mining Association asked Congress to decrease the excise tax that coal companies pay toward the fund by 55%. The federal black lung program, which pays out benefits to former coal miners diagnosed with the condition , has already faced financial problems in recent years in part due to coal companies filing for bankruptcy and shifting millions of dollars in liabilities onto taxpayers.

Some 25,000 former coal miners in the US currently rely on black lung benefits, and Robinson said hundreds of former miners will die trying to obtain their benefits, leaving their widows with nothing.

“We have a lot of sick coal miners in the world who need a lot of help,” said Robinson. “I wish these coal companies would own up to what’s happened over the years, but they don’t want to spend the money. They’ll pat you on the back, give you ‘attaboys’ as long as you’re working seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day, but once you get sick, then you’re nobody. You made them millions but they don’t want to do anything for you.”

Coal miners are also experiencing concerns over contracting Covid-19 while struggling with layoffs as some mines shut down because of the pandemic.

Cy Robinette, a heavy equipment mechanic at a coal mine in Florence, Kentucky, for 30 years, was recently laid off due to the pandemic and hasn’t been able to file a claim for unemployment benefits yet because of the state website’s technical difficulties.

“Everybody is quarantined, there is no work to buy our food and to pay our bills. We’re panicking over where our next meal is going to come from, how long this is going to last,” said Robinette. “If we get this virus, we will die due to having black lung issues. We won’t last but days or hours, but if it takes working and taking a chance catching the virus so it shall be. It has me at the end of my rope. I don’t know what else I can do just to support my family. I feel like a failure that I can’t work now.”

At least one in 10 US coal miners who worked in mines for 25 years or more are diagnosed with black lung. In Appalachia, those rates climb to as many as one out of every five. Appalachia experienced a surge in black lung cases in recent years, as US cases hit a 25-year high in 2018.

Dave Bounds of Oak Hill, West Virginia, worked in the mines for 34 years. The 72-year-old was diagnosed with black lung in 1984. The coronavirus pandemic is another added worry to the everyday issues he faces from the illness.

“It scares the living daylights out of me. I don’t want it. I’ve already got infected lungs, I don’t want anything on top of it,” said Bounds.

He worked 48 to 54 hours a week underground in conditions, Bounds said, where the coal smog was sometimes so thick he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, even with his headlamp on.

“There were a lot of times in the winter months that I wouldn’t see daylight. I would go in before daylight and come in after dark,” said Bounds. “When I was diagnosed in 1984 with black lung, it was just a mild case and you always think you can fight this thing and make it better, but instead it gets worse.”

Black lung clinics across Appalachia have shut down due to coronavirus, with doctors insisting patients stay at home and conduct check-ups by phone or internet. New claims for federal black lung benefits and state exams have been put on hold.

“This extra impairment would be enough to kill them which is why we’re trying to be so careful in not having them in the clinic and encouraging them to stay at home, stay away from people so they don’t get it because it would be much more difficult for someone like that to recuperate, if it’s even possible,” said Debbi Wills, a black lung clinic coordinator in West Virginia.

Danny Fouts, a retired coal miner in Beaver, Kentucky who worked in the mines for 23 years and now suffers from black lung disease, has shifted his regular medical check-ups to phone or Skype.

“I’ve never been afraid of anything in my life. This is one time I’m really worried about something,” said Fouts. “If it’s not my immediate family, I don’t want them knocking on my door, I don’t care who it is. I’ve been telling my nieces and nephews to be careful about going outside. They say ‘I have a good immune system’, but I tell them ‘I don’t. Worry about me’.”

Written by: Michael Sainato