News Archive - Page 41 of 63 - United Mine Workers of America

UMWA reopen agreement on Murray Energy wages

Source: WV MetroNews

May 20, 2019

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The United Mine Workers of America is reopening the collective bargaining agreement with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association in order to negotiate a wage increase with Murray Energy Corp. properties.

The UMWA said Monday the agreement has been in effect since August 2016 and contains provisions allowing either side to reopen the contract.

All subsidiaries of Murray Energy Crop. signed the agreement.

UMWA President Cecil Roberts said 2,000 active union members with Murray Energy have not had a raise since January 2016.

“They saved the company from going into bankruptcy when they ratified the current agreement, which did not have any wage increases and included modifications in their health care benefits and other provisions, in August 2016,” he said.

“Since that time, their hard work and tremendous productivity have brought Murray back from the financial brink. Today it is a successful, profitable, expanding company. There really should be no impediments to the two sides sitting down and reaching a fair agreement.”

The UMWA said in a statement it contacted the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service about the decision.

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May 8, 2019 Press Release from Senator Manchin’s Office

For Immediate Release:

ICYMI: MANCHIN READS LETTERS FROM WV RETIRED MINERS ABOUT PENSIONS AND HEALTHCARE ON SENATE FLOOR

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) took to the Senate Floor today to read letters from two West Virginians, Richard and Gary. They both rely on their pensions to live in retirement and support their families, pay basic utilities and cover medical expenses.

Senator Manchin shared their stories to urge his Senate colleagues to pass the American Miners Act so that miners across the United States would have secure pensions and healthcare, two programs they were promised when they powered America with coal. Senator Manchin also sent a letter to Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden urging them to bring the American Miners Act to a vote.

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s floor remarks, please click here.

Read Senator Manchin’s letter below:

Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden:

As the Committee continues to consider the extension of various expired tax credits that are critical to businesses and industries across the country, we ask you not to forget the promises made to America’s hard working and patriotic coal miners. Generations of our coal miners have spent years in the darkness providing us with the energy needed to power our lives and to make the steel that we have used to build the greatest nation in the world. Within the tax extenders package, we urge you to include permanent fixes to ensure the solvency of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 1974 Pension Plan, healthcare benefits for the thousands of miners and their dependents who had them stripped away during last year’s bankruptcy proceedings, and an extension of the coal excise tax contribution rate that lapsed at the end of last year, threatening the benefits paid for by the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

On December 19, 2018, a group of us led a bicameral letter to leadership in the House and the Senate requesting that these three critical priorities be included in any end-of-year legislation. On January 3, 2019, we were proud to file the American Miners Act (S. 27) which addresses all of these issues. Today, we request your support for the inclusion of these priorities in the tax extenders package. The UMWA 1974 Pension Plan, started in 1946 under an Executive Order by President Harry S. Truman, constituted a unique federal guarantee to the health and welfare of coal miners. This fund was well managed but because of the 2008 financial crisis and ongoing coal bankruptcies, retired miners are at risk of losing these hard-earned benefits. In the past two years, contributions have dropped by more than $100 million, leaving less than $25 million per year still coming into the Plan. The average UMWA pension is a modest $600 per month, but it is critical to the 87,000 beneficiaries who depend on it. If the Plan collapses, these beneficiaries and their dependents would revert to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). That would destroy the PBGC and leave taxpayers on the hook to foot the bill instead of the private sector companies that made these promises in the first place. If nothing changes, the Plan is on the road to insolvency by 2022. It will happen even sooner if additional bankruptcies ensue. The time to act is now.

Without action, coal company bankruptcies will continue to ravage our coal communities; leaving miners without the benefits they were promised. Because of the 2018 bankruptcies, there are approximately 1,200 miners and dependents who will be left without health care in the coming months.

We must act now to amend the Coal Act and include newly orphaned miners and their families resulting from the 2018 bankruptcies. These proud Americans should never have to choose between going to the doctor and putting food on the table.

Every day that we fail to act is another day that our coal miners struggle to fill their lungs with air because of the devastation of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, caused by the inhalation of coal mine dust. After these miners have dedicated their lives in the coal mines, it is our responsibility to ensure that they have the care and support that they need. We are seeing more and more severe cases of black lung, and we are now seeing it in younger miners who have spent less time in the mines. We urge you to reinstate and extend the coal excise tax contribution rate to $1.10 per ton of underground-mined coal and $0.55 per ton of surface-mined coal for ten years. This tax is critical for supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which more than 25,000 coal miners and their dependents rely on for critical medical treatment and basic expenses.

Our nation’s coal miners have made life-long commitments to provide America with the energy needed to power us into prosperity, risking their lives and health in the process.

Colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of Congress have demonstrated their commitment to our miners. It is time for us to keep our end of the bargain, finish the job, and ensure that these benefits are secured and protected.

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Senator urges protection of benefits

Source: Fayette Tribune

The miners of West Virginia and their families are the heart and soul of the Mountain State. Generations of our patriotic coal miners have spent their lives underground in order to provide our country with energy. They have endured countless years of backbreaking work and they are proud of the role they have played in building our nation into the greatest in the world, but they are at risk of being left behind and I refuse to let that happen. Right now, retired coal miners’ pensions, healthcare, and black lung disability benefits are on the chopping block. It is time for us to keep our promises to them and ensure that these benefits are not lost.

In January of this year, shortly after lawmakers returned to Washington from the holidays and the new Congress began, I immediately introduced the American Miners Act (S. 27) to make sure that our retired miners never lose the pensions, healthcare, and black lung benefits they deserve. Two weeks ago, I urged Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) to include permanent fixes for healthcare, pensions, and the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund in the tax extenders package because it is our responsibility to keep these promises.

The UMWA 1974 Pension Plan, started in 1946 under an Executive Order by President Harry S. Truman, constituted a unique federal guarantee to the health and welfare of our coal miners. This fund was well managed but because of the 2008 financial crisis and ongoing coal company bankruptcies, retired miners are now at risk of losing these hard-earned benefits. In the past two years, contributions into the plan have dropped by more than $100 million, leaving less than $25 million per year still coming into it. The average pension is $600 per month, modest by most standards, but still critical to the 87,000 beneficiaries who depend on it. If this plan collapses, beneficiaries and their dependents would revert to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). That would destroy the PBGC, leaving taxpayers on the hook to foot the bill instead of the companies that made these promises in the first place. If nothing changes, the plan will be insolvent as soon as 2022. It will happen even sooner if any more coal companies file for bankruptcy. The time to act is now.

Without action, coal company bankruptcies will continue to ravage our coal communities. Because of the 2018 bankruptcies, there are approximately 1,200 miners and their families who will be left without health care in the coming months. Every day that we fail to act is another day that our coal miners struggle to fill their lungs with air because of the devastation of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, caused by the inhalation of coal mine dust. We are seeing more and more severe cases of black lung every day, and we are now seeing it in younger miners who have spent less time in the mines. This is why I am urging lawmakers to reinstate and extend the coal excise tax contribution rate to $1.10 per ton of underground-mined coal and $0.55 per ton of surface-mined coal for 10 years. This tax is critical for supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, on which more than 25,000 coal miners and their dependents rely for critical medical treatment and basic expenses.

We have heard from retired miners, their wives, and children. They have shared their fear of being forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying their medical bills. These men and women are not asking for handouts. They only want the benefits they earned through a lifetime of hard work. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of Congress have demonstrated their commitment to our miners. It is time for us to keep our end of the bargain, finish the job, and ensure that these benefits are secured and protected.

Written by: Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV)

Memorial service held for workplace deaths in West Virginia

Source: WSAZ3

April 29, 2019

MARION COUNTY, W. Va. (WDTV) — April 28th is International Workers Memorial day, and the West Virginia A.F.L.C.I.O. held it’s annual Workers Memorial Day event to honor those in West Virginia who lost their lives on the job in 2018.

Dozens gathered at the Farmington number nine mine disaster memorial, where 78 miners died in an explosion in 1968.

United Mine Workers of America president, and featured speaker, Cecil Roberts spoke of the change those Farmington miners made decades ago, and how it helped shape the history of workplace safety that workers all over the country now have rights to.

But even with the occupational health and safety act, promising workers safety on the job, 22 West Virginians lost their lives in workplace incidents last year.

President of West Virginia A.F.L.C.I.O. Josh Sword says that these deaths are still far too many.

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Source: Union Plus

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Senator Mark R. Warner: Fighting for Virginia’s Coal Miners

Source: Warner.Senate.gov

April 26, 2019

Dear Friend,

Throughout my time in the Senate, I’ve made fighting to protect the safety net for Virginia’s retired coal miners one of my top priorities. Unfortunately, some Virginia miners and their families are at risk of losing their benefits if Congress doesn’t act. Working with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, I’ve sponsored a bipartisan bill called the American Miners Act that would protect the pensions and healthcare benefits that miners all across coal country have earned through a lifetime of hard work.

Below you can read my op-ed, published in the Bristol Herald Courier, with more information about the American Miners Act and what I’m doing to fight for these miners and their families in Washington. I hope you’ll give it a read.

If there’s an issue that’s important to you or a question you’d like to ask, I invite you to send me an email and follow my work in the Senate on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Standing up for our retired miners and their families has brought coal state Republicans and Democrats together in the past. Now, once again, it’s time for representatives from both parties to put partisanship aside and go to bat for Virginia’s miners — before it’s too late.

Earlier this year, a federal court allowed the Westmoreland Coal Co., which operated the Bullitt Mine in Wise County, to sever its United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) union contracts with current and former workers. Now, more than 1,200 miners and their dependents around the country, including some 500 here in Virginia, stand to lose their pensions and healthcare coverage.

Frankly, it’s a disgrace that a company can go to court and leave its workers out in the cold, so that the company’s creditors can continue to get paid. We do need to reform our bankruptcy system, but right now my main concern is making sure these miners and their families don’t lose their hard-earned benefits. While these miners have reached a temporary settlement with Westmoreland to extend their health care benefits for a few months, the fact is, they will be left with nothing if Congress does not act soon.

That’s why I’ve teamed up with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to introduce the American Miners Act. This bill would preserve the Westmoreland miners’ pensions and health benefits by making them eligible for benefits under the Coal Act fund — a program for “orphan” miners whose companies are no longer operating.

These are hard working men and women who have endured years of back-breaking work in order to fuel the economic success of our Commonwealth. Now it’s time for the federal government to deliver on the promise it made to our miners.

In 1946, the federal government, under President Truman, made a promise to protect the hard-earned retirement and health care benefits of UMWA miners — to honor their hard work and sacrifice.

This landmark agreement gave America’s miners the security they needed and deserved. Since that time, they’ve worked hard and done everything that has been asked of them.

Now it’s time for the federal government to hold up its end of the bargain — for the Westmoreland miners, and for the thousands of UMWA retirees whose pensions are still in jeopardy.

We are coming up on the two-year anniversary of our bipartisan victory securing healthcare benefits for more than 22,000 miners and their families. This was an important win for coal country, but our work is not done yet. The pensions our miners have earned are still on the chopping block, and recent coal company bankruptcies like Westmoreland’s threaten the progress we’ve made so far.

Passing the American Miners Act will make sure that miners’ healthcare benefits and pensions will be protected going forward.

We also need to recognize that both UMWA and non-union miners across Virginia have experienced hardships, as their families have lost hard-earned benefits. All Virginia miners and their families deserve to be treated fairly and receive the benefits they have earned during their career as miners.

One of the ways we can do this is by making sure we preserve resources for those miners who have developed black lung disease. The American Miners Act strengthens the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which provides critical benefits for thousands of retirees suffering from this deadly disease. Coal miners in Southwest Virginia have been some of the hardest hit by black lung, and Virginia is ground zero for the recent outbreak of advanced cases of the disease known as complicated black lung.

Unfortunately, Congressional Republican leadership allowed a key funding source for the trust fund to expire in December. If we fail to restore funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, miners struggling with this debilitating disease may not have access to the high-quality care they deserve, beginning as soon as next year.

It’s far past time to fix this problem. Our miners have paid their dues and earned their benefits. Now it’s our turn to secure their healthcare and pensions and shore up the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

The President campaigned on a promise to take care of our coal miners, and frankly, so did I. Now is the time for us all to leave our Republican and Democrat hats at the door and work together to get this done. The federal government must not turn its back on a generation of miners who risked their lives and health to fuel our nation.

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UMWA’s President Roberts to speak in Grundy on 30th anniversary of Pittston strike

Source: Dickson Star

April 10, 2019

“Solidarity: The 30th Anniversary of the Pittston Coal Strike” will be the topic of Buchanan County Public Library’s Local History Wednesday Workshop, April 17, 2019 at 2 p.m.

Cecil Roberts, the current president of the United Mine Workers of America, will look back on the Pittston Coal Strike that began in April of 1989. The strike would center around Southwest Virginia, especially Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell Counties.

During the 10-month long strike, Roberts served as the on-the-scene leader and day-to-day negotiator for the union. In addition to sharing his memories of that time, he will offer his insights into the state of the labor movement today and explore the future of the union.

Roberts, a native of Kanawha County, W.Va., has served as president of the UMWA since October of 1995. His length of service as president is second only to John L. Lewis.

The workshops are part of the library’s effort to promote and preserve the history of Buchanan County. All Wednesday Workshops are free and open to the public.

The library is located at 1185 Poe Town Street in Grundy. For more information, please call 276-935-5721 or visit our website at www.bcplnet.org.

United Mine Workers of America gather in Central City to show support against pension crisis

Source: 14News

April 13, 2019

CENTRAL CITY, KY (WFIE) – The United Mine Workers of America gathered in Central City on Saturday to show their support against the ongoing pension crisis.

Both retired and current coal miners sat side-by-side as they heard members running for office tell them they wanted to help.

In just a few years, coal miners will lose their pensions. That means there will be no money for them after they retire from jobs they say they spent most of their lives at.

The UMWA plans to go to Capital Hill sometime this summer to lobby and fight to keep their pensions.

Written by: Aria Janel

The Passing of Brother Maynard Daniel

April 12, 2019

It is with great sadness to relay to you the passing of former District 17 Secretary-Treasurer Maynard Daniel. His wife Lois Jean Daniel was the former secretary for District 30.

Brother Daniel was born February 4, 1932. He passed away at the age of 87 on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The family will be holding two services for Brother Daniel, one for his family in Kentucky and another for his friends and family in West Virginia.

“Brother Daniel was a long-serving elected official of District 17, first as an auditor then eventually the Secretary-Treasurer of the District. Even after his retirement he stayed dedicated to the Union often helping local unions in the area with filing their reporting forms with the federal government,” said President Roberts. “He was a mentor to me after I became Vice President of District 17 in 1977. He was a very dear friend of mine and he will be truly missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.”

Kentucky Service:

Date: Saturday, 4/13/19

Visitation: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Service: 1:00 p.m.

Location: Bluegrass United Church of Christ – 500 Don Anna Drive, Lexington, KY 40511

West Virginia Service:

Date: Sunday, 4/14/19

Visitation 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Service 2:00 p.m.

Location: Armstrong Funeral Home – 39687 Coal River Rd Whitesville, WV 25209

A burial service will follow at the Pineview Cemetery – 21557 Coal River Rd, Orgas, WV 25148

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