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Black Lung Association members inquire about pension solution

Source: The Register-Herald

Publishing Date: September 6, 2017

Many thank you’s were extended Wednesday morning from members of the Black Lung Association to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., for her support of the Miners’ Protection Act, which allowed United Mine Workers to keep their health insurance.

But after the pleasantries were exchanged with Capito’s field representative, a fourth generation coal miner asked, “What’s the status of our pension?”

Ricky Coalson, a man who spent 37 and a half of his 60 years underground, said he was glad health care was addressed first.

“I have black lung, heart trouble and back trouble,” Coalson said as the overhead light reflected on his salt and pepper hair. “I take nine pills a day.”

His wife of 41 years, Kathy, also has health concerns.

“She takes about five pills a day. We really didn’t know what we were going to do if we lost coverage.”

The Coal City man is thankful for the peace of mind the Miners’ Protection Act has offered his family. But now, his attention is turned to his pension, as he and his wife are on a fixed income.

He said he’s not greedy by any means, but he wants what was promised to him and others who made sacrifices to help power the nation.

“When I went into the mines, I knew my health would pay the price. But I knew I’d have good benefits and my family could live good.”

His great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father were all coal miners before him. He followed in their footsteps, but he urged his son to take another path.

“He asked me about going into the mines. I told him I’d rather him not. He drives a tractor-trailer.”

Coalson said he and his fellow miners have been told they could see a resolution for their pensions by 2021.

He said they’ll continue working with Capito and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. They’ll also continue calling other senators asking for their support.

“I just ask them to give us what was promised. The president promised it back in the ’50s that we would have hospitalization and pension for doing such dangerous work.”

Without his pension, Coalson said his finances will be thrown for a loop.

“We’ll have to figure out ways to redo it. We’ll make it, don’t get me wrong, but it’ll put us in a bind. We would lose almost $1,100 a month.”

Capito’s field representative Todd Gunter said senators are working on a solution.

“We’ve received a lot of phone calls from UMWA workers in the last three weeks,” Gunter said. “Capito and Manchin are working on that.”

He added, “Health care was a heavy lift, and the pensions are going to be a heavy lift, but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

Manchin introduced the Miners Pension Protection Act in May, which would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to transfer funds in excess of amounts needed to meet obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan to prevent its insolvency.

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, but has not yet been brought to a vote.

— Email: wholdren@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @WendyHoldren

Union miners look to future with determination at annual picnic

Source: Charleston Gazette-Mail

Publishing Date: September 4, 2017

RACINE, W.Va. — Even though their years in the coal mines of Southern West Virginia are well in the past, Jerry Bell and Curtis Akers said Monday they still worry about the future of miners who don’t have the advocacy of a union.

Bell, of Logan, and Akers, of Boone County, stood under a tent at the 79th annual United Mine Workers of America Labor Day Celebration on Monday. They listened to speeches from politicians and music from across the state while they discussed the past work and future battles in their ongoing war to secure wages, health care, retirement and overall well-being in the Mountain State.

“Right now, we’ve been having a big battle for years about our health care,” Bell said. “We were promised health care back in 1946 from the government, and through a series of calamities, they were cutting a lot of people off. We kept fighting for it. Now, we’ve got health care, but the battle’s not over.”

About 1,000 union members, their families and local and state politicians came to John Slack Memorial Park, in Racine, as part of the annual celebration that is equal parts friendly reunion and campaign event, said Boone County Circuit Clerk Sue Ann Zickafoose.

“They come to talk about the industry, about mining,” Zickafoose said. “They talk about being unionized. What I think people take away from this is that they have better days ahead of them. They’ve got a hopeful voice about them.”

Zickafoose said this year’s crowd was on the smaller side, since it’s not an election year. She also attributed lower union membership from the downturn in the coal industry and the expansion of non-union mines.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that union participation nationwide decreased by 0.4 percent between 2015 and 2016. About 866,000 people worked in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industries in 2015, and that number decreased to 765,000 in 2016, according to the bureau’s statistics. The number of union members in those industries decreased by 4,000 in the same time frame.

Longtime union brothers Danny White of Varney (left) and Phillip Justice of Gilbert catch up during Monday’s annual United Mine Workers’ Labor Day barbecue, at John Slack Memorial Park, in Racine, Boone County. Credit: F. BRIAN FERGUSON | Gazette-Mail

Brian Lacy, international representative for the UMW, said the downturn of unions in West Virginia is connected to the passage of prevailing wage and right-to-work laws by the West Virginia Legislature in 2015.

“[Right-to-work] is designed to divide membership and try to weaken labor organizations,” Lacy said. “They pretty it up with a pretty slogan and make it sound like they’re out there fighting for workers’ rights, but really, it’s the opposite.”

Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, described the picnic as being part of Boone County’s heritage, and he also brought up the prevailing wage and right-to-work laws.

“All the things organized labor feels is necessary basically is gone now,” Stollings said. “These people who are working non-union are working for less salary and less benefits.”

Fayette Smith, of Boone County, sat in the shade with her back to the Big Coal River as she talked about how her husband worked in the mining industry. She said she’s concerned about the loss of wages among those working in non-union mines today.

“[The non-union mines] take and bribe these people to work for them, putting money out in front of them,” Smith said. “In the long run, they’re stealing everything they have from them as they get older. Whereas, in the union, it’s the opposite.”

After singing for the crowd, Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said people in the coal mining industry are “good, honest, hardworking people.”

“People like to know that they’re not going to have to declare bankruptcy over being sick,” Pushkin said. “They like to know that, when they go to work, they have a safe workplace. They need a job to go to.”

Smith said she worries about the safety of people, including her son, who work in the mines.

“They’re out there to make money, these non-union mines,” she said. “All of the coal mining industry is for money, but if you don’t have safety, and you keep running through people, pretty soon you’re not going to have workers. They’re going to be gone, because you killed them all.”

There have been 12 mining deaths in the United States in 2017, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and six of those were in West Virginia.

Sen. Richard Ojeda, D-Logan, said it is up to lawmakers to not cave in to threats from lobbyists for the coal industry while working for the rights of union workers.

“Unions are the voice of our working-class people,” he said. “The moment the union loses their voices, we go back to slavery in West Virginia. That’s a fact. Make no mistake about it, when they are successful in doing away with the UMWA and the other unions, then the working person has no voice.”

Reach Lacie Pierson at lacie.pierson@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @laciepierson on Twitter.

UMWA Labor Day Celebration held at Tannehill State Park

Source: Wiat.com CBS 42 News

Publishing Date: September 4, 2017

BESSEMER, Ala. (WIAT) — The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) hosted a Labor Day celebration at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park Monday.

“We think we owe it to the people. It’s an opportunity for the kids to play and have some good music and good food and just enjoy each other,” said Larry Spencer, spokesman for the UMWA.

The event featured games and face painting for children, live music, and free food and drink.

“We just see some of the old friends that we worked with at the mine, Drummond Coal Company, and I enjoy it. We come here nearly every year,” said Noel Shubert, a retired mine worker.

The event is held annually on Labor Day.