Archives: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 29, 2019

UMWA demands OSHA involvement in the investigation of member’s passing

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“The hearts and prayers of the entire UMWA family are with the family of Zack Kromer, a 26-year old member of UMWA Local Union 2291, who was killed on the job on Friday, March 22, 2019 at Advanced Disposal, in McClellandtown, PA.

 “As of today, our safety experts have been denied access by the company to begin our investigation to determine the cause of this tragedy. 

“The response to this incident by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also been severely disappointing. To date, OSHA has only agreed to hold, what they call, a “fact finding mission” and refuse to conduct an investigation on what happened the night of the accident.

“The UMWA is demanding Advanced Disposal permit the union access to the property in order to conduct our own investigation into the cause of the accident. 

“We are also calling on OSHA to do its job and conduct a thorough investigation on this preventable tragedy. We will not rest until the cause is understood so that it never happens again.

“It is shocking to see an agency that is charged by law with ensuring workers’ safety be so indifferent about protecting the lives of the American workforce.

“The family of Brother Kromer deserves better, and we will continue to raise this issue at every level of government until OSHA steps up and does what it is supposed to do.”

UMWA International Secretary-Treasurer Levi Allen also released the following statement concerning the events that have taken place in the last week. 

“I would just echo that, it is shameful that we have to turn to the court of public opinion to demand justice when a government agency, whose very existence has come about through the blood of working men and women, dishonors the working life of a 26 year old man and leaves a family to question why he is not worthy of a full investigation as to the cause of his tragic and untimely death.”  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 29, 2019

United Mine Workers of America, International Union President Cecil E. Roberts encourages the membership of the UMWA and all Americans to take time to honor the women and men who served their country in the Vietnam War.

“From November 1, 1955 until April 30, 1975 over 2.7 million young men and women left their homes and this Country to serve in the Vietnam War.  In that time, 58,202 of these brave Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation.  While the names of each can be seen on the granite wall in Washington, DC, it does not tell the story of the lives they lived, the people they loved or the men and women they may have become.  They were husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, uncles, aunts, sisters and brothers, they were the children and young adults of proud parents who dreamed of them changing the world one day.  Today they are remembered as the soldier, the sailor, the marine, the airman and nurse who left their home to protect ours.”

“Today there are fewer than 850,000 surviving Vietnam Veterans.  That is less than one-third of the total number who served.  Unfortunately, with the aging of the individuals, the effects of Agent Orange exposure and the physical and emotional trauma these veterans have experienced they suffer a mortality rate far greater than the general public.  With an estimated 390 Vietnam Veterans passing each day there will be few, if any alive in just 10 years.”

“March 29, 2019 is designated as National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day with ceremonies to be held across the Country.  March 30, 2019 is designated as West Virginia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day, a ceremony is scheduled at the State Capitol in Charleston.  I would ask everyone who is able to make every effort to attend one of the services.”

“As a Vietnam Veteran myself, I know first-hand the pride and honor of serving my Country in that war and the unrest and heartache that Vietnam Veterans experienced upon their return home.  The men and women, who sacrificed so much to defend the principles of our Nation during the Vietnam War, never got a parade or a formal welcoming home ceremony.  They were not hailed as heroes for serving in southeast Asia, as other returning Military Veterans were in past wars.  But it is never too late to honor their service.  It is never too late to welcome them home.  And it is certainly never too late to show respect to these Veterans as a citizen of a grateful Nation.  I would encourage everyone to attend a Vietnam Veterans Day service in their community.”

President Roberts will be at the Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on March 30, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. to offer his remarks in honor those who served in the Vietnam War.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 15, 2019

[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] The entire membership of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is mourning the passing of Mrs. Evelyn Roberts, mother of UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts. Mrs. Roberts passed away February 19, 2019 and was laid to rest on February 22.

She was born in Eskdale, W.Va., on July 7, 1919, and lived her entire life in the coalfields of West Virginia. She was the daughter, wife and mother of coal miners.

She was married to Cecil, her beloved husband of 68 years, before his passing in December, 2007 at the age of 91. Together they raised three children: Becky, Cecil and Lucille. Before marrying Cecil, Evelyn spent a majority of her time working with her grandmother, the legendary Mother Blizzard, a union activist and a close friend of Mary Harris “Mother” Jones. She is also the niece of Bill Blizzard, who led the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike of 1912 and also led the miners at the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921.

After living in a company-owned house for several years, she then moved into the house that Cecil built for the family. Cecil used lumber from the company house they previously lived in to build the home, and she lived there for 60 years. In an interview in 2017, she said she was proud to be a coal miner’s wife. Her husband started working in the mines at age 16 and was a miner for 48 years. She also stated she’s been provided a good life because of the United Mine Workers of America. Evelyn was an Associate Member of the UMWA.

Donations may be made to UMWA Miners Aid Fund, 18354 Quantico Gateway Drive, Suite 200, Triangle, VA 22172 to the attention of Bob Scaramozzino.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 8, 2019

[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“A rogue group of members of the West Virginia House of Delegates has introduced resolutions to remove or censure Del. Mike Caputo for actions taken during a protest against a racist display sponsored by the West Virginia Republican Party last week. These resolutions serve to only ratify the racism so clearly demonstrated in the Capitol Rotunda.

“Mike has apologized for losing his temper, but no one should ever apologize for standing up against racism and religious intolerance. This attempt to punish him for doing so is an affront to the ideals that make our country what it is.

“The UMWA will not stand for this, and we call on all Delegates, regardless of party affiliation, to oppose the resolutions that could come before the House today. West Virginia – and indeed our nation and the world – is watching. Which side of history does the House of Delegates wish to be on?”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 2, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2019

[TRIANGLE, VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“As the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Westmoreland Coal draw to a close, I want to make sure our active and retired members and their families who are affected by this bankruptcy are up to date with where we are.

“We have negotiated a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the buyer of the Kemmerer and Beulah mines. However, we have not reached final agreement with the seller of those mines on funding for retiree health care going forward. Judge David Jones did order Westmoreland to set aside $6 million for retiree health care, meaning retirees do not have to worry about their immediate health care needs. But that is not enough to make it through the year, so negotiations are ongoing.

“When a final agreement on retiree health care is reached, the union will bring the tentative agreement before the membership for an explanation and a ratification vote. We expect this to occur by March 15, pending further rulings from the court.

“Regardless of how much money we are able to secure for retiree health care going forward, it will not be enough to provide the lifetime benefits that retirees earned and were promised. That is why we have worked with our allies in Congress to introduce House Resolution (HR) 934, the Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019, and Senate Bill 27, the American Miners Act. These bills will put Westmoreland retirees’ health care under the umbrella of the UMWA Health and Retirement funds and will provide lifetime coverage.

“I urge all active and retired UMWA members at all former Westmoreland operations, their families, friends and community leaders to contact their members of Congress and urge that they support HR 934 and S. 27. The promise must be kept to all retired UMWA miners, their dependents and widows.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2019

[TRIANGLE, VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

            “National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting recently ran a generally excellent investigative story on the rise of coal workers pneumoconiosis, or Black Lung, in America’s coalfields. It was an in-depth piece that went beyond the normal reporting on the issue.

            “However, there was one part of the story that contained an inaccurate statement from Ms. Celeste Montforton, a former employee of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), regarding the UMWA’s position on developing regulations to curtail coal mine dust, including quartz and silica. She said that she “thinks” the union resisted promulgating such regulations. That statement is false.

“The Union has never take such a position. We have always forcefully argued that exposure to silica, quartz and all other coal mine dust must be controlled through all environmental and technological means available if we are to successfully eradicate pneumoconiosis. I have written a letter to NPR asking that they correct their reporting on this point (see letter here).

            “Due to the nature of this erroneous statement and the need to ensure that the UMWA’s consistent strong advocacy for miners’ health and safety is not besmirched by Ms. Montforton’s statement, I have decided to make our letter public. I look forward to discussing this with NPR, getting the correction made and moving on.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“House Bill 2875, introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates last week, is one of the most outrageous attempts to slash critical protections for miners’ safety and health on the job that I have ever seen. The sponsors and co-sponsors of this bill should be ashamed of themselves for kowtowing to the will of some coal operators who care more about the coal than they do about the coal miners.

“This bill would drastically reduce safety inspections in the mines and take away inspectors’ enforcement powers, it would remove the right for a representative of the miners to travel with the inspector during his or her inspection and it would remove all of the state’s underground ventilation laws. It would make serious reductions to the amount of time new, inexperienced miners would need to be supervised by an experienced miner, exposing those new miners to dangerous conditions they are unprepared for.

“Let’s get the facts straight: West Virginia has led the nation in coal mining fatalities for the last seven years in a row. Now is not the time for the state to even be considering reducing safety enforcement and putting new miners in needless danger. West Virginia lawmakers can make improvements to the state’s health and safety laws without acting as mere puppets for the industry.”

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