Archives: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 18, 2018

[HOUSTON, TX.] Six active and retired workers from Westmoreland Coal Company’s Kemmerer mine traveled here to witness today’s hearing in the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Texas as the company’s lawyers argued for bonuses to be paid to high-paid executives of the bankrupt company.

            “It’s an outrage that Westmoreland is seeking to provide bonuses to a few salaried executives while demanding that hourly workers take cuts in wages, health care and retiree benefits,” said United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts. “They want to reward the very people who drove Westmoreland into bankruptcy while kicking the workers – the ones whose sweat and blood have provided decades of wealth to the company – to the curb.

            “As unfair as that is, the truth is they will probably get their bonuses, because American bankruptcy laws are stacked against workers and in favor of executives and the company’s lenders,” Roberts said. “The executives of this company have already received enormous bonuses in the last year, at the same time they were steering Westmoreland into bankruptcy.

“And now they are to be rewarded for that?” Roberts asked. “As far as I am concerned U.S. Bankruptcy Courts have become little more than venues for official corporate looting at the expense of working and retired Americans.”

            The miners, from Westmoreland’s mines in Kemmerer, Wyo., and Beulah, N.D., volunteered to make the trip to demonstrate to the court that although the proceedings are far from the company’s mines, the hourly employees are watching what is happening.

“This is about our lives,” said Martin Argyle from Kemmerer. “I’ve worked at that mine for 45 years. I earned my health care, and now when I need it the most Westmoreland wants to take it away from me. I don’t know how I’ll survive without it.”

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 18, 2018

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

            “The news story from NPR and Frontline this morning about a new epidemic of Black Lung among coal miners was well done, but it failed to drive home who the real culprits are for the rise of this insidious workplace disease: The coal companies that chose to break the law and ignore the respirable dust standards in place over the last 30 years.

            “The fact that younger miners are getting this disease is especially damning to the industry, because it shows that even in the last decade or less, a large number of coal operators chose to put their employees’ lives at risk simply to be able to mine coal faster. That is criminal, and the perpetrators of this crime should be locked up.

            “It takes three things for a mine to be consistently operated in a safe and healthy manner: First, a company that is willing to follow the law; second a government that is willing to enforce the law; and third, a workforce that is empowered to speak up for itself about health and safety issues in the mine. When any one of those three things are missing, miners are at risk. When they are all missing, as was the case in the mines NPR/Frontline cited in its story, miners die.

            “For the National Mining Association to say that it ‘can’t be responsible for what happened in the past’ is outrageous. The industry must be held responsible, because if they had followed the law in the first place there would not have been excessive dust in the mine atmosphere.

            “This report comes at a critical time, as the contributions the companies make to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund are about to be cut by more than half at the end of the year. This will cause the deficit in that Fund to skyrocket, sticking taxpayers with a bill that the companies should continue to be responsible for.

            “No coal company has gone out of business because it pays an extra 55 cents in contributions on every ton of coal it mines to that Fund. It is clear that the need for this fund will be long-lasting as younger miners are afflicted with Black Lung because their employers chose to not follow the law. Now is not the time to cut back on coal company contributions to this Fund.  

    ​       “This is a problem that is caused by coal companies and should be paid for by those same coal companies, not taxpayers. Congress must act quickly, before the end of the year, to extend the current contribution rates for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.” 

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

“I am deeply troubled by the statements made by some, including at least one incoming member of the House of Representatives, that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) should be prevented from taking the position of Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“As a West Virginian, I find such opposition insulting. We just reelected Sen. Manchin to a new term of office, and we expect him to be offered the exact same rights as any other Senator. We are no less American citizens than residents of any other state, including New York, and our Senators and Representatives have the same rights to hold committee leadership positions as any other Senator or Representative from any other state does.

“Further, I am extremely disappointed that some of those newly elected to the House of Representatives would insert themselves into what is a procedural issue in the Senate. I’m wondering if they don’t really understand the bi-cameral nature of Congress. They have exactly zero input into who should be doing what in the Senate.

“But before they started insulting a good Senator and all the people of the state he represents, they should have taken the time to come to West Virginia, meet the people here and find out what our communities and our lives are actually like. We may not be as tech-savvy or fashionable as the people of New York City, but we are Americans just the same. We have hopes and dreams for ourselves and our kids just like people everywhere do. And we elected Sen. Manchin to represent us because he reflects who we are.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

[TRIANGLE, VA.] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) yesterday filed a complaint in the United States District Court for Southern District of West Virginia, charging that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) unlawfully released Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC’s Affinity Mine from MSHA’s Pattern of Violations (POV) status in August.

The Complaint charges that, “Defendants are in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for unlawfully ignoring the statutory and regulatory requirements for terminating a POV Notice and replacing it with another process that was not created by Congress or otherwise properly promulgated.”

MSHA placed the Affinity mine on POV status on October 24, 2013, because of a long record of significant safety violations.  POV is an enforcement tool that enables MSHA to increase regulatory scrutiny at a mine with a long history of serious safety and health violations. For a mine to be released from POV status, Congress mandates that there must be a full inspection of the mine in which no Serious and Substantial (S&S) violations are found. That was not the case prior to Affinity being released from POV status.

“When MSHA announced it was releasing the Affinity mine from POV status, we immediately questioned that decision,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “The agency did not follow the law as clearly spelled out by Congress when it enacted the POV enforcement tool as part of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Act of 1977 (Mine Act).

“We filed this complaint because this decision by MSHA is a direct threat to miners’ health and safety anywhere in the United States,” Roberts said. “Mines that are not operated safely deserve the extra scrutiny they get under POV status, and management needs to prove that it can operate safely before that status is lifted. But that is not what happened here. If the agency can flagrantly ignore the law and lift POV status at Affinity and get away with it, then it will do so again. We want to make sure that cannot happen.”

The UMWA’s complaint asks that the Court declare that MSHA’s actions violates the Plaintiff’s rights under the APA and the Mine Act, that it issue a writ to compel MSHA to take all appropriate action to enforce Section 104(e) of the Mine Act by enforcing the POV Notice at Affinity Mine, and that it set aside as unlawful MSHA’s action in terminating the POV Notice at Affinity Mine.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

 

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

            “As we mark the 100^th anniversary of Veterans Day this weekend, it is not enough to merely thank the millions of veterans who surround us in every community for their service to our country. We must honor their willingness to put their lives on the line to protect the very freedoms we hold dear.

            “They protected our freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom to vote for the candidates of our choosing, freedom to support or criticize our leaders without fear of retribution and freedom to worship as we choose, to name just a few. They took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and that is exactly what they did.

            “On Memorial Day, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for America. But we cannot let Veterans Day pass without pausing to reflect on what their sacrifice means to us, and how their loss will affect their families forever. Those of us who came home know that we might not have, which makes remembering our brothers and sisters who did not survive all the more painful.

             “Veterans Day is a time of remembrance and giving thanks to those who had the courage and fortitude to defend us all. So let us bow our heads and say a prayer today for all our veterans, of whatever era. They have earned it, and so much more.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

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

“The ruling issued on Friday by the West Virginia Supreme Court that limits the ability of miners who are suffering from Black Lung to file workers compensation claims is a travesty. The new majority on the Court threw out decades of settled law and clear legislative intent in an outrageous ruling that demonstrates a callous disregard for human suffering, especially at a time when black lung is on the rise among miners of all ages.

“One only has to read Justice Margaret Workman’s dissent to understand just how far removed from traditional West Virginia values this ruling is. She said, ‘…Today’s opinion is an extreme departure from the long-standing rule of law firmly established in the management of Occupational Pneumoconiosis (OP) claims. The majority is way too eager to radically rewrite West Virginia Code….with far-reaching and grotesquely unfair consequences. It demonstrates either an ignorance of the law or a callous disregard for those who suffer from OP. While the majority claims to be against judicial activism, apparently it will make exceptions as its agenda requires.’

“We now have a clear understanding of what kind of rulings to expect from newly-appointed Justices Armistead and Jenkins. This ruling demonstrates just how important it is for working West Virginians, especially those miners who have contracted black lung or believe they will need black lung benefits in the future, to vote on Tuesday for Justices of the Supreme Court who will stand up for them.

The choices could not be more clear. Joanna Tabit and Jeff Kessler have the UMWA’s endorsement because they have the people’s interests at heart. Tim Armistead and Evan Jenkins have the big corporations and insurance companies interests at heart. West Virginia working families must keep that in mind as they head to the polls on Tuesday.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 2, 2018 

 

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

 

“I was highly disappointed to learn that Gov. Jim Justice (R), passed up a strongly qualified candidate with decades of experience in protecting miners on the job when he announced his selections to head the West Virginia Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training (OMSHT) today.

 

“Carl Egnor has all the qualifications to lead that office, and do so in a way that puts miners’ safety and health in the forefront of every activity the office undertakes. But that’s clearly not the kind of person the mine operators, apparently including the Governor, want in that position or any of the other leadership positions in that office.

 

“The operators have spent the last several years trying to neuter the OMHST, by taking away all its enforcement powers and firing all its inspectors. I don’t think they will be happy until they have rolled back every safety law in the state to the days when miners were being killed by the hundreds every year.

 

“We can only hope that the Governor and those who are pulling the strings allow the OMSHT to continue doing its work to protect miners. I can promise this: the thousands of miners the UMWA represents in West Virginia will continue to have the protection of our Local Union Safety Committees and our collective bargaining agreement. And we offer those same protections to miners who choose to join our union, because they are going to need it.”

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 18, 2018

 

Digital effort for Manchin and Ojeda also launched

[CHARLESTON, W.VA.] Television spots sponsored by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) began running today on broadcast and cable outlets in four West Virginia media markets in support of the re-election of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin. The $360,000 buy was reserved last May.

In addition to the TV spots, the union this week began a digital campaign in support of Manchin and State Senator Richard Ojeda, who is running for the U.S. House in West Virginia’s 3^rd District.

“UMWA members and all coal miners have no better friend in the Senate than Joe Manchin,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “He led the fight in the U.S. Senate to preserve health care for 22,600 retirees, and he is leading the fight to preserve our retirees’ pensions. And contrary to what some say, the truth is that Joe Manchin has fought harder than anyone in Washington to preserve coal jobs and coal communities.

“Richard Ojeda comes from a long line of UMWA members, and he is a decorated combat veteran.  He understands the tremendous issues facing active and retired coal miners and their communities. He is part and parcel of those communities, and his take-no-prisoners approach is exactly the kind of attitude that is needed in Washington these days. We are proud to support him.”

The TV spots can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrcXDP9se4t3KIeQa3jbrA

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 16, 2018

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

“Mission Coal’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday in Alabama makes it the second coal company in two weeks to seek such protection from the courts. Once again, a company is going into court seeking to shed its debts and restructure itself on the backs of its workers and retirees.
“Mission seeks to throw out the collective bargaining agreement for active workers and eliminate its obligations to retirees who put their lives and their health on the line every day, working underground so that the owners of those mines could make billions of dollars. Neither the miners nor the retirees did anything to cause this bankruptcy, but they will be expected to give up the most nevertheless.

“We have hired counsel in Alabama to assist our legal team in the bankruptcy proceedings. We are sending letters to every active and retired member at all Mission locations explaining what to expect in these proceedings, and we will be holding meetings with them in the near future. We unfortunately have gained a lot of experience in bankruptcy over the last six years. We know what is coming and what it is going to take to fight this battle.

“Lastly, I want to make sure that the UMWA’s message to Mission Coal is crystal clear: We will do whatever we need to do to preserve these jobs as union jobs, and we will never stop fighting to see that our retired members get the benefits they have earned.”

Note: Mission Coal operates two mines, the Oak Grove mine in Bessemer, Alabama and the Pinnacle mine in Pineville, West Virginia. Both mines have preparation plants attached to them. The Pinnacle mine is preparing to cease operations soon, the Oak Grove mine is expected to continue to operate during the bankruptcy proceedings.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 1, 2018

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

“The recent release of the Affinity mine, operated by Pocahontas Coal Company in Raleigh County, W.Va., from the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) Pattern of Violations (POV) status is a dangerous step in the wrong direction for America’s coal miners. And it violates MSHA’s own rules of procedure for releasing mines from POV oversight.

“Affinity had a long history of ignoring safety and health regulations leading up to its placement on POV status in 2013, including two fatal incidents within two weeks in February, 2013. Since it was placed on POV, there continued to be hundreds of Significant and Substantial (S&S) violations at the mine – 261 to be exact.

“In just 2018, Affinity was cited 36 times for S&S violations, including failing to maintain mobile and stationery machinery ‘in safe operating condition’ just six days before the POV was lifted. That is not the hallmark of a mine doing everything it can to keep workers safe.

“Let me be clear: Every rule, every regulation in the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act is written in the blood of a dead or injured miner. If a rule is there, it is because someone was injured or killed on the job before that rule was written. S&S violations are some of the most serious violations of the law that can occur in a mine. Pretending they are otherwise puts miners at severe risk.

“MSHA’s release of the Affinity mine from POV status appears to violate Section 104(e)(3) of the Mine Act, which states that before a POV can be lifted from a mine, that mine must undergo an inspection of the entire mine with no S&S violations. There is no evidence that MSHA conducted such an inspection at the Affinity Mine. We sent the agency a letter more than two weeks ago asking what the legal basis was for this mine being taken off POV but have yet to receive a response.

“This is a dangerous precedent for American coal miners, one that must be reversed immediately. Not only should the Affinity mine be put back on POV status until it can meet the requirements for being relieved of that status, but MSHA and the Department of Labor must never violate their own standards again.

“POV status is there for a reason. It demonstrates that miners at a particular mine are being put at serious risk of severe injury or death, and strong action is needed to protect them. Failure to enforce such basic and critical safety and health regulations sends a message to America’s coal miners that the federal government has forgotten that most precious resource in the mine is the miner, not the coal.”

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