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For Immediate Release                                                       

October 3, 2017

 “American Miners Pension Act”

Introduced in Congress Today Will Safeguard Pensions for 100,000+ Coal Miners and Their Families

WASHINGTON  – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives announced today the introduction of the “American Miners Pension (AMP) Act.”  The new legislation would protect the pensions of retired coal miners whose pensions have been placed in jeopardy by an unprecedented wave of bankruptcies by coal producers.

The new legislation, building on a gridlock-busting agreement in May 2017 to preserve health care for retired miners and their families, will safeguard U.S. taxpayers against a multi-billion dollar liability from UMWA 1974 Pension Plan insolvency. It also delivers promised retirement benefits to more than 100,000 miners and family members from every corner of the United States.

“This country has benefited greatly from the work of our coal miners. We’ve delivered cheap electricity all across the United States, and a lot of people and corporations have become extremely wealthy as a result,” said United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts. “As one member of Congress said today, coal miners stand up for America every day.  Now it’s time for America to stand up for coal miners.”

The AMP Act was introduced today at a Capitol Hill news conference by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ).

The legislation is an innovative, cost-saving approach to the ongoing crisis in America’s coalfields, which has resulted in more than 50 bankruptcies and thousands of layoffs.

The UMWA 1974 Pension Plan was 93 percent funded in 2007, but lost more than $2 billion in assets following the 2008 financial crisis. Due to depressed coal markets, company bankruptcies, consolidations and other factors leading to dramatically fewer employer contributions, the plan has not recovered lost assets and is at risk of becoming insolvent by 2022.

The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) backs the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan. If the plan becomes insolvent, the PBGC will face a multi-billion dollar liability, putting U.S. taxpayers on the hook and threatening the solvency of PBGC and creating a problem for others insured by the agency.

The bipartisan AMP Act will safeguard taxpayers with unused funds from the Abandoned Mine Land program and low-interest loans from the U.S. Treasury, with principal and interest paid back over a 30-year term.

Actuarial analyses indicate that the UMWA 1974 Plan would need to take loans for as little as four years before a return to sound financial footing, with the ability to make payments to current and future retirees.

“A secure loan now is a much better deal for taxpayers than a huge liability a few years down the road,” said Roberts. “It’s simple fairness for America’s miners, who were promised security in our retirement years when the pension agreement was first signed in the Truman White House back in1946. Contributions were made by signatory operators on every ton of coal mined and later by the number of hours worked. Now it’s time to redeem that promise.”

The bipartisan group of legislators who introduced today’s legislation also worked successfully earlier this year to assist more then 22,000 retired miners and their families, who were at risk of losing health care benefits.

“Some people think you can’t get anything done in Washington,” said Roberts. “But when our members visit legislators and tell their stories, we find that Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate agree on at least one thing. We can’t turn our back on the men and women who went underground year after to year keeping the lights on for our entire country.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPT. 14, 2017

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

“The UMWA is very pleased by the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday against an amendment to the Department of Labor appropriations bill that would have cut coal mine safety and health enforcement by ten percent.

“I had expressed our concerns regarding this amendment in a letter last week to House members, and asked them to vote no. I am gratified that a majority of the House agreed with our position that we should not be cutting coal mine safety at a time when we are experiencing rising fatalities and serious injuries in America’s mines.

“We stand ready to continue to work with Congress, the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the coal industry to enhance safety. But cutting back on safety and health merely to encourage enhanced production puts miners at risk and should never be allowed. We have lost too many miners to ever forget that the most important resource to come out of a mine is the miner, not the coal.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 11, 2017

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

“Like other West Virginians, I am disgusted by the television ads sponsored by convicted criminal Don Blankenship that have been running in our state the last few weeks. These ads are a desperate, low-life attempt to once again shift the blame for a decade of death, destruction and despair at Massey Energy while Blankenship was CEO.

“The facts are clear: 54 people were killed on Massey Energy property while Don Blankenship ruled that company with an iron fist, 29 of them in the Upper Big Branch mine on April 5, 2010. Don Blankenship was convicted of establishing a scheme to circumvent federal mine safety and health law, thereby putting Massey workers at enhanced risk. The fact that he only served a year in prison remains one of the greatest travesties of justice that I have witnessed.

“Four responsible, professional investigations all agreed as to the cause of the Upper Big Branch disaster: A small pocket of methane gas was ignited at the coal face by improperly maintained equipment. That ignition then set off a much more powerful and deadly coal dust explosion that rocketed to the farthest recesses of the mine and then rebounded back, killing everyone in its path. The primary reason there was enough coal dust available to allow this to happen was because Massey Energy’s subsidiary, Performance Coal, failed to adequately ventilate the mine, failed to remove excess coal dust from the mine and failed to adequately rock dust the mine.

“Don Blankenship, by creating a corporate culture that put production over safety, is responsible for these failures. It is appalling that he continues his despicable attempt to shift the blame from himself, each time ripping open the painful wounds the families of the victims will suffer forever. Although Don Blankenship may not have received the proper punishment in this world, those families can rest assured that he will receive it in the next.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUST 22, 2017

MSHA appointment troubling

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

“The appointment of Mr. Wayne Palmer as Acting Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health is a matter of great concern to us. At a time when fatalities and serious injuries are on the rise again, after having fallen for six consecutive years, the appointment of someone with absolutely no apparent experience in mine safety and health to this position is troubling, to say the least.

“Mr. Palmer may be a fine man and has experience working in the government. But what does he know about float coal dust and its dangers? What does he know about mine inspections and why they are important? What does he know about the need for ventilation, roof control, rock dusting, and a hundred other things that the person in charge of keeping our miners safe and secure needs to know?

“The position of Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health is a very important one for the lives and health of our nation’s miners. It needs to be filled by someone who is an expert in the field, so that miners can have confidence that their government is putting the best people in positions to watch out for them on the job. I am not sure this appointment meets that test.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 28, 2017

UMWA mourns miner killed at Reading Anthracite

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

“The hearts and prayers are with the family of Brother Andrew Oxenrider, 28, a member of UMWA Local Union 1686, who was killed on the job at Reading Anthracite Company in Duncott, Schuylkill County, Pa., yesterday.

This is the tenth fatality in the U.S. coal industry this year, two more than in all of last year. Our safety experts are at the mine today, and are participating with the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the investigation of this terrible tragedy.

Andrew was a new miner with a new family. We ask everyone to keep his family in their prayers as they struggle to cope with this terrible tragedy.”

I want to thank all of those who attended the District Conferences we held in June. At each of the seven conferences, with over 3500 members from 207 local unions in attendance from the United States and Canada, the Executive Board’s Resolution to hold a Special Convention on Nov. 3 and 4 was discussed and resolutions were passed unanimously to support the goals of the convention. Delegates to the convention will vote on ensuring the UMWA has the necessary resources to win our fight to secure lifetime pensions for our retirees.

But even though the Special Convention is only a few months away, we have no time to waste. We must act NOW to convince Congress to uphold its promises to our retirees. We need to take every opportunity we can to put pressure on Congress to do their job and keep the promise made to you and your families. That is why dues-paying retirees who currently receive a pension will get a letter from me in the next few weeks to update you on the status of our fight to preserve what you have earned. The letters include a call for action asking retirees to reach out to your Senators and Representatives and let them know that you expect them to keep their promise.

The delivery of these letters will be staggered, with District 12 receiving the letters first, including all of Kentucky. District 2, 20 and 22 and Ohio members will be next to receive their letters and West Virginia and Virginia members will be last to receive this call to action. The reason we are sending these letters in waves is that we need to extend this contact with Congress over several weeks instead of just a few days.  I will follow up with a robocall to these same members with an update on our progress.

Brothers and Sisters, your voices made a huge difference in our fight to secure retiree health care benefits. That is what will win the pension fight as well. I urge you, when you get the letter please make the call to your Senators and Representatives. Together, we will win this fight!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 5, 2017

[TRIANGLE, VA.]  Levi D. Allen was sworn in today as the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International Secretary-Treasurer, replacing Robert J. Scaramozzino. Allen was sworn in by UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts in a ceremony in the Union’s Boardroom.

“This is the highest honor I could ever have expected to receive,” Allen said. “I am blessed to be able to work on behalf of the membership of this great union, and to work beside a tremendous leader like Cecil Roberts. We have many challenges confronting the members of the UMWA right now, and I pledge to them to do my very best to help overcome those challenges and move the union and its membership forward.”

A native of Moundsville, W. Va., Allen, 36, began his coal mining career in 2007, hiring into the McElroy mine (now the Marshall County mine) as a general inside laborer, working primarily at the coal face. After working as a beltman, he earned his electrician’s card and began working as a Mechanic/Electrician throughout the mine.

Allen was active in Local Union 1638 from his first day at work, and became the Local’s Recording Secretary in 2010. He was elected to the Mine Committee in 2012 and as Local Union President in 2014. He was recognized as a rising talent in the UMWA and was hired by President Roberts onto the International Staff in 2015.

“Levi is exceptionally qualified to be the UMWA’s Secretary-Treasurer,” Roberts said. “He is very intelligent and is a fast learner. His time in leadership roles at his local union gave him a strong grounding in how to deal with the day-to-day issues our members face on the job. I have every confidence that he will be a strong partner for me and a powerful advocate for our members in the years to come.”

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine invites coal mine workers, mine operators, and others to provide their comments on using continuous personal dust monitors (CPDMs) in underground mines. Persons can provide input at an information-gathering meeting on Thursday, June 29 in Morgantown, W. Va.

The ongoing study is assessing the effectiveness of monitoring and sampling approaches that are used to guide decisions about controlling coal mine dust and mine worker exposure. The committee conducting the study will hear from representatives of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on emerging trends in the CPDM data and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on research findings on the respiratory health of coal mine workers, followed by a public comment session.

The open session of the meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 29 at the Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place, 2 Waterfront Place in Morgantown, W. Va.

For more information on the study, click on this link.

For a copy of the meetings agenda, click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 22, 2017

 

UMWA mourns loss of miner in Alabama, steps up safety outreach

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

“The entire UMWA family is mourning the loss of our brother miner, Marius Shepherd, 33, a member of UMWA Local Union 2133, who was killed at the Seneca Coal Resources Oak Grove mine in Hueytown, Ala., on Monday. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and we stand ready to assist them at this terrible time.

“Brother Shepherd died as a result of injuries sustained after leaping from a runaway locomotive underground. Our safety representatives have been on the site since immediately after the incident and are participating in the investigation along with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

“This is the ninth fatality in U.S. coal mines this year, one more than all of last year. All stakeholders in the mining industry – employers, government safety agencies, and workers – need to take steps to stop this deadly trend.

“I note that the Mine Safety and Health Administration has instituted a ‘compliance assistance’ program to address this. The UMWA is not and never has been in favor of so-called ‘compliance assistance’ programs, and this one is no different. MSHA is giving the operators leeway to select who can participate in this program and who cannot. To be effective, MSHA’s program must be training everyone receives. And, despite our 127-year history of dealing with mine safety issues and developing solutions to those issues, MSHA failed to reach out to us at all concerning developing this program.

​ “For our part, the UMWA is preparing to undertake a series of meetings, site visits, and mine inspections at the mines where we represent the workers. This outreach is to bring awareness of these recent accidents and their causes, to ensure training is adequate at the mine, and to give and receive feedback as to how we can prevent any more of these accidents in the future.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 15, 2017

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

“The entire UMWA family mourns the loss of our Brother, Rodney Osborne, who was killed at the Gateway Eagle mine in Boone County, W. Va., yesterday. Our hearts and prayers are with his young family at this most difficult time, and we stand ready to assist them in any way we can.

“Brother Osborne, a member of UMWA Local Union 1503, was just 32 years old. Our safety experts have already been in the mine and examined the area where the incident that took his life occurred. Our team continues to participate in the investigation into this tragedy and we will not rest until we fully understand what happened so that we can prevent it from ever happening again.”