Archives: Press Release

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

 

UMWA Responds to Closing of RemArms LLC Ilion Plant

[TRIANGLE, VA] Commenting on the notice from RemArms, LLC, that it intends to close its Ilion, NY plant, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“It is extremely disappointing to hear that RemArms LLC is closing its Ilion plant. The workers in Ilion enabled RemArms to rise from the ashes of the Remington Arms bankruptcy in 2020-21. Without these workers and their dedication to producing the best firearms in the world, this company simply would not exist.

“Our members, the community, local political leaders, and the UMWA worked tirelessly to keep this facility open and to return the workers to the jobs they have had for over 100 years. The RemArms Ilion plant is the birthplace of America’s oldest gunmaker, which first started making guns there in 1816.

“This announcement by the company is a slap in the face to all of them. The timing adds insult to injury for those affected. Merry Christmas from RemArms. 

“The simple fact is that RemArms will never be able to match the experience and dedication of the workers in Central New York, who for generations worked in this plant and kept this company alive.

“We urge RemArms LLC to reconsider this decision and explore alternative solutions that would allow the Ilion plant to remain operational. The extensive cleanup for abandoning this plant could potentially cost the town of Ilion and the state of New York a massive amount of money.

“As the affected workers and their families face an uncertain future, the UMWA rallies behind them, offering support and solidarity. The UMWA is committed to exploring all legal avenues to keep these union jobs where they belong, in Ilion, New York. Together, we will continue to fight for justice and the preservation of their jobs.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 20, 2023

 

UMWA Career Centers Receives $750,000 in Foundation Funding to Train Dislocated Miners

[RUFF CREEK, PA.] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) announced today that the UMWA Career Centers, Inc. (UMWACC), has received commitments from several foundations that will unlock a federal Build Back Better grant enabling the UMWACC to recruit and train more than 500 dislocated miners and others in southwestern Pennsylvania for jobs in the robotics industry.

“This is a critical first step in rebuilding coalfield communities by providing training for those who have been impacted by the closure of coal mines,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “This training can provide a pathway to high-quality jobs and a career in a new and growing industry, and can replace the income and benefits miners and their families lost over the last several years when their mines closed.

“This would not have happened without the active support of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm,” Roberts said. “She committed to working with us to help provide resources for the UMWACC facility in Ruff Creek and never wavered in that commitment. I also want to thank Assistant to the President John Podesta, who worked tirelessly to get this over the finish line.

“We appreciate very much the commitments made by the Heinz Endowments, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the Just Transition Fund and the Climate Jobs National Resource Center to provide $750,000 in matching funds to the UMWACC,” Roberts said. “These matching funds unlock $2.9 million in federal funding over the next three years for this training, and it could not come at a more critical time.  

“I also want to thank Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) for his commitment to the UMWACC,” Roberts said. “He has worked for years to ensure that the Career Centers continues to be the premier training center for dislocated miners and their families in the United States.”

“There remains an incredible amount of work to do to meet the need for good-paying union jobs for those who have been and will be impacted by the ongoing energy transition,” Roberts said. “We appreciate all those who contributed to making this happen today, but we cannot forget that we have by no means come close to addressing the larger issues here.”

The UMWACC was established in 1996 and has trained more than 19,000 dislocated miners and spouses, placing them into careers ranging from health care to heavy equipment operators to engineering. Changes in the way federal job retraining funds are allocated have hampered the ability of the UMWACC and other private nonprofit training centers to receive federal grants. The UMWACC was on the verge of closing the doors of its state-of-the-art facility in Ruff Creek because it could not receive the Build Back Better grant until the matching funds were secured.

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

United Mine Workers endorses Casey for re-election in Pennsylvania

[UNIONTOWN, PA.] The National Council of the United Mine Workers of America Coal Miners Political Action Committee (COMPAC) has endorsed Bob Casey for re-election to the United States Senate, the union announced today.

            “We are proud to endorse a strong leader who has been a friend of coal miners his entire career,” said UMWA President Cecil E. Roberts. “Bob Casey’s roots are in coal country in eastern Pennsylvania. His heart has always been with miners, their families and their communities.

            “Senator Casey was a fierce advocate for preserving our retirees’ health care and pensions, and because of his leadership tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians have those benefits today,” Roberts said. “There are many, many people who are alive today because he took on that fight and won. We can never thank him enough for that.”

            Senator Casey has also been a leader in the fight to improve health and safety conditions in America’s mines, especially with respect to eliminating the scourge of Black Lung for future miners and improving the ability of those who have the disease to get the benefits they deserve. “Senator Casey has held hearings, he has introduced legislation, he has stood on the floor of the Senate and advocated to keep miners safer and healthier at work. We could not ask for a better advocate for our members, both active and retired.”

The National Council acted upon the recommendation of the union’s Pennsylvania State COMPAC Committee. “Endorsements come from the bottom up in our union,” Roberts said. “This is a reflection of the strong support our members in Pennsylvania have for Senator Casey. They are ready to get out and work for his re-election, and that’s exactly what we will do.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

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

“The prayers of the entire UMWA family are with the family and co-workers of our Brother, United Steelworkers (USW) International President Tom Conway, who passed away today.

“Tom was my friend. I served on the AFL-CIO Executive Council with Tom and he was an inspirational leader who was always in the forefront of the fight to better workers’ lives. He was an organizer, a negotiator, and in many ways a trailblazer who cared about his union, its members and their families.

“Our heartfelt condolences go to our brothers and sisters at the USW for their loss. Our hearts are with them on this dark day.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

 

[TRIANGLE, VA.] Commenting on the announcement that Michael Bloomberg is donating $500 million to fund a campaign to prematurely close every coal-fired power plant in the United States, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

 

            “Michael Bloomberg has coal miners, their families and their communities in his sights once again. Not satisfied to have killed tens of thousands of their jobs in the last decade, devastating families and communities throughout America’s coalfields, he and the environmental groups who do the actual dirty work for him have decided the time has come to wipe them all out for good.

 

            “The United States and much of the world are in an energy transition, the devastating cost of which is placed squarely on the backs of traditional energy workers and their families. The UMWA has proposed ways to accomplish a true transition that changes that dynamic and does not leave these workers behind.

 

“We have worked with responsible parties inside and outside of government in an effort to move forward while protecting our members, their families and their communities. They agree with us that there will be no justice in this transition unless workers and their families are put first.

 

            “But Mr. Bloomberg’s announcement makes no mention of what will happen to the workers and their families. It makes no mention of the devastation he has already brought to Appalachia and elsewhere, which he is now doubling down on. He makes no provision to help workers by providing training opportunities or incentives for new job creation in the coalfields.

 

            “That comes as no surprise, because he has never respected workers or their families in his entire career. But he, and the organizations he is funding, can rest assured that we and our allies inside and outside the labor movement will fight back. We do not have $500 million to throw around, but we do have the faces and voices of hard-working American families whose lives and livelihoods are at even greater risk today.”