UMWA President Rallies Union in Fight to Save Coal Jobs

[Omaha Steve]

Source: V Public

By JESSE WRIGHT

United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts rallied members at a meeting on Wednesday, June 3, in Morgantown. Roberts says the union will fight the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to keep miners employed.

According to Worforce West Virginia, about 11,500 miners have lost their jobs since March of 2012. Almost 2,000 of those layoffs have come since January of this year.

Roberts addressed the current state of the coal mining industry in front of a packed room at the Morgantown Event Center. He painted a picture of miners caught between an industry trying to cut costs and a government that wants to move away from coal.

Patriot Coal Company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than 3 years while Murray Energy announced plans to lay off hundreds of miners.

FULL story & audio at link.



UMWA President Cecil Roberts speaks to a crowd of union members on Wednesday, June 3, at the Morgantown Event Center.
JESSE WRIGHT WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Read more: http://wvpublic.org/post/umwa-president-rallies-union-fight-save-coal-jobs

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R!

that picture tells the story.

[yallerdawg]

2. A divergence of Democratic Party values.

Clean air and reduced green house gases or union jobs?

The security of American energy independence or continued reliance on foreign energy sources?

The rigidity of old industrial economy or the flexibility required of new technology, innovation and globalization?

What should the UMWA be fighting for? What should Democrats be fighting for?

[Omaha Steve]

3. Someday we might get the clean coal technology we keep hearing about

I'm against the Keystone XL pipeline jobs.

[pampango]

4. "... the union will fight the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to keep miners employed."

We understand that the primary concerns of any union are the employment, compensation and working conditions of its members. It is difficult to expect a union to see any 'bigger picture', e.g. CO2 emissions, global climate change, etc. But the Democratic party has to consider both the power and goals of unions and environmental and other goals that we have. "Fighting the EPA" is not a traditional Democratic strategy.

[groundloop]

6. I wonder how many of those miners vote Democratic

I understand and sympathize with union workers who are concerned about their jobs, but I have a hunch that most of these miners are pretty right wing in their voting.

They're in a tough spot, on one hand they need jobs and the safety protections that unions and Democrats normally support. On the other hand the industry they work in is inherently bad for the environment. In an ideal world they could go to work building and servicing clean energy projects such as windfarms.

[jwirr]

7. The Union is working for the people who work there now. America has not moved toward ending

reliance on those jobs and until it does they need to be good jobs. It would be worse if they bring in foreign labor and pay them nothing. That method only helps them maintain the company longer.

In the end climate change will force the companies to either get real clean coal or close down. When that time comes then the workers will have to adjust - in the meantime the company needs to be held accountable for its treatment of its workers.

[marym625]

5. K&R!

I don't think that any group of workers has had the trials and tribulations that coal miners have. And no other group has fought as hard or long as coal miners

We should thank them all the time. Maybe even have a National Coal Miners Appreciation day.

[swilton]

8. If they have to fight for something

why don't they fight for mitigating the damages (to their health and the planet's health) already done by big coal....and while they're at it throw in a fight for green technology kinds of jobs....

This fighting for big coal is digging their graves and those of their grandchildren.