Labor and regional advocates commemorate a pivotal milestone in coal union history.
Blog Archives
The Significance of the Battle of Blair Mountain, 100 Years Later
TAGS: Battle of Blair Mountain Coal labor unions strike UMWA United Mine Workers of America West Virginia West Virginia Mine Wars Museum
Miners Take Black Lung Demands to D.C.
Approximately 150 Appalachian coal miners, widows and their loved ones visited Capitol Hill in July to demand that Congress reinstate a tax rate on coal companies for black lung healthcare and benefits.
TAGS: Black Lung Disability Trust Fund black lung disease coal miners United Mine Workers of America
What is Congress going to do about black lung’s resurgence?
In June, advocates for black lung healthcare testified before Congress and urged them to act on the deadly disease’s resurgence. Donate today to help send coal miners with black lung to D.C. in July to fight for the healthcare they deserve!
TAGS: Black Lung Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Congress Hearing U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration United Mine Workers of America
Miners Pressure Congress for Pension Fix
Dozens of retired coal miners came to the capitol and called on Washington lawmakers to pass legislation to preserve pensions for tens of thousands of retired and working miners.
Bankrupt Westmoreland Coal granted permission to sever worker agreements
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Westmoreland Coal Company can back out of its collective bargaining agreements with current workers and retirees as soon as Feb. 28, putting pensions and health benefits for thousands of people at risk.
Blair Mountain Returns to National Register of Historic Places
The site of West Virginia’s Blair Mountain labor conflict between coal miners and law enforcement was placed back on the National Register of Historic Places after a federal judge ruled its delisting to be unlawful.
TAGS: blair mountain Coal coal miners National Register of Historic Places union United Mine Workers of America
Appalachia’s Political Landscape
The Battle is Over — Has the “War” Just Begun? By Brian Sewell Less than a month after the Nov. 6 elections, Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia announced that in 2014 she would seek the U.S. Senate…
TAGS: 2012 elections Appalachian politics coal employment coalfield politics environmental protections EPA Jay Rockefeller Robert Byrd Shelley Moore Capito United Mine Workers of America War on Coal
In Bankruptcy, Patriot Coal Creates its Legacy | Sacrificing a Historic Landmark to Coal
In Bankruptcy, Patriot Coal Creates its Legacy By Brian Sewell Concerns over how Patriot Coal will meet its commitments to generations of retirees have rippled throughout Appalachia. When the St. Louis-based spin-off of Peabody Coal filed for bankruptcy in July,…
TAGS: bankruptcy Battle of Blair Mountain blair mountain coal employment Hobet Mine Complex National Register of Historic Places organized labor Patriot Coal Peabody Coal pensions Radical Action for Mountain People's Survival United Mine Workers of America
