SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Many retired coal miners are suffering a slow and painful death from black lung and other chronic illnesses, while the ailing coal industry still pays its executives multi-million-dollar bonuses. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"The country must not turn its back on coal miners," right-wing Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told constituents in eastern Kentucky last week.
Yet coal miners--many "facing a slow death" from black lung and other deadly illnesses from a lifetime of mining coal--say that McConnell and other Senate Republicans are doing exactly that, the Associated Press reports.
McConnell has been repeatedly blocking a bill that would provide a pension plan and health benefits to about 13,000 retired coal miners in his home state.
By doing so, McConnell places his allegiance with coal barons, and not their workers.
As coal has declined, the ailing industry has been attempting to "jettison all pension obligations to miners" while still giving multi-billion-dollar bonus packages to executives, as Kelly Mitchell of Greenpeace noted earlier this year.
But the legislation in question, the Miners' Protection Act, "would make certain that union retirees who lost healthcare benefits after the bankruptcy or insolvency of an employer are eligible for the benefits," writes West Virginia's Register-Herald.
Because McConnell refused to allow the bill to come to a vote before the October recess, it will not be considered until after the November election.
Meanwhile, coal miners are suffering. AP reports:
"We're dying like flies," said Billy Smith, a coal miner for 39 years who said McConnell's lack of support was difficult to understand, given all the ailments he sees among his fellow retirees in his local union.
[...] Workers like Joseph Holland, a retired union coal miner in Owensboro, said the federal government owes them their pensions and health benefits because of a promise former President Harry Truman made in the 1940s that ended a costly strike. Holland said he believes McConnell is punishing the United Mine Workers of America for endorsing his opponent during the 2014 U.S. Senate race, which McConnell won easily.
"He says he supports coal, but you know no evidence that he's supported the coal miner," Holland said. "It's very frustrating."
Moreover, last week "the Patriot Voluntary Employee Beneficial Association notified about 12,500 retired union coal miners last week that their health benefits would cease on Dec. 31 without congressional action," AP writes.
In response, Hillary Clinton issued a statement supporting the Miners' Protection Act. "Time is running out for Republican leadership to stop playing politics and give the Miners Protection Act a vote," Clinton said. Trump has remained silent on the issue.
As 350.org U.S. divestment campaign manager Jenny Marienau warned after Peabody Coal declared bankruptcy in April: "Make no mistake, the fossil fuel industry is going down, but it won't go down easy. The priority now is to make sure it doesn't take its workers [and] the communities it has impacted with it."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
"The country must not turn its back on coal miners," right-wing Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told constituents in eastern Kentucky last week.
Yet coal miners--many "facing a slow death" from black lung and other deadly illnesses from a lifetime of mining coal--say that McConnell and other Senate Republicans are doing exactly that, the Associated Press reports.
McConnell has been repeatedly blocking a bill that would provide a pension plan and health benefits to about 13,000 retired coal miners in his home state.
By doing so, McConnell places his allegiance with coal barons, and not their workers.
As coal has declined, the ailing industry has been attempting to "jettison all pension obligations to miners" while still giving multi-billion-dollar bonus packages to executives, as Kelly Mitchell of Greenpeace noted earlier this year.
But the legislation in question, the Miners' Protection Act, "would make certain that union retirees who lost healthcare benefits after the bankruptcy or insolvency of an employer are eligible for the benefits," writes West Virginia's Register-Herald.
Because McConnell refused to allow the bill to come to a vote before the October recess, it will not be considered until after the November election.
Meanwhile, coal miners are suffering. AP reports:
"We're dying like flies," said Billy Smith, a coal miner for 39 years who said McConnell's lack of support was difficult to understand, given all the ailments he sees among his fellow retirees in his local union.
[...] Workers like Joseph Holland, a retired union coal miner in Owensboro, said the federal government owes them their pensions and health benefits because of a promise former President Harry Truman made in the 1940s that ended a costly strike. Holland said he believes McConnell is punishing the United Mine Workers of America for endorsing his opponent during the 2014 U.S. Senate race, which McConnell won easily.
"He says he supports coal, but you know no evidence that he's supported the coal miner," Holland said. "It's very frustrating."
Moreover, last week "the Patriot Voluntary Employee Beneficial Association notified about 12,500 retired union coal miners last week that their health benefits would cease on Dec. 31 without congressional action," AP writes.
In response, Hillary Clinton issued a statement supporting the Miners' Protection Act. "Time is running out for Republican leadership to stop playing politics and give the Miners Protection Act a vote," Clinton said. Trump has remained silent on the issue.
As 350.org U.S. divestment campaign manager Jenny Marienau warned after Peabody Coal declared bankruptcy in April: "Make no mistake, the fossil fuel industry is going down, but it won't go down easy. The priority now is to make sure it doesn't take its workers [and] the communities it has impacted with it."
"The country must not turn its back on coal miners," right-wing Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told constituents in eastern Kentucky last week.
Yet coal miners--many "facing a slow death" from black lung and other deadly illnesses from a lifetime of mining coal--say that McConnell and other Senate Republicans are doing exactly that, the Associated Press reports.
McConnell has been repeatedly blocking a bill that would provide a pension plan and health benefits to about 13,000 retired coal miners in his home state.
By doing so, McConnell places his allegiance with coal barons, and not their workers.
As coal has declined, the ailing industry has been attempting to "jettison all pension obligations to miners" while still giving multi-billion-dollar bonus packages to executives, as Kelly Mitchell of Greenpeace noted earlier this year.
But the legislation in question, the Miners' Protection Act, "would make certain that union retirees who lost healthcare benefits after the bankruptcy or insolvency of an employer are eligible for the benefits," writes West Virginia's Register-Herald.
Because McConnell refused to allow the bill to come to a vote before the October recess, it will not be considered until after the November election.
Meanwhile, coal miners are suffering. AP reports:
"We're dying like flies," said Billy Smith, a coal miner for 39 years who said McConnell's lack of support was difficult to understand, given all the ailments he sees among his fellow retirees in his local union.
[...] Workers like Joseph Holland, a retired union coal miner in Owensboro, said the federal government owes them their pensions and health benefits because of a promise former President Harry Truman made in the 1940s that ended a costly strike. Holland said he believes McConnell is punishing the United Mine Workers of America for endorsing his opponent during the 2014 U.S. Senate race, which McConnell won easily.
"He says he supports coal, but you know no evidence that he's supported the coal miner," Holland said. "It's very frustrating."
Moreover, last week "the Patriot Voluntary Employee Beneficial Association notified about 12,500 retired union coal miners last week that their health benefits would cease on Dec. 31 without congressional action," AP writes.
In response, Hillary Clinton issued a statement supporting the Miners' Protection Act. "Time is running out for Republican leadership to stop playing politics and give the Miners Protection Act a vote," Clinton said. Trump has remained silent on the issue.
As 350.org U.S. divestment campaign manager Jenny Marienau warned after Peabody Coal declared bankruptcy in April: "Make no mistake, the fossil fuel industry is going down, but it won't go down easy. The priority now is to make sure it doesn't take its workers [and] the communities it has impacted with it."