Sen. McConnell Disregards Coal Workers and their Families with Continuing Resolution Proposal #BeyondCoal

Congress is considering passing a continuing resolution which includes a weak proposal from Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that leaves the healthcare and pensions of more than 120,000 coal workers and their families in jeopardy. The proposal temporarily funds the healthcare of retired coal workers through April of 2017 and ignores their earned pension benefits completely.

Senator McConnell’s proposal has been called a “slap in the face” by the United Mine Workers of America and has been lambasted by his fellow Senators seeking a long-term, bipartisan fix in the Miners’ Protection Act – which would fully fund the healthcare and pension benefits indefinitely. Passage of the Miners’ Protection Act would uphold the 70-year-old promise by the United States government that it would guarantee the healthcare and pension benefits earned by retired coal miners.

This promise was central to President Harry Truman’s negotiation of a pivotal coal labor contract in 1946 and has long since been recognized as a nod to the the sacrifices coal workers’ have made for America’s prosperity. Today, however, the promised healthcare and pensions are at risk due to factors such as bankruptcies of major coal companies, the abandonment of Appalachia and unionized miners by the coal industry, as well as our country’s long-term, and likely permanent, shift toward clean energy. These factors have prompted significant decline in funds for mine worker benefits and the need for greater economic diversification in historic coal areas.

In response, Dean Hubbard, Director of Sierra Club’s Labor Program, released the following statement:

“Senator McConnell’s disregard for coal workers and working families across the country is nothing short of astonishing. Instead of proactively working to help coal workers and their families by passing the Miners’ Protection Act and the RECLAIM Act, he is leaving them left in limbo as he and Congress leave to enjoy the holidays with their families. These men and women have occupied the most grueling profession imaginable, lost loved ones, and sacrificed their health to power our country for over a century.

“This is a great shame on our country. As a union advocate for close to 30 years, I can say that we’ll fight to rectify this callous act as hard as we possibly can.”