September - United Mine Workers of America
September - United Mine Workers of America
September - United Mine Workers of America
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<strong>September</strong>–<br />
October 2008<br />
119th Year,<br />
No. 5<br />
He’s on<br />
our<br />
Obama<br />
SIDE<br />
Vote Obama/Biden Nov. 4 th
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong><br />
journal<br />
letters<br />
Campaign 2008...................................4<br />
As the presidential campaign enters the<br />
homestretch, the UMW Journal takes a<br />
final look at the candidates for President—their<br />
records, their stands on the<br />
issues and what kind <strong>of</strong> campaign each<br />
is running. Plus, a report on the activities<br />
<strong>of</strong> UMWA leaders and members<br />
who are working throughout the nation<br />
on behalf <strong>of</strong> the Obama-Biden ticket.<br />
UMWA COMPAC Voter’s Guide............8<br />
State-by-state lists <strong>of</strong> candidates<br />
endorsed by UMWA COMPAC. These<br />
candidates have demonstrated their<br />
commitment to fighting for UMWA<br />
members and all working families. Take<br />
the list with you when you go to vote on<br />
Nov. 4!<br />
Departments<br />
Around Our Union.........................16<br />
Actively Retired.............................. 19<br />
Our Health and Safety................... 20<br />
Districts in Action.......................... 22<br />
Cover: Democratic presidential candidate<br />
Sen. Barack Obama speaks to the<br />
thousands gathered at a coalfields rally in<br />
Lebanon, Va. Photo by Phil Smith<br />
Back Cover: L.U. 2300 members Paul<br />
Boroski and Bill Speshock show their<br />
support for Sen. Obama. Photo by Molly<br />
Theobald.<br />
Retiree reflects on life and politics<br />
I am a disabled UMWA member and am very proud <strong>of</strong> my union. As this<br />
heated political season progresses, I reflect back on my life and political views.<br />
My dad was a UMWA coal miner in Boone County, W.Va., until 1955 when his<br />
mine shut down. I was brought up to be a Republican.<br />
When John F. Kennedy came along, he somehow seemed to understand<br />
just how tough it was to be poor even though he was from a wealthy family. I<br />
was in algebra class when we heard he was assassinated. It was sometime after<br />
that when I realized that Kennedy was the best thing to happen to working<br />
people since Franklin Roosevelt.<br />
Then came Lyndon Johnson, who also cared about working families. Johnson<br />
signed the Medicare bill into law. I only recently learned that not a single<br />
Republican voted in favor <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
I joined the Teamsters union in 1969 and it didn’t take me long to realize<br />
that, as a Republican, I had been voting against myself. I joined the UMWA in<br />
1979 and became involved in union activities, and finally became a Democrat.<br />
Now that I’m retired, I have more free time to watch C-SPAN on television,<br />
especially during this political season. I watched as John McCain and the<br />
rest <strong>of</strong> the Republicans voted against the S-CHIP bill, which was supposed to<br />
provide health care for less fortunate children. The Democrats passed it anyway,<br />
only to have it vetoed by President Bush.<br />
I would strongly advise working families and my fellow UMWA members<br />
to Pay Attention and watch as the Republicans fight against you and for the big<br />
oil companies. If you are a Republican and you do this, you will soon realize—<br />
as I did—that you are voting against yourself.<br />
Another Democrat, Harry S. Truman said, “The right to join a union <strong>of</strong><br />
one’s choice is unquestioned today and is protected by law.” That may have<br />
been true in Truman’s day, but is far from true today because <strong>of</strong> the Bush administration’s<br />
hate for unions. Let’s not vote against ourselves again. Let’s help<br />
elect Barack Obama and help him lead us back to a time when we can join the<br />
union <strong>of</strong> our choice and work for a revival <strong>of</strong> organized labor. I’m proud to be<br />
a member <strong>of</strong> the UMWA.<br />
Danny R. Hoover<br />
L.U. 2286<br />
Produced by the UMWA Communications Department: Phil Smith, Department Director, Editor; David Kameras, Communications Coordinator;<br />
Matt Alley, Communications Specialist; Thelma Blount, Department Secretary;<br />
GO! Creative, llc, Design<br />
Official Publication <strong>of</strong> the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215, www.umwa.org<br />
© by the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. The <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal (ISSN<br />
0041-7327, USPS 649-780) is published bimonthly by the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, VA and at<br />
additional mailing <strong>of</strong>fices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UNITED MINE WORKERS JOURNAL, Data Edit Department, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215. Telephone:<br />
703-208-7240. Subscription price: $10 per year to non-UMWA individuals, $25 per year to institutions, $100 per year to corporations. Dues-paying members and associate<br />
members receive the Journal free <strong>of</strong> charge. If this is a change <strong>of</strong> address, include the address label from the back cover <strong>of</strong> your Journal or your old address.<br />
Pursuant to Section 6113 <strong>of</strong> the Internal Revenue Code, we are required to notify you that membership dues paid to the UMWA are not deductible as charitable contributions for<br />
federal income tax purposes.<br />
2 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
The chance <strong>of</strong> a lifetime<br />
It’s been nearly two years since<br />
Barack Obama and John McCain<br />
began tramping through the snows<br />
<strong>of</strong> New Hampshire and the cornfields<br />
<strong>of</strong> Iowa in search <strong>of</strong> their parties’<br />
nomination for President. That’s<br />
plenty <strong>of</strong> time learn what their positions<br />
are on the issues and understand<br />
what each would do as President.<br />
Each candidate has also spent<br />
time in recent months in the states and<br />
communities where UMWA members<br />
and our families live and work. They’ve<br />
had the opportunity to see, first-hand, what life is like<br />
for real working families like ours—people who are the<br />
backbone <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>.<br />
We’re not Wall Street and we’re not Hollywood. We’re<br />
Main Street and Rural Route 20. We’re Post Office boxes<br />
and gravel driveways. We proudly wear shirts with our<br />
UMWA Local Union number printed<br />
Phil Smith<br />
If there is one thing we can be<br />
certain about after all that’s been<br />
said and all that’s been done<br />
during this campaign, it’s this:<br />
John McCain is<br />
not on our side.<br />
editorial<br />
on them. We wear work boots, and<br />
don’t mind getting them muddy.<br />
We’re intelligent people doing<br />
critical—and hard—work for our nation.<br />
Coal miners, health care workers,<br />
manufacturing workers, public<br />
servants. We’re retirees who have never<br />
forgotten what the work was like because<br />
we carry the scars with us every<br />
day—both outside and inside our bodies.<br />
Retired or working, we understand what life would<br />
be like without our union. No health care, no pension.<br />
No certainty about what we would be paid from week to<br />
week. No security for our families, and no security on the<br />
job either.<br />
That’s a life that none <strong>of</strong> us wants. But it’s exactly the<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> life promised to us by John McCain.<br />
If there is one thing we can be certain about after all<br />
that’s been said and all that’s been done during this campaign,<br />
it’s this: John McCain is not on our side. He wants<br />
to tax our health care and put our retirement security at<br />
risk. He thinks it’s just fine for employers to keep on intimidating<br />
workers who want to join a<br />
union. And for those <strong>of</strong> us who are already<br />
in the union, he wants to weaken<br />
what laws and rights we have left that<br />
enable our union to stay strong.<br />
But most people haven’t heard<br />
John McCain talking about this. They<br />
haven’t heard him talking about his<br />
votes in favor <strong>of</strong> bills that created the<br />
atmosphere <strong>of</strong> greed on Wall Street<br />
which eventually led to the economic<br />
meltdown that has struck our nation<br />
in just the last few months.<br />
People haven’t heard John McCain repeating the<br />
statements he’s made in the past about how he and<br />
President Bush agree on most everything. About how the<br />
“fundamentals <strong>of</strong> our economy are strong.”<br />
He’s running away from that record now, because it’s<br />
a shameful record and he knows the vast majority <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>America</strong>n people don’t agree with his<br />
positions on issue after issue. So he’s<br />
talking about other things. Things<br />
that don’t matter to the well-being <strong>of</strong><br />
working <strong>America</strong>n families.<br />
But those anti-union, antiworker<br />
positions are the real John<br />
McCain. And they show us very<br />
clearly how he would govern.<br />
This Nov. 4, we have a chance—<br />
one that doesn’t come around very <strong>of</strong>ten—to change the<br />
course <strong>of</strong> our nation for the better. We can elect a leader<br />
who is on our side, and who will stand up and fight for<br />
good jobs in <strong>America</strong> instead <strong>of</strong> China, for strong unions,<br />
for health care for all <strong>America</strong>ns, for retirement security<br />
we can count on and for safe and healthy workplaces.<br />
That leader is Barack Obama.<br />
None <strong>of</strong> us can afford to let this opportunity be wasted.<br />
Join with your UMWA brothers and sisters and the<br />
millions <strong>of</strong> working families from all corners <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong><br />
who are voting for Barack Obama. A better future for all<br />
we hold dear rests in your hands. Don’t let it slip through<br />
your fingers. <br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 3
Campaign 2008<br />
A clear<br />
choice<br />
for President<br />
“Obama’s on the union’s side, McCain’s on the company’s side.<br />
I’m sticking with the union.”<br />
As the presidential campaign entered the final<br />
stage after Labor Day, the candidates <strong>of</strong> both<br />
parties charged out <strong>of</strong> their respective conventions<br />
with sharpened messages and sometimes<br />
even sharper elbows. Sen. John McCain, the Republican<br />
nominee, and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin <strong>of</strong><br />
Alaska, immediately took to the road and continued to<br />
repeat a series <strong>of</strong> misleading distortions and half-truths<br />
about Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama and his<br />
vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Biden.<br />
Twisting the truth<br />
For example, McCain continues to say that Obama will<br />
raise taxes for working families, an out-and-out lie.<br />
Obama’s plan to allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest<br />
<strong>America</strong>ns to expire will only affect those making<br />
over $250,000 a year, which is a far cry from the average<br />
income earned by ordinary working families.<br />
The truth is that under Obama’s plan, average<br />
working families would receive a tax cut, not a tax<br />
increase. McCain and Palin know this, yet they continue<br />
to spread the big lie that Obama would raise the taxes<br />
<strong>of</strong> working families.<br />
A recent report by CNN told the truth: “According<br />
to a CNN fact check, Obama’s tax plan would increase<br />
taxes in 2009 on the wealthiest 20 percent <strong>of</strong> households<br />
while <strong>of</strong>fering tax cuts for the other 80 percent.<br />
The largest increases would be on the top 1 percent<br />
<strong>of</strong> earners, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy<br />
Center, a nonpartisan research group<br />
whose staff <strong>of</strong> experts includes former<br />
economic advisers to the White<br />
House and Congress under both<br />
Republicans and Democrats.”<br />
Gov. Palin continued to use<br />
a lie about her support for<br />
a funding “earmark” for a<br />
bridge in Alaska, saying that<br />
she “told Washington, ‘thanks<br />
but no thanks’” for the funding.<br />
That, too, was a lie, which<br />
she admitted in an interview with<br />
ABC News. Yet she continued to use the<br />
line in events, clearly showing that she and<br />
her handlers believe the <strong>America</strong>n people<br />
are not smart enough to understand the<br />
difference between truth and fiction.<br />
UMWA leaders, members<br />
standing up for Obama<br />
Throughout <strong>America</strong>, UMWA leadership<br />
and membership are fanning out to<br />
get the truth out about Sen. Obama and<br />
what he will do to help UMWA members<br />
and all working families as President.<br />
“We have no greater task at this point in<br />
time,” President Roberts said. “We have<br />
an opportunity to elect someone who will<br />
4 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
Campaign 2008<br />
stand up for our jobs, our health care,<br />
our retirement security, our children’s<br />
education and our right to exist as a<br />
union. We cannot sit on the sidelines<br />
in this battle.”<br />
In workplaces and communities<br />
throughout the coalfields, the UMWA<br />
presence is being felt. UMWA staff<br />
and members are on the ground in<br />
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia,<br />
Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana,<br />
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,<br />
Alabama—wherever<br />
they’re needed to hand<br />
out leaflets, knock on<br />
doors, make phone calls<br />
and get the message <strong>of</strong><br />
change to UMWA and<br />
other union members.<br />
“We’re getting<br />
really good feedback from our members,”<br />
said International District 31<br />
Vice President Rich Eddy. “We’re going<br />
to bathhouses every day, talking about<br />
Obama’s support for coal and coal miners’<br />
jobs and McCain’s record <strong>of</strong> attacks on<br />
coal. Members understand which candidate is<br />
really on their side.”<br />
“Everywhere we go, people want to talk<br />
about the election,” said International District 2<br />
Vice President Ed Yankovich. “When they understand<br />
about Obama’s position on restoring the<br />
right to organize and McCain’s plan to tax their<br />
health care benefits, members get a pretty clear<br />
picture <strong>of</strong> what’s at stake here. More and more <strong>of</strong><br />
them are saying they’re supporting Obama.”<br />
Phil Smith<br />
Straight talk about the real issues<br />
President Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Kane<br />
spoke at a series <strong>of</strong> District conferences in August,<br />
explaining to local union leaders and members about<br />
the importance <strong>of</strong> voting for Barack Obama. Roberts<br />
took the issue <strong>of</strong> Obama’s race head-on, reminding<br />
audiences about our union’s long history <strong>of</strong> leadership<br />
in being against discrimination based on race.<br />
“There are those who seek to<br />
divide working people based<br />
on race and the prejudices and<br />
suspicions people have. The UMWA<br />
has always risen above that<br />
and we must be the leaders<br />
in rising above it today.”<br />
Phil Smith<br />
“Those who founded our union<br />
understood that the bosses used the<br />
differences between us to divide us,”<br />
Roberts said. “It wasn’t just the difference<br />
between white and black. It was<br />
the difference between Germans and<br />
Polish, Italians and Irish, everybody.<br />
Anytime they could cause one group<br />
to be suspicious <strong>of</strong> another, they took<br />
advantage <strong>of</strong> that.<br />
“But the founders <strong>of</strong> the UMWA<br />
got past that right from the beginning<br />
when they wrote our constitution,”<br />
Roberts said. “They said you couldn’t<br />
discriminate in our union based on<br />
race, creed, color or national origin.<br />
They understood this was a tool the<br />
bosses were using to keep them down.<br />
“The same holds true today,”<br />
Roberts said. “There are those who<br />
seek to divide working people based on race and the<br />
prejudices and suspicions people have. The UMWA has<br />
always risen above that and we must be the leaders in<br />
rising above it today. If people are going to vote against<br />
Barack Obama just because he has a funny name or because<br />
he happens to be African-<strong>America</strong>n, then they’re<br />
just killing themselves and the chance for a better future<br />
for their families.”<br />
“We need to stop talking about the lies the other side<br />
puts forward about Sen. Obama and start talking about the<br />
real issues,” Secretary-Treasurer Kane said. “We need to talk<br />
about who will be enforcing mine safety and health laws at<br />
the <strong>Mine</strong> Safety and Health Administration. Will it continue<br />
to be company hacks who care more about production<br />
than about safety? Or will it be someone who will stand up<br />
first and foremost for the health and safety <strong>of</strong> miners?<br />
“We need to talk about who will be in charge at the<br />
National Labor Relations Board and the Department <strong>of</strong><br />
Labor,” Kane said. “These agencies are supposed to be<br />
making sure <strong>America</strong>’s labor laws are enforced so that<br />
workers have a measure <strong>of</strong> protection. Yet for the last eight<br />
years, they’ve been watching out for the bosses’ interests,<br />
not workers. That won’t change with John McCain as<br />
President. The only way to get the change we need is to<br />
elect Barack Obama.” <br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 5
Campaign 2008<br />
6 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
Campaign 2008<br />
Charleston Daily Mail<br />
McCain no friend <strong>of</strong> coal<br />
By Cecil E. Roberts, International President, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong><br />
John McCain sure surprised a lot <strong>of</strong> people when<br />
he came out the other day against mountaintop<br />
removal mining. You could almost hear the backpedaling<br />
and side-stepping going on in coal operators’<br />
boardrooms and Republican party headquarters all the<br />
way up Cabin Creek. They thought they had a friend<br />
<strong>of</strong> coal in John McCain, only to find out that maybe he<br />
wasn’t so friendly after all.<br />
It should have come as no surprise. John McCain<br />
has been on the attack against the coal industry for years,<br />
starting with legislation he proposed in 2003—Senate<br />
Bill 139, the Climate Stewardship Act <strong>of</strong> 2003—that<br />
would have just about wiped out the coal industry in<br />
southern West Virginia and elsewhere in Appalachia.<br />
The U.S. Energy Information Administration<br />
released an analysis <strong>of</strong> S. 139 in May 2004, which said<br />
the reductions in coal production under the McCain<br />
legislation was estimated to be 78 percent by 2025. Since<br />
it takes coal miners to produce coal, that would mean a<br />
drastic reduction in employment, most <strong>of</strong> which would<br />
have fallen heavily on more labor-intensive mines like we<br />
have in Appalachia, especially West Virginia.<br />
But Sen. McCain was just getting warmed up. He<br />
teamed up with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) just last<br />
year and proposed climate change legislation—Senate<br />
Bill 280—that once again took a meat-axe approach to<br />
Appalachian coal. In that bill, McCain specifically targeted<br />
Appalachian coal production for cuts <strong>of</strong> 30 percent<br />
or more, while encouraging production <strong>of</strong> coal from<br />
Wyoming, according to an analysis done <strong>of</strong> the legislation<br />
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.<br />
During the current campaign, both candidates have<br />
proposed a variety <strong>of</strong> solutions to dealing with energy<br />
issues. They both say that they want to reduce reliance on<br />
foreign sources <strong>of</strong> energy and build an infrastructure in<br />
<strong>America</strong> that relies on a mix <strong>of</strong> sources to meet the everexpanding<br />
energy needs <strong>of</strong> our nation, while at the same<br />
time reducing greenhouse gases. The UMWA agrees that<br />
we need to do that.<br />
But the devil is in the details, and once again Sen.<br />
McCain doesn’t measure up when it comes to the<br />
potential for coal—our nation’s most abundant energy<br />
resource—to continue to be the major contributor to<br />
meeting our future energy needs.<br />
The lynchpin <strong>of</strong> McCain’s energy plan is to build<br />
45 new nuclear plants across <strong>America</strong> by 2025, the first<br />
wave <strong>of</strong> 100 new nuclear plants he foresees. The negative<br />
impact on coal production and jobs from these<br />
plants will be extremely significant. And let’s face it—<br />
no matter what happens with respect to climate change<br />
over the next 50 to 100 years, the waste generated by<br />
a nuclear plant tomorrow will still be deadly to all life<br />
10,000 years from now. Our distant descendants will<br />
likely be worrying about staying warm during the next<br />
ice age about then.<br />
With the coming development <strong>of</strong> clean coal technologies<br />
like carbon capture and storage (CCS), <strong>America</strong><br />
is on the brink <strong>of</strong> being able to use coal to generate<br />
energy without contributing any more greenhouse gases<br />
to the environment. Sen. McCain pays lip service to CCS,<br />
but the record shows that coal has a very limited future<br />
in John McCain’s vision <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>. And that’s a direct<br />
threat to tens <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> West Virginia families.<br />
Sen. Barack Obama, on the other hand, is from a<br />
coal state and clearly understands the long-term role coal<br />
must play in our nation’s energy future. He has pledged<br />
to fund development <strong>of</strong> CCS technology so that it can be<br />
deployed as soon as possible. He has said that <strong>America</strong><br />
is the “Saudi Arabia <strong>of</strong> coal” and that we ought to be<br />
working as hard as we can to figure out how to use it for<br />
decades to come.<br />
So the choice for coal miners, their families, their<br />
neighbors and everyone living in the coalfield communities<br />
throughout Appalachia and especially in West Virginia<br />
is clear. Barack Obama is for the long-term future<br />
<strong>of</strong> your job and John McCain is not. Keep that in mind<br />
when you vote on Nov. 4.<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 7
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
This year’s election is the most important in a generation, with voters<br />
facing a stark choice between two directions in which our country may go:<br />
peace, prosperity and social justice, or war, recession and reaction.<br />
In addition to the contest for the White House, UMWA members<br />
<strong>United</strong> States<br />
President<br />
Barack Obama (D)<br />
Vice President<br />
Joe Biden (D)<br />
will be voting in congressional and statewide races across<br />
the nation. After reviewing the positions and records <strong>of</strong> those<br />
seeking <strong>of</strong>fice, the UMWA Coal <strong>Mine</strong>rs Political Action Committee<br />
(COMPAC) has endorsed the following federal, state and local<br />
candidates. COMPAC based its selections on where the candidates<br />
stand on issues concerning the UMWA membership.<br />
Here is a state-by-state guide for this Election Day, Nov. 4, 2008.<br />
Phil Smith<br />
West Virginia<br />
Seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Shelley<br />
Moore Capito (R-2nd), Anne<br />
Barth (D) is uniquely skilled in how<br />
to get results for West Virginians in<br />
Washington, having recently completed<br />
21 years <strong>of</strong> service as a senior<br />
aide to U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D),<br />
including State Director since 1992.<br />
Her commitment to creating and saving<br />
coal mining jobs is exceptional.<br />
Anne Barth (D)<br />
“Coal is a major engine <strong>of</strong> West<br />
Virginia’s economy, and will be for<br />
the foreseeable future,” she said. “The<br />
best way to protect coal mining jobs<br />
is to begin strict enforcement <strong>of</strong> the<br />
safety and environmental regulations<br />
that are already on the books, while<br />
making appropriate investments in<br />
clean coal technologies. Good mining,<br />
reclamation and the use <strong>of</strong> technologies<br />
are good for coal, good for<br />
West Virginia and good for <strong>America</strong>.”<br />
Margaret Workman (D) has<br />
served on the Supreme Court <strong>of</strong> Appeals<br />
for almost 12 years, becoming<br />
the court’s first female Chief Justice.<br />
As a judge, Workman developed<br />
a strong record <strong>of</strong> protection for<br />
abused and neglected children. As<br />
Chief Justice, Workman fostered a<br />
close working relationship between<br />
the court system and the domestic<br />
violence programs in the state. She<br />
formed the Task Force on Gender<br />
Fairness in the Courts, which focused<br />
on ways the court system could be<br />
more fair and neutral to both genders.<br />
She also created the Task Force<br />
on the Future <strong>of</strong> the Judiciary, which<br />
formulated proposals for moving the<br />
court system into this century.<br />
Another candidate for the Supreme<br />
Court, Menis Ketchum (D),<br />
has been recognized continuously<br />
since 1989 in The Best Lawyers in<br />
<strong>America</strong>. Throughout his 40-year<br />
legal career, he has litigated various<br />
types <strong>of</strong> cases, including insurance<br />
defense, personal injury, criminal<br />
prosecution and defense and Federal<br />
Employers’ Liability Act. He has<br />
served on the Huntington Urban<br />
Renewal Authority, participated in a<br />
statewide program to develop a focus<br />
team aimed at reducing the number<br />
<strong>of</strong> medically uninsured and was appointed<br />
by Gov. Manchin to the <strong>Mine</strong><br />
Safety Task Force.<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
John D. “Jay” Rockefeller (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Alan B. Mollohan (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Anne Barth (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Nick Rahall (D)<br />
Governor<br />
Joe Manchin, III (D)<br />
8 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
West Virginia continued<br />
Secretary <strong>of</strong> State<br />
Natalie Tennant (D)<br />
Auditor<br />
Glen B. Gainer, III (D)<br />
State Treasurer<br />
John Perdue (D)<br />
Commissioner <strong>of</strong> Agriculture<br />
Gus R. Douglas (D)<br />
Attorney General<br />
Darrell V. McGraw (D)<br />
Justice <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Court<br />
<strong>of</strong> Appeals<br />
Margaret Workman (D)<br />
Menis Ketchum (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 1 Jack Yost (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Jeff Kessler (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Rocky Holmes (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Robert Plymale (D)<br />
Dist. 6 John Pat Fanning (D)<br />
Dist. 10 James McNeely (D)<br />
Dist. 11 William R. Laird, IV (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Douglas E. Facemire (D)<br />
Dist. 15 Clark Barnes (R)<br />
Dist. 17 Dan Foster (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Delegates<br />
Dist. 1 Benton Manypenny (D)<br />
Randy Swartzmiller (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Tal Hutchins (D)<br />
Orphy Klempa (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Michael Ferro (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Dave Pethel (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Ron Nichols (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Charley Webb (D)<br />
Dist 10 Brenda Brum (D)<br />
Dan Poling (D)<br />
John Ellem (R)<br />
Dist. 12 Jo Boggess Phillips (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Dale F. Martin (D)<br />
Brady R. Paxton (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Karen Coria (D)<br />
Dist. 15 Carl Eastham (D)<br />
Jim Morgan (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Doug Reynolds (D)<br />
Dale Stephens (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Don Perdue (D)<br />
Richard Thompson (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Larry W. Barker (D)<br />
Dist. 19<br />
Dist. 21<br />
Dist. 23<br />
Dist. 24<br />
Dist. 25<br />
Dist. 27<br />
Dist. 28<br />
Dist. 29<br />
Dist. 30<br />
Josh Stowers (D)<br />
Greg Butcher (D)<br />
Jeff Eldridge (D)<br />
Ralph Rodighiero (D)<br />
Harry Keith White (D)<br />
Cliff Moore (D)<br />
Mike Vinciguerra, Jr. (D)<br />
John Frazier (D)<br />
Bill Wooten (D)<br />
Louis Gall (D)<br />
Virginia Mahan (D)<br />
Rick Moye (D)<br />
Sally Susman (D)<br />
Ray Canterbury (R)<br />
Tom Louisos (D)<br />
David G. Perry (D)<br />
Margaret Anne Staggers (D)<br />
Bonnie Brown (D)<br />
Nancy Guthrie (D)<br />
Barbara “Bobbie” Hatfield (D)<br />
Mark Hunt (D)<br />
Doug Skaff (D)<br />
Sharon Spencer (D)<br />
Danny Wells (D)<br />
Ohio<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Steve Driehaus (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Victoria Wells Wulsin (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Jane Mitakides (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Charlie Wilson (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Betty Sutton (D)<br />
Dist. 14 William O’Neill (D)<br />
Dist. 15 Mary Jo Kilroy (D)<br />
Dist. 16 John Boccieri (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Tim Ryan (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Zack Space (D)<br />
Attorney General<br />
Richard Cordray (D)<br />
State Supreme Court<br />
Peter Sikora<br />
Joseph Russo<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 18 Rick Shriver (D)<br />
Dist. 28 Tom Sawyer (D)<br />
Dist. 30 Jason Wilson (D)<br />
Dist. 32 Capri Cafaro (D)<br />
Dist. 31<br />
Dist. 32<br />
Dist. 33<br />
Dist. 34<br />
Dist. 35<br />
Dist. 36<br />
Dist. 39<br />
Dist. 40<br />
Dist. 41<br />
Dist. 42<br />
Dist. 43<br />
Dist. 44<br />
Dist. 50<br />
Dist. 52<br />
Dist. 54<br />
Dist. 58<br />
Carrie Webster (D)<br />
Charles Black (D)<br />
Camella Ryan-Thompson (D)<br />
David Walker (D)<br />
Brent Boggs (D)<br />
Sam Argento (D)<br />
Joe Talbott (D)<br />
Bill Hamilton (R)<br />
Mary M. Poling (D)<br />
Ron Fragale (D)<br />
Richard J. Iaquinta (D)<br />
Tim Miley (D)<br />
Mike Manypenny (D)<br />
Mike Caputo (D)<br />
Linda Longstreth (D)<br />
Timothy Manchin (D)<br />
Barbara Fleischauer (D)<br />
Charlene Marshall (D)<br />
Alex Shook (D)<br />
Ruth Rowan (R)<br />
Mike Roberts (D)<br />
Walter Duke (R)<br />
Tiffany Lawrence (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Linda Bolon (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Barbara Boyd (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Jennifer Brady (D)<br />
Dist. 25 Dan Stewart (D)<br />
Dist. 47 Peter Ujvagi (D)<br />
Dist. 56 Joe Koziura (D)<br />
Dist. 59 Ron Gerberry (D)<br />
Dist. 60 Bob Hagan (D)<br />
Dist. 89 Todd Book (D)<br />
Dist. 91 Dan Dodd (D)<br />
Dist. 92 Debbie Phillips (D)<br />
Dist. 93 Jennifer Garrison (D)<br />
Dist. 94 Jennifer Stewart (D)<br />
Dist. 95 John Domenick (D)<br />
Dist. 97 Allan Sayre (D)<br />
Court <strong>of</strong> Appeals<br />
Dist. 7 Joe Vukovich<br />
Cheryl Waite<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 9
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Kentucky<br />
Kentuckians, who have suffered<br />
under the misrepresentation <strong>of</strong><br />
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) for 24<br />
long years, now have a champion in<br />
Bruce Lunsford (D), who will fight to<br />
reverse the anti-union policies <strong>of</strong> Mc-<br />
Connell and his wife, Labor Secretary<br />
Elaine Chao. “I support employee free<br />
choice to facilitate fair organizing for<br />
workers,” he said. “Kentucky’s working<br />
families have earned the right to a living wage and safe<br />
working conditions. In addition, we must ensure that all<br />
trade agreements include significant worker protections.<br />
It shouldn’t be too much to ask to have trade agreements<br />
that open up new markets for <strong>America</strong>n products and<br />
protect quality <strong>America</strong>n jobs.”<br />
Lunsford is passionate about promoting coal as a<br />
vital part <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>’s energy plan. “Kentucky is a na-<br />
As UMWA members and leadership looks on, UMWA Director <strong>of</strong> Governmental<br />
Affairs Bill Banig hands U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lundsford a contribution from<br />
UMWA COMPAC to help in his campaign to defeat the anti-worker incumbent,<br />
Mitch McConnell.<br />
tional leader in coal, and currently, about half the nation’s<br />
electricity comes from coal,” he noted. “The Bush administration<br />
recently backed <strong>of</strong>f a major program piloting<br />
new clean coal technology, but under the Lunsford Plan,<br />
the federal government would increase clean coal research<br />
and development. From the miners to the technicians to<br />
the communities that it would support, boosting the coal<br />
industry is vital to Kentucky’s economic future.”<br />
Taylor Coots<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Bruce Lunsford (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Heather A Ryan (D)<br />
Dist. 2 David E. Boswell (D)<br />
Dist. 3 John Yarmuth (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Jim Holbert (I)<br />
Dist. 6 Ben Chandler (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 1 Carroll Hubbard (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Joey Pendleton (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Kathy W. Stein (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Robert Powell (D)<br />
Dist. 19 Tim Shaughnessy (D)<br />
Dist. 23 Kathy Groob (D)<br />
Dist. 27 Walter “Doc” Blevins (D)<br />
Dist. 29 Johnny Ray Turner (D)<br />
Dist. 31 Ray Jones (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Gerald A. Neal (D)<br />
Dist. 35 Denise Harper Angel (D)<br />
Dist. 37 Perry B. Clark (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Mike Lawrence (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Fred Nesler (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Zana Renfro (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Mike Cherry (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Melvin Henley (D)<br />
Dist. 6<br />
Dist. 7<br />
Dist. 9<br />
Dist. 10<br />
Dist. 13<br />
Dist. 14<br />
Dist. 15<br />
Dist. 16<br />
Dist. 17<br />
Dist. 18<br />
Dist. 19<br />
Dist. 20<br />
Dist. 21<br />
Dist. 23<br />
Dist. 25<br />
Dist. 26<br />
Dist. 27<br />
Dist. 28<br />
Dist. 29<br />
Dist. 30<br />
Dist. 31<br />
Dist. 33<br />
Dist. 34<br />
Dist. 35<br />
Dist. 36<br />
Dist. 37<br />
Dist. 38<br />
Dist. 39<br />
Dist. 40<br />
Will R. Coursey (D)<br />
John A. Arnold, Jr. (D)<br />
Travis Neal Calhoun (D)<br />
Eddie Ballard (D)<br />
Jim Glenn (D)<br />
Tommy Thompson (D)<br />
Brent Yonts (D)<br />
Martha Jane King (D)<br />
C.B. Embry, Jr. (R)<br />
Dwight D. Butler (R)<br />
Dottie J. Sims (D)<br />
Jody Richards (D)<br />
Charlene Rabold (D)<br />
Johnny W. Bell (D)<br />
Jimmie Lee (D)<br />
Mike Weaver (D)<br />
Jeff Greer (D)<br />
Charles W. Miller (D)<br />
Kevin D. Bratcher (R)<br />
Tom Burch (D)<br />
Steve Riggs (D)<br />
Greg Galbraith (D)<br />
Mary Lou Marzian (D)<br />
Jim Wayne (D)<br />
Lonnie Napier (R)<br />
Ron Weston (D)<br />
Tim Firkins (D)<br />
Robert R. Damron (D)<br />
Dennis Horlander (D)<br />
Dist. 41<br />
Dist. 42<br />
Dist. 43<br />
Dist. 44<br />
Dist. 46<br />
Dist. 47<br />
Dist. 48<br />
Dist. 49<br />
Dist. 54<br />
Dist. 55<br />
Dist. 56<br />
Dist. 57<br />
Dist. 58<br />
Dist. 61<br />
Dist. 62<br />
Dist. 63<br />
Dist. 65<br />
Dist. 67<br />
Dist. 69<br />
Dist. 71<br />
Dist. 72<br />
Dist. 73<br />
Dist. 74<br />
Dist. 75<br />
Dist. 76<br />
Dist. 77<br />
Dist. 78<br />
Dist. 79<br />
Dist. 81<br />
Tom Riner (D)<br />
Reginald K. Meeks (D)<br />
Darryl T. Owens (D)<br />
Joni Jenkins (D)<br />
Larry Clark (D)<br />
Rick W. Rand (D)<br />
David M. Watson (D)<br />
Larry Belcher (D)<br />
David C. Sparrow (D)<br />
Kent Stevens (D)<br />
Carl P. Rollins, II (D)<br />
Derrick W. Graham (D)<br />
Bill Young (D)<br />
Royce W. Adams (D)<br />
Charlie H<strong>of</strong>fman (D)<br />
Ken Padgett (D)<br />
Arnold R. Simpson (D)<br />
Dennis Keene (D)<br />
Merrick S. Krey (D)<br />
John Will Stacy (D)<br />
Sannie Overly (D)<br />
Don Pasley (D)<br />
Richard D. Henderson (D)<br />
Kelly Flood (D)<br />
Ruth Ann Palumbo (D)<br />
Jesse Crenshaw (D)<br />
Thomas M. McKee (D)<br />
Susan Westrom (D)<br />
Harry Moberly, Jr. (D)<br />
10 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Kentucky State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives continued<br />
Dist. 82<br />
Dist. 84<br />
Dist. 85<br />
Dist. 86<br />
Dist. 87<br />
Indiana<br />
U<br />
.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-8th) has serious concerns about the future<br />
<strong>of</strong> the nation’s health and retirement systems. “Despite the successes <strong>of</strong><br />
children’s health care programs, there are still too many children without access<br />
to health care,” he said. “I support efforts to provide coverage to uninsured children<br />
who already qualify for these programs.” In addition he noted that Social<br />
Security faces financial challenges that threaten the program’s solvency and benefits<br />
for future generations. “However, I don’t believe privatizing the program is<br />
the answer. Not only would privatization cut gaping holes in the Social Security<br />
safety net, it is projected to increase our national debt by $5 trillion over just 20<br />
years. Congress must pass bipartisan, common-sense reforms that protect the<br />
guaranteed benefit and ensure Social Security’s sustainability.”<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Peter Visclosky (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Joe Donnelly (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Michael Montagano (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Nels Ackerson (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Mary Etta Ruley (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Barry Welsh (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Andre Carson (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Brad Ellsworth (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Baron Hill (D)<br />
Governor<br />
Jill Long Thompson (D)<br />
Lt. Governor<br />
Dennie Oxley (D)<br />
Charles L. Siler (R)<br />
Fitz Steele (D)<br />
Tommy Turner (R)<br />
Jim Stewart, III (R)<br />
Rick Nelson (D)<br />
Attorney General<br />
Linda Pence (D )<br />
Superintendent <strong>of</strong> Schools<br />
Richard Wood (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Linda Lawson (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Earl Harris (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Charlie Brown (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Craig Fry (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Patrick Bauer (D)<br />
Dist. 7 David Niezgodski (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Ryan Dvorak (D)<br />
Dist. 90<br />
Dist. 91<br />
Dist. 92<br />
Dist. 93<br />
Dist. 94<br />
Tim Couch (R)<br />
Ted “Teddy” Edmonds (D)<br />
Ancel “Hard Rock” Smith (D)<br />
W. Keith Hall (D)<br />
Leslie A. Combs (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Scott Pelath (D)<br />
Dist. 10 Charles Moseley (D)<br />
Dist. 11 Dan Stevenson (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Mara Candelaria Reardon (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Chester Dobis (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Vernon Smith (D)<br />
Dist. 15 Myron Sutton (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Bill Reutebuch (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Nancy Dembowski (D)<br />
Dist. 19 Shelli VanDenburgh (D<br />
Dist. 22 Larry Rensberger (D)<br />
Dist. 25 Jeb Bardon (D)<br />
Dist. 26 John Polles (D)<br />
Dist. 27 Sheila Klinker (D)<br />
Dist. 30 Ron Herrell (D)<br />
Dist. 31 Joe Pearson (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Andy Schemenaur (D)<br />
Dist. 34 Dennis Tyler (D)<br />
Dist. 35 Lee Mengelt (D)<br />
Dist. 36 Terri Jo Austin (D)<br />
Dist. 37 Scott Reske (D)<br />
Dist. 38 Bob Snow (D)<br />
Dist. 40 Nicholas Schmutte (D)<br />
Dist. 42 Dale Grubb (D)<br />
Dist. 43 Clyde Kersey (D)<br />
Dist. 44 Nancy Michael (D)<br />
Dist. 45 Rick Marshall (D)<br />
Dist. 46 Vern Tincher (D)<br />
Dist. 56 Phillip Pflum (D)<br />
Dist. 97<br />
Dist. 98<br />
Dist. 99<br />
Dist. 100<br />
Dist. 60<br />
Dist. 61<br />
Dist. 62<br />
Dist. 63<br />
Dist. 64<br />
Dist. 66<br />
Dist. 67<br />
Dist. 68<br />
Dist. 69<br />
Dist. 70<br />
Dist. 71<br />
Dist. 72<br />
Dist. 74<br />
Dist. 75<br />
Dist. 76<br />
Dist. 77<br />
Dist. 78<br />
Dist. 81<br />
Dist. 84<br />
Dist. 86<br />
Dist. 87<br />
Dist. 89<br />
Dist. 91<br />
Dist. 92<br />
Dist. 94<br />
Dist. 95<br />
Dist. 96<br />
Dist. 97<br />
Dist. 98<br />
Dist. 99<br />
Dist. 100<br />
Hubert Collins (D)<br />
Tanya Pullin (D)<br />
Rocky Adkins (D)<br />
Kevin P. Sinnette (D)<br />
State Supreme Court<br />
Dist. 5 Mary C. Noble<br />
Peggy Welch (D)<br />
Matt Pierce (D)<br />
Sandra Blanton (D)<br />
John Burger (D)<br />
Kreg Battles (D)<br />
Terry Goodin (D)<br />
Mike Keller (D)<br />
Robert Bisch<strong>of</strong>f (D)<br />
David Cheatham (D)<br />
Paul Robertson (D)<br />
Steven Stemler (D)<br />
William Cochran (D)<br />
Russ Stilwell (D)<br />
Dennis Avery (D)<br />
Trent VanHaaften (D)<br />
Gail Riecken (D)<br />
James Rapp (D)<br />
Winfield Moses (D)<br />
Mark Wehrle (D)<br />
Edward DeLaney (D)<br />
Pamela Hickman (D)<br />
John Barnes (D)<br />
Timothy Huber (D)<br />
Stephanie DeKemper (D)<br />
Cherrish Pryor (D)<br />
John Bartlett (D)<br />
Gregory Porter (D)<br />
Mary Sullivan (D)<br />
William Crawford (D)<br />
Vanessa Summers (D)<br />
John Day (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 3 Earline Rogers (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Larry Balmer (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Jim Arnold (D)<br />
Dist. 10 John Broden (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Don Metzler-Smith (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Linda Klinck (D)<br />
Dist. 28 Mike Brinegar (D)<br />
Dist. 32 Ken Kern (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Greg Taylor (D)<br />
Dist. 34 Jean Breaux (D)<br />
Dist. 36 Terry Rice (D)<br />
Dist. 37 Joseph Osborn (D)<br />
Dist. 40 Vi Simpson (D)<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 11
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Illinois<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Richard J. Durbin (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Bobby Rush (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Dan Lipinski (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Luis Gutierrez (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Rahm Emanuel (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Jill Morgenthaler (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Danny Davis (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Melissa Bean (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Jan Schakowsky (D)<br />
Dist. 10 Dan Seals (D)<br />
Dist. 11 Debbie Halvorson (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Jerry Costello (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Scott Harper (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Bill Foster (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Robert Abboud (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Phil Hare (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Colleen Callahan (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 2 Willie Delgado (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Mattie Hunter (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Rickey Hendon (D)<br />
Dist. 6 John Cullerton (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Heather Steans (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Ira Silverstein (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Jeff Schoenberg (D)<br />
Dist. 11 Lou Viverito (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Martin Sandoval (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Emil Jones, III (D)<br />
Dist. 15 James Meeks (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Donne Trotter (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Edward Maloney (D)<br />
Dist. 20 Iris Martinez (D)<br />
Dist. 23 Thomas Cullerton (D)<br />
Dist. 26 Bill Gentes (D)<br />
Dist. 29 Susan Garrett (D)<br />
Dist. 30 Terry Link (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Dan Kotowski (D)<br />
Dist. 35 Ryan Gailey (D)<br />
Dist. 36 Mike Jacobs (D)<br />
Dist. 38 Steve Stout (D)<br />
Dist. 39 Don Harmon (D)<br />
Dist. 41 Audrey Manley (D)<br />
Dist. 42 Linda Holmes (D)<br />
Dist. 45 Marty Mulcahey (D)<br />
Dist. 47 John Sullivan (D)<br />
Dist. 56 Bill Haine (D)<br />
Dist. 57 James Clayborne, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 59 Gary Forby (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Susana Mendoza (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Edward Acevedo (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Luis Arroyo (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Cynthia Soto (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Kenneth Dunkin (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Esther Golar (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Karen Yarbrough (D)<br />
Dist. 8 LaShawn Ford (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Arthur Turner (D)<br />
Dist. 10 Annazette Collins (D)<br />
Dist. 11 John Fritchey (D)<br />
Dist. 12 Sara Feigenholtz (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Gregory Harris (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Harry Osterman (D)<br />
Dist. 15 John D’Amico (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Lou Lang (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Daniel Biss (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Julie Hamos (D)<br />
Dist. 19 Joseph Lyons (D)<br />
Dist. 20 Michael McAuliffe (R)<br />
Dist. 21 Michael J. Zalewski (D)<br />
Dist. 22 Michael Madigan (D)<br />
Dist. 23 Daniel Burke (D)<br />
Dist. 24 Lisa Hernandez (D)<br />
Dist. 25 Barbara Flynn Currie (D)<br />
Dist. 26 Will Burns (D)<br />
Dist. 27 Monique Davis (D)<br />
Dist. 28 Robert Rita (D)<br />
Dist. 29 David Miller (D)<br />
Dist. 30 Will Davis (D)<br />
Dist. 31 Mary Flowers (D)<br />
Dist. 32 Andre Thapedi (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Marlow Colvin (D)<br />
Dist. 34 Connie Howard (D)<br />
Dist. 35 Kevin Joyce (D)<br />
Dist. 36 James Brosnahan (D)<br />
Dist. 37 Kevin McCarthy (D)<br />
Dist. 38 Al Riley (D)<br />
Dist. 39 Maria “Toni” Berrios (D)<br />
Dist. 40 Deborah Mell (D)<br />
Dist. 43 Keith Farnham (D)<br />
Dist. 44 Fred Crespo (D)<br />
Dist. 45 Jim Haggerty (D)<br />
Dist. 46 Gary Nowak (D)<br />
Dist. 49 Rachel Shattuck (D)<br />
Dist. 50 Mary Schneider (D)<br />
Dist. 51 Amanda Howland (D)<br />
Dist. 53 Carol Javens (D)<br />
Dist. 56 Paul Froehlich (D)<br />
Dist. 57<br />
Dist. 58<br />
Dist. 59<br />
Dist. 60<br />
Dist. 63<br />
Dist. 64<br />
Dist. 65<br />
Dist. 66<br />
Dist. 67<br />
Dist. 69<br />
Dist. 71<br />
Dist. 72<br />
Dist. 74<br />
Dist. 75<br />
Dist. 76<br />
Dist. 77<br />
Dist. 78<br />
Dist. 79<br />
Dist. 80<br />
Dist. 81<br />
Dist. 83<br />
Dist. 85<br />
Dist. 86<br />
Dist. 87<br />
Dist. 89<br />
Dist. 91<br />
Dist. 92<br />
Dist. 96<br />
Dist. 98<br />
Dist. 101<br />
Dist. 103<br />
Dist. 104<br />
Dist. 106<br />
Dist. 107<br />
Dist. 108<br />
Dist. 111<br />
Dist. 112<br />
Dist. 113<br />
Dist. 114<br />
Dist. 115<br />
Dist. 116<br />
Dist. 117<br />
Dist. 118<br />
Elaine Nekritz (D)<br />
Karen May (D)<br />
Kathleen Ryg (D)<br />
Eddie Washington (D)<br />
Jack Franks (D)<br />
Robert Kaempfe (D)<br />
Aurora Austriaco (D)<br />
Mark Walker (D)<br />
Chuck Jefferson (D)<br />
Greg Tuite (D)<br />
Mike Boland (D)<br />
Pat Verschoore (D)<br />
Donald M<strong>of</strong>fitt (R)<br />
Careen Gordon (D)<br />
Frank Mautino (D)<br />
Angelo “Skip” Saviano (R)<br />
Deborah Graham (D)<br />
Lisa Dugan (D)<br />
George Scully (D)<br />
Rich Kelly (D)<br />
Linda Chapa Lavia (D)<br />
Emily Klunk-McAsey (D)<br />
Jack McGuire (D)<br />
Bill Mitchell (R)<br />
Walter Johnson (D)<br />
Mike Smith (D)<br />
Jehan Gordon (D)<br />
Dianne McGuire (D)<br />
Gary Hannig (D)<br />
Robert Flider (D)<br />
Naomi Jakobsson (D)<br />
Lori DeYoung (D)<br />
Tom Shrier (D)<br />
Patti Hahn (D)<br />
Jason Warful (D)<br />
Daniel Beiser(D)<br />
Jay H<strong>of</strong>fman (D)<br />
Tom Holbrook (D)<br />
Wyvetter Younge (D)<br />
Cheryl Graff (D)<br />
Dan Reitz (D)<br />
John Bradley (D)<br />
Brandon Phelps (D)<br />
Judicial<br />
1 st Supreme McMorrow vacancy<br />
Anne Burke<br />
1 st Appellate Burke vacancy<br />
Sharon Johnson Coleman<br />
1 st Appellate Campbell vacancy<br />
John O. Steele<br />
5 th Appellate Hopkins vacancy<br />
James M. Wexstten<br />
12 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Virginia<br />
U<br />
.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner (D) brings with him his legacy, as<br />
Governor from 2002 to 2006, during which time he eliminated an<br />
inherited $6 billion in budget shortfalls and produced a surplus that allowed<br />
the largest single investment in K-12 education in Virginia history, a reinvestment<br />
in the commonwealth’s system <strong>of</strong> higher education and a record<br />
investment in cleanup <strong>of</strong> the nation’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay.<br />
He put a focus on economic development in areas hard hit by job losses,<br />
turning around jobless rates in those regions.<br />
Warner believes that the U.S. should significantly increase research and<br />
development <strong>of</strong> alternative energy sources, including clean coal, and make<br />
the tax credit for such research and development permanent, citing ongoing<br />
research in carbon sequestration technology at Virginia Tech as an example<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiatives that would be beneficial.<br />
Alabama<br />
Rep. Artur Davis (D)<br />
Rep. Artur Davis (D-7th),<br />
a longtime proponent<br />
<strong>of</strong> good jobs at livable<br />
wages, sees education and<br />
health care as key elements<br />
in achieving a better quality<br />
<strong>of</strong> life for working families.<br />
“Investing in education is investing<br />
on the front end for a<br />
status <strong>of</strong> independence rather<br />
than dependence,” he said.<br />
“Investing on the back end<br />
means more money for jails,<br />
social workers and public<br />
assistance. Simply, if we fail to<br />
repair our education system,<br />
we all lose.”<br />
Davis noted that those<br />
most affected by the absence<br />
<strong>of</strong> health care are the young<br />
and the old—those least equipped to fix the problem. “We have a moral imperative<br />
to think outside the box when considering how to <strong>of</strong>fer health care<br />
to the poor. We will work to identify federal programs and cooperate with<br />
community leaders to open the door to health care in communities throughout<br />
this district.”<br />
David Kameras<br />
Mark Warner (D)<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Mark Warner (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 2 Glenn Nye (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Rick Boucher (D)<br />
Dist. 10 Judy Feder (D)<br />
Dist. 11 Gerald Connolly (D)<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Vivian Davis Figures (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 2 Bobby Bright (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Joshua Segall (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Robert Aderhold (R)<br />
Dist. 5 Parker Griffith (D)<br />
Dist. 6 Spencer Bachus (R)<br />
Dist. 7 Artur Davis (D)<br />
State Supreme Court<br />
Deborah Bell Paseur<br />
Court <strong>of</strong> Criminal Appeals<br />
Place 1 Clyde Jones<br />
Place 2 Aimee Cobb Smith<br />
Public Service Commission<br />
President Lucy Baxley<br />
State Board <strong>of</strong> Education<br />
Place 1 Kenyon Berry<br />
Place 2 Judy West Bell<br />
Place 3 Ella B. Bell<br />
Place 4 Earl Gardner<br />
Tuscaloosa County Commission<br />
Dist. 2 William L. “Bubba” Englebert, Jr.<br />
Walker County Constable<br />
Dist. 24 Terry L. Hunter, Sr.<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 13
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Pennsylvania<br />
longtime friend <strong>of</strong> mining families in western Penn-<br />
A sylvania, U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-12th) supports<br />
accelerating the development <strong>of</strong> carbon capture and<br />
storage programs, which would expand the use <strong>of</strong> clean<br />
coal while reducing carbon emissions. Further, “We need<br />
to enact laws to protect jobs against unfair, subsidized<br />
imports that have battered our steel and manufacturing industries,<br />
help small business compete in a global economy<br />
and assure safe working conditions in our factories, mills,<br />
mines and <strong>of</strong>fices.”<br />
A highly respected expert on military matters, Murtha<br />
backs expanding veterans benefits, improving their health<br />
care access and treatment and finding them jobs within<br />
their local communities. With many retirees in his district,<br />
he recognizes the need “to ensure the long-term stability <strong>of</strong><br />
Social Security, and the first step is to defeat the proposals<br />
to privatize the system. At the same time, we need to shore<br />
up the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. and provide incentives<br />
for companies to<br />
provide better retirement<br />
programs.”<br />
Majority Leader<br />
<strong>of</strong> the State House <strong>of</strong><br />
Representatives Bill<br />
DeWeese (D-50th) was<br />
Bill DeWeese (D)<br />
instrumental in ensuring<br />
passage <strong>of</strong> the commonwealth’s<br />
new mine safety legislation, the first major<br />
update in 47 years. “Not only did Bill do what it took to get<br />
the legislation passed in the House, he was a key player in<br />
strengthening the language from the earlier Senate version<br />
by rejecting intense pressure by the Pennsylvania Coal Association<br />
and insisting on the critically needed provisions<br />
our union wanted,” said Secretary-Treasurer Kane. “He is<br />
a courageous and constant friend <strong>of</strong> the UMWA and its<br />
Pennsylvania membership.”<br />
Phil Smith<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 3 Kathy Dahlkemper (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Jason Altmire (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Mark McCracken (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Joe Sestak (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Patrick J. Murphy (D)<br />
Dist. 9 Tony Barr (D)<br />
Dist. 10 Christopher P. Carney (D)<br />
Dist. 11 Paul E. Kanjorski (D)<br />
Dist. 12 John P. Murtha (D)<br />
Dist. 13 Allyson Schwartz (D)<br />
Dist. 14 Mike Doyle (D)<br />
Dist. 17 Tim Holden (D)<br />
Dist. 18 Tim Murphy (R )<br />
Auditor General<br />
Jack Wagner (D)<br />
State Treasurer<br />
Robert McCord (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 25 Don Hilliard (D)<br />
Dist. 29 James J. Rhoades (R)<br />
Dist. 35 John N. Wozniak (D)<br />
Dist. 41 Don White (R)<br />
Dist. 43 Jay Costa, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 45 Sean Logan (D)<br />
State General Assembly<br />
Dist. 14 Dennis Rousseau (D)<br />
Dist. 16 Robert Matzie (D)<br />
Dist. 19 Jake Wheatley (D)<br />
Dist. 20 Don Walko (D)<br />
Dist. 21 Dom Costa (D)<br />
Dist. 22 Chelsa Wagner (D)<br />
Dist. 23 Dan Frankel (D)<br />
Dist. 24 Joseph Preston, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 25 Joseph Markosek (D)<br />
Dist. 27 Daniel Deasy, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 28 Brad Cline (D)<br />
Dist. 32 Anthony DeLuca (D)<br />
Dist. 33 Frank Dermody (D)<br />
Dist. 34 Paul Costa (D)<br />
Dist. 35 Marc Gergely (D)<br />
Dist. 36 Harry Readshaw (D)<br />
Dist. 38 Bill Kortz (D)<br />
Dist. 39 David Levdansky (D)<br />
Dist. 42 Matt Smith (D)<br />
Dist. 44 Ayanna Lee (D)<br />
Dist. 45 Nick Kotik (D)<br />
Dist. 46 Jesse White (D)<br />
Dist. 48 Timothy Joseph Solobay (D)<br />
Dist. 49 Peter J. Daley, II (D)<br />
Dist. 50 Bill DeWeese (D)<br />
Dist. 51 Tim Mahoney (D)<br />
Dist. 52 Deberah Kula (D)<br />
Dist. 54 John E. Pallone (D)<br />
Dist. 55 Joseph A. Petrarca (D<br />
Dist. 56 James E. Casorio, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 57 John Boyle (D)<br />
Dist. 58 R. Ted Harhai (D)<br />
Dist. 59 Michael O’Barto (D)<br />
Dist. 63 Matt Ellenberger (D)<br />
Dist. 66 Samy Elmasry (D)<br />
Dist. 69 Ken Warnick (D)<br />
Dist. 71 Bryan Barbin (D)<br />
Dist. 72 Frank Burns (D)<br />
Dist. 73 Gary Haluska (D)<br />
Dist. 74 Camille George (D)<br />
Dist. 75 Dan A. Surra (D)<br />
Dist. 77 H. Scott Conklin (D)<br />
Dist. 107 Robert E. Belfanti, Jr. (D)<br />
Dist. 112 Ken Smith (D)<br />
Dist. 113 Frank Anders Shimkus (R)<br />
Dist. 114 Jim Wansacz (D)<br />
Dist. 115 Edward G. Staback (D)<br />
Dist. 116 Todd A. Eachus (D)<br />
Dist. 118 Mike Carroll (D)<br />
Dist. 119 John T. Yudichak (D)<br />
Dist. 120 Phyllis Mundy (D)<br />
Dist. 121 Eddie Day Pashinski (D)<br />
Dist. 122 Keith McCall (D)<br />
Dist. 123 Neal P. Goodman (D)<br />
Dist. 124 Bill Mackey (D)<br />
Dist. 125 Tim Seip (D)<br />
14 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
UMWA COMPAC<br />
voter’s guide<br />
Western States<br />
U<br />
.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D), who has represented Colorado’s 2nd Congressional<br />
District since 1988, is currently running for the U.S. Senate. He<br />
believes that in the push for energy security, important energy sources such<br />
as coal must be part <strong>of</strong> the mix. “Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region<br />
are blessed with many <strong>of</strong> these resources, including abundant natural gas and<br />
cleaner-burning coal,” he said. “Recognizing that Colorado and the nation are<br />
home to significant coal deposits, we have to step up national efforts to capture<br />
and store carbon. Carbon ‘sequestration’ could enable the continued use <strong>of</strong><br />
coal resources without contaminating the atmosphere. That’s why I introduced<br />
the Department <strong>of</strong> Energy Carbon Capture and Storage Research Development<br />
and Demonstration Act <strong>of</strong> 2007, which would enable capture and underground<br />
storage <strong>of</strong> carbon.”<br />
In neighboring New Mexico, Mark’s cousin, Tom Udall (D), who represents<br />
the 3rd Congressional District, is also running for the Senate. With a strong focus<br />
on health care, he wants to allow every citizen over the age <strong>of</strong> 55 to buy into<br />
Medicare, allow small businesses to buy into the same health care plan members<br />
<strong>of</strong> Congress and federal employees have, invest in preventive health measures,<br />
pass expansion <strong>of</strong> children’s health insurance, let the government negotiate<br />
lower Medicare drug prices and expand and modernize the Veterans Administration<br />
health care system. He also wants to provide a tax credit to companies<br />
that maintain or increase the number <strong>of</strong> workers in <strong>America</strong>, and will end the<br />
tax breaks for companies that outsource <strong>America</strong>n jobs.<br />
Tennessee<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Bob Tuke (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 4 Lincoln Davis (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 12 Becky Ruppe (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 36 Roger Byrge (D)<br />
New York<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 24 Michael Acuri (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Dist. 51 James Seward (R)<br />
State Assembly<br />
Dist. 115 David Townsend, Jr. (R)<br />
Dist. 116 RoAnn Destito (D)<br />
Dist. 117 Marc Butler (R)<br />
Arizona<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Ann Kirkpatrick (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Bob Lord (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Ed Pastor (D)<br />
Dist. 5 Harry Mitchell (D)<br />
Dist. 7 Raul Grijalva (D)<br />
Dist. 8 Gabrielle Giffords (D)<br />
Colorado<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Mark Udall (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 2 Jared Polis (D)<br />
Dist. 3 John Salazar (D)<br />
Dist. 4 Betsy Markey (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 47 Buffy McFadyen (D)<br />
Montana<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Max Baucus (D)<br />
Governor<br />
Brian Schweitzer (D)<br />
Nevada<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 3 Alice Costandina “Dina” Titus (D)<br />
New Mexico<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Tom Udall (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 1 Martin Heinrich (D)<br />
Dist. 2 Harry Teague (D)<br />
Dist. 3 Ben Ray Lujan, Jr. (D)<br />
North Dakota<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
At Large Earl Pomeroy (D)<br />
Utah<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 2 Jim Matheson (D)<br />
State Senate<br />
Brad King (D)<br />
State House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
Dist. 69 Christine Watkins (D)<br />
Wyoming<br />
U.S. Senate<br />
Nick Carter (D)<br />
Chris Rothfuss (D)<br />
U.S. House <strong>of</strong> Representatives<br />
At Large Gary Trauner (D)<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 15
around<br />
our Union<br />
LaFarge workers<br />
moving ahead<br />
When workers ratified a first<br />
contract with LaFarge North<br />
<strong>America</strong> at its Joppa, Ill., cement plant<br />
(see UMW Journal, July/August 2008),<br />
they were taking the final step in a<br />
long and <strong>of</strong>ten difficult process. Two<br />
years after initial organizing began,<br />
they achieved a voice on the job.<br />
“After the workers voted for<br />
UMWA representation, the atmosphere<br />
did change for the better,”<br />
said L.U. 3907 President Jerry<br />
Barnett. “Management started addressing<br />
things that had caused<br />
problems in the past. Despite a<br />
couple <strong>of</strong> isolated incidents <strong>of</strong> local<br />
management’s arrogance toward<br />
workers, the solidarity shown by local<br />
members soon put an end to the<br />
‘I’ll show you guys how this works’<br />
attitude <strong>of</strong> certain managers.”<br />
Phil Smith<br />
Leaders <strong>of</strong> the new L.U. 3907 met with President Roberts and Secretary-<br />
Treasurer Kane at the recent District 12 conference.<br />
A key element in the new contract<br />
is a provision for union rights<br />
at a new 2 million-ton plant slated to<br />
open in 2010. The company anticipated<br />
that the new facility will reduce<br />
energy use and enhance environmental<br />
protection while reducing the<br />
need to import cement.<br />
The negotiating process took 15<br />
months, but now “our focus can be<br />
centered on fostering and maintaining<br />
our relationship with the company by<br />
using the platform and structure we<br />
now have thanks to the commitment<br />
made to us by the UMWA,” Barnett<br />
said. “Support from the International<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice and District 12 leaders helped<br />
to make the difference.<br />
“It feels great to actually say,<br />
‘We are <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>America</strong> L.U. 3907 working under<br />
a first contract that we fought for,’”<br />
he said. “I believe the greatest lesson<br />
we have learned to date and will<br />
continue to learn is the importance<br />
<strong>of</strong> solidarity.” <br />
Jefferson County Jail<br />
On Sept. 20, a formal dedication <strong>of</strong> the historic Jefferson County Jail took place in<br />
Charles Town, W.Va., after it underwent a $2.3 million restoration. The jail was the<br />
1922 trial site for several hundred miners who faced charges <strong>of</strong> murder and treason<br />
stemming from the southern West Virginia<br />
mine wars that culminated in the Battle <strong>of</strong><br />
Blair Mountain in Logan and Boone counties<br />
in 1921. Some 30 UMWA principal leaders<br />
were incarcerated in the jail prior to and<br />
during the trials, including Bill Blizzard, who<br />
was acquitted <strong>of</strong> treason, and Walter Allen,<br />
who was later convicted. Two other miners<br />
were convicted <strong>of</strong> murder and a third was<br />
tried for treason as well, but his trial ended without a verdict.<br />
In late 2000, a previous county commission voted to demolish the old jail, but local<br />
citizens and preservationists organized to save it. After a six-year fight, the current county<br />
commission voted unanimously to restore the jail for county <strong>of</strong>fices.<br />
Lockout<br />
at Logistec<br />
L.U. 2268 members picketed a Cape<br />
Breton pier after their employer,<br />
Logistec Stevedoring, locked them<br />
out Sept. 15 in a wage dispute.<br />
“Rather than trying to resolve<br />
this issue at the bargaining table,<br />
management preferred to send our<br />
members home,” said International<br />
Auditor-Teller Bobby Burchell. “But<br />
we’re not going anywhere.”<br />
The 18 UMWA members at the<br />
Nova Scotia facility make about $10<br />
an hour less than those performing<br />
similar work in nearby Halifax and<br />
New Brunswick.<br />
16 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
around<br />
our Union<br />
Hobet jobs saved<br />
The UMWA called <strong>of</strong>f a rally planned<br />
for Aug. 18 in Madison, W.Va., after<br />
an agreement was reached between<br />
Patriot Coal and the plaintiffs in a<br />
suit challenging a mining permit<br />
issued to the company’s Hobet Mining<br />
site in Boone and Lincoln counties.<br />
The agreement resulted in the<br />
cancellation by the company <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Worker Adjustment and Retraining<br />
Notification (WARN) Act notice it had<br />
sent to 350 UMWA L.U. 1643 members<br />
at Hobet advising them <strong>of</strong> potential<br />
lay<strong>of</strong>fs at the mine.<br />
“The UMWA is pleased that an<br />
agreement was reached between the<br />
parties that will allow our members at<br />
Hobet to continue working,” President<br />
Roberts said. “It demonstrates that<br />
when all parties are willing to work<br />
together on finding a solution, good<br />
things can happen.”<br />
The WARN Act notification<br />
was issued after a federal judge<br />
temporarily blocked a permit to<br />
expand the mine at the request <strong>of</strong><br />
several environmental groups.<br />
Roberts pledged to “continue to<br />
support all efforts to defend the jobs<br />
at Hobet through the legal process<br />
and elsewhere. We will fight to defend<br />
our members’ livelihoods. We are<br />
prepared to work with whoever we<br />
need to work with to save these jobs.<br />
“Our members are not the<br />
decision-makers about where and<br />
how coal is mined. We just mine the<br />
coal, so that we can provide for our<br />
families and build our communities,”<br />
Roberts said. “Our ability to do<br />
that depends on a continued spirit<br />
<strong>of</strong> understanding, openness and<br />
cooperation from all sides.” <br />
Safety at Crown III<br />
Each year, the Illinois Department <strong>of</strong> Natural Resources, Office <strong>of</strong> <strong>Mine</strong>s<br />
and <strong>Mine</strong>rals, recognizes surface and underground coal mines for their<br />
safety achievements. The “Best Injury Frequency Rate Awards” are given<br />
in four categories to operations that have the lowest reportable accidents<br />
for a 12-month period. The Centre Crown Mining LLC, Crown III <strong>Mine</strong><br />
is the 2008 award recipient in the large underground mine division. The<br />
miners at Crown III, represented by L.U. 12, had last won this award in<br />
2004. Office <strong>of</strong> <strong>Mine</strong>s and <strong>Mine</strong>rals Director Joe Angleton presented this<br />
year’s award to members <strong>of</strong> the Crown III <strong>Mine</strong>’s Safety Committee.<br />
L.U. 2258 and L.U. 2300 members who work for Foundation Coal man<br />
the table at the Coal Show in Greene County, Pa., while collecting<br />
signatures to support passage <strong>of</strong> the Employee Free Choice Act.<br />
Marlon Whoolery<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 17
around<br />
our Union<br />
In Memoriam<br />
Joe Tagliente<br />
David Kameras<br />
The UMWA mourns the loss <strong>of</strong> L.U. 2286<br />
member Joe “Pops” Tagliente, Sr., who<br />
passed on Sept. 5, 2008. He was 94.<br />
The son <strong>of</strong> an immigrant coal<br />
miner who was killed on the job while<br />
still a teenager,<br />
Tagliente worked<br />
at Orlandi,<br />
Ridgeview and<br />
Carbon Fuel<br />
companies before<br />
retiring from<br />
Kanawha Coal’s<br />
Madison <strong>Mine</strong>, capping a 49-year career.<br />
After joining the UMWA in 1934, he<br />
held several positions in his local and<br />
was a member <strong>of</strong> COMPAC. “I bet no<br />
other miner cherished the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong><br />
<strong>Workers</strong> Union as Dad,” said his son,<br />
Joe Tagliente, Jr. “Through the union’s<br />
efforts, his pension, black lung benefits<br />
and health benefits enabled him to be<br />
well taken care <strong>of</strong>.”<br />
L.U. 1656 <strong>of</strong>ficers join International Auditor/Teller Bobby Burchell at the Hinton,<br />
Alb., marker commemorating the 1938 mine disaster.<br />
Story <strong>of</strong> 1938 Hinton disaster to be told<br />
Thanks to the assistance provided by L.U. 1656, the Hinton (Alb.) Historical<br />
Tracks and Trails Society will present interpretive programming recognizing<br />
the March 30, 1938, disaster at the Hinton Collieries that claimed the<br />
lives <strong>of</strong> five miners. The exhibit will<br />
be placed in the Hinton Historical<br />
Interpretive Centre Museum, to be<br />
President Roberts<br />
explains to an<br />
Annandale, Va.,<br />
resident how<br />
electing Barack<br />
Obama will help<br />
working families.<br />
Hundreds <strong>of</strong> union<br />
members joined<br />
the Sept. 4 laborto-labor<br />
precinct<br />
walk sponsored<br />
by the Northern<br />
Virginia Area<br />
Labor Federation.<br />
located in Hinton’s old train station.<br />
In addition to the fatalities, five<br />
miners were injured, including Fireboss<br />
William Aitken, who returned<br />
three times to the blast site, battling<br />
flames and sustaining burns to carry<br />
out his surviving comrades.<br />
A contemporary report by the<br />
Alberta Department <strong>of</strong> Lands and<br />
<strong>Mine</strong>s indicated that the method <strong>of</strong><br />
ventilating the conveyer room where<br />
the explosion took place “was bad,<br />
to say the least, more so as none was<br />
carried across the face.” <br />
David Kameras<br />
18 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
Donald Yarish<br />
As someone who has been active<br />
in COMPAC most <strong>of</strong> his adult<br />
life, L.U. 2258 member Donald<br />
Yarish has seen both sides <strong>of</strong> politics.<br />
“In my dad’s house, the two<br />
pictures we had on the wall were <strong>of</strong><br />
John L. Lewis and Franklin Delano<br />
Roosevelt,” said the Carmichaels,<br />
Pa., resident and 34-year UMWA<br />
member. “I’ve always been active in<br />
politics. I’ve always liked it, and I’ve<br />
always checked out who was the best<br />
candidate for working families.”<br />
Which is true in both word and<br />
deed. Yarish has served as both Treasurer<br />
and Prothonotary for Greene<br />
County, but “there was no money<br />
in that.”<br />
Instead, Yarish chose the mining<br />
life, like his father, grandfather<br />
and uncles before him. He did “a<br />
little bit <strong>of</strong> everything,” including<br />
pumper, shuttle car operator and<br />
working on the longwall in several<br />
western Pennsylvania mines. Joining<br />
the UMWA in 1974, he served<br />
as L.U. 6159 Treasurer and on the<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> Committee and Safety Committee<br />
while working at the Bobtown<br />
<strong>Mine</strong>, then did a brief stint at<br />
the Vesta No. 5 <strong>Mine</strong> before going<br />
to work at the Emerald <strong>Mine</strong>, where<br />
he served as L.U. 2258 President<br />
and Financial Secretary and served<br />
on the <strong>Mine</strong> Committee and Safety<br />
Committee. “I was always active because<br />
I thought it was so important,”<br />
he said. “When I got involved in the<br />
union, I wanted to help others. I’ll<br />
bet I haven’t missed 15 union meetings<br />
over the years I’ve belonged.”<br />
“Brother Yarish has devoted his<br />
life to the advancement <strong>of</strong> working<br />
people,” said Region I Director<br />
Clemmy Allen. “He is a great inspirational<br />
leader and a person you<br />
always can count on when the going<br />
gets tough.”<br />
Sometimes the going gets tough<br />
for Yarish, who retired in 1994.<br />
He had to give up being Financial<br />
Secretary due to macular degeneration,<br />
which made it difficult for him<br />
to read numbers. But that didn’t slow<br />
him down on the political front.<br />
“Don Yarish has been a UMWA<br />
activist all <strong>of</strong> his career,” noted International<br />
District 2 Vice President Ed<br />
Yankovich. “He is not only well-respected<br />
by the members <strong>of</strong> his local,<br />
but by everyone who knows him,<br />
including members <strong>of</strong> the community<br />
at large, for his political activism<br />
and staunch unionism.”<br />
Actively Retired is a regular feature highlighting UMWA retirees still working<br />
on behalf <strong>of</strong> the union. If you’d like to recommend a retiree to appear in Actively<br />
Retired, write to the UMW Journal, UMWA, 8315 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA<br />
22031, Attn: Actively Retired. Please include your name, local union, a telephone<br />
number and a brief explanation <strong>of</strong> why you’re nominating the individual.<br />
actively<br />
retired<br />
“I’ve had a good life, and I’ve<br />
really enjoyed it. But you know, I’m<br />
77, and George W. Bush is the worst<br />
president I’ve ever seen,” Yarish said.<br />
“The economy is hurting, and I feel<br />
so very bad for my children and<br />
grandchildren. The cost <strong>of</strong> going to<br />
“The economy is hurting, and I feel so very bad for my<br />
children and grandchildren…We’ve got to have a change,<br />
which is why I’m supporting Barack Obama<br />
for President <strong>of</strong> the <strong>United</strong> States.”<br />
college is so outrageous. Both parents<br />
have to work today. We’ve got to have<br />
a change, which is why I’m supporting<br />
Barack Obama for President <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>United</strong> States.”<br />
Yarish sees the union as the best<br />
agent for change. “The UMWA has<br />
made all the difference in the world<br />
to me; and to our family, the <strong>United</strong><br />
<strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> is everything. They got<br />
the best <strong>of</strong> everything for the members.<br />
Over the years, we’ve had some<br />
good leaders, but the leader we have<br />
now, Cecil Roberts, is fantastic. I think<br />
the union has made a better life for<br />
everybody in the membership.” <br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 19
our<br />
health&safety<br />
Crandall Canyon report flawed<br />
An independent review <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> Safety and Health Administration’s<br />
(MSHA) actions during<br />
and after last year’s Crandall Canyon<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> disaster identified blatant<br />
disregard for miners’ safety by the<br />
mine operator, Genwall Resources,<br />
a subsidiary <strong>of</strong> Murray Energy. The<br />
company’s production-at-all-costs<br />
mentality was the most significant<br />
factor contributing to this tragedy.<br />
“It is now abundantly clear that<br />
the mine operator had reason to<br />
know it was likely that a mine bump,<br />
or coal outburst, would occur in the<br />
area where it did occur on Aug. 6,<br />
2007,” said President Roberts. “Ample<br />
warnings were given in the company’s<br />
own internal documents, based on<br />
experience in another section <strong>of</strong> the<br />
mine where a collapse had previously<br />
occurred, as well as on conditions<br />
miners were experiencing just a few<br />
days prior to Aug. 6.<br />
“Yet that did not stop senior<br />
company management from pressing<br />
ahead, even after the company had<br />
seriously and illegally weakened the<br />
structural integrity <strong>of</strong> the mine by<br />
mining coal from the barrier pillars<br />
and the mine floor,” Roberts said.<br />
“We think these were criminal acts.”<br />
And in fact, on Sept. 3, MSHA<br />
announced that it has made a<br />
criminal referral <strong>of</strong> issues relating<br />
to the Crandall Canyon <strong>Mine</strong><br />
disaster after issuing civil citations<br />
Safety Committee training<br />
and orders on July 24, when it fined<br />
the operator $1,340,000 for alleged<br />
violations that directly contributed<br />
to the deaths <strong>of</strong> six miners last year.<br />
Agapito Associates, Inc., a mining<br />
engineering consultant, was fined<br />
$220,000 for an allegedly faulty<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> the mine’s design.<br />
An Independent Review Team<br />
appointed by Labor Secretary Elaine<br />
Chao identified many deficiencies<br />
in MSHA’s actions at the Crandall<br />
Canyon <strong>Mine</strong> prior to the accident,<br />
during the subsequent rescue operation<br />
and in other aspects <strong>of</strong> MSHA’s<br />
performance, policies and procedures.<br />
In recognizing that the mine operator<br />
has the primary responsibility for<br />
the safety and health <strong>of</strong> its miners,<br />
including developing plans which<br />
provide maximum safety, the team<br />
noted that MSHA has the responsibility<br />
to review and evaluate these plans<br />
to ensure that they are technically<br />
adequate and provide protection for<br />
miners prior to approving them.<br />
The Department <strong>of</strong> Labor team<br />
found that MSHA’s failure to adequately<br />
evaluate the ro<strong>of</strong> control<br />
plans contributed to the occurrence <strong>of</strong><br />
the Aug. 6 accident, and deficiencies in<br />
The union has scheduled Health and Safety Committee training at the Beckley National<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> Academy, with an underground class scheduled for Oct. 19-24. If you know someone<br />
who may be interested in attending the October class, please notify the UMWA’s Health<br />
and Safety Department for further details.<br />
MSHA’s performance during the rescue<br />
operation cumulatively may have<br />
affected the outcome <strong>of</strong> the Aug. 16<br />
rescue attempt that killed three more<br />
persons. The team also found other<br />
deficiencies to be evident <strong>of</strong> a systemic<br />
problem, both in MSHA District 9<br />
and within MSHA as a whole.<br />
“There is more to this tragedy<br />
than the greed <strong>of</strong> a coal operator<br />
causing workers to be put in harm’s<br />
way,” Roberts said. “The fact is that<br />
companies like Murray Energy are<br />
supposed to be kept in check by<br />
“These tragic events provide a very clear demonstration<br />
<strong>of</strong> what has happened to MSHA over the last<br />
seven years under the Bush administration.”<br />
MSHA. That did not happen at Crandall<br />
Canyon. Indeed, there already<br />
was evidence to suggest that MSHA<br />
personnel helped expedite the approvals<br />
<strong>of</strong> plans submitted by Murray<br />
Energy that led up to this disaster.<br />
We must ask: Where were the MSHA<br />
inspectors? Why was MSHA not being<br />
proactive in protecting miners’<br />
health and safety? Why did MSHA act<br />
as little more than a rubber stamp for<br />
a clearly flawed mining plan?<br />
“These tragic events provide a<br />
very clear demonstration <strong>of</strong> what<br />
has happened to MSHA over the last<br />
seven years under the Bush administration,”<br />
Roberts said. “It has become<br />
a coddler <strong>of</strong> coal companies, not an<br />
enforcer <strong>of</strong> the law and regulation.<br />
This report and others like it reiterate<br />
the need for a change in administration,<br />
to one that will put workers’<br />
health and safety above increased<br />
production and pr<strong>of</strong>its.” <br />
20 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
our<br />
health&safety<br />
Rescue teams<br />
win big<br />
UMWA mine rescue teams took home<br />
the gold and more from the 53rd<br />
annual West Virginia State <strong>Mine</strong> Rescue<br />
Contest in Beckley last August.<br />
Winners in the mine rescue competition<br />
included:<br />
Eastern Associated Coal LLC,<br />
Federal No. 2 (L.U. 1570)<br />
• Grand Champion<br />
• First Aid State Champion<br />
• First Aid Second Place<br />
• First Aid Third Place<br />
• Combination <strong>Mine</strong> Rescue and<br />
First Aid State Champion<br />
• Combination <strong>Mine</strong> Rescue and<br />
First Aid First Place<br />
• Pre-Shift Third Place<br />
Patriot Coal, Southern Appalachian<br />
Operations (combined team)<br />
• Combination <strong>Mine</strong> Rescue and<br />
First Aid Second Place<br />
• Bench (BG4) Third Place<br />
Patriot Coal, Magnum A Team<br />
(L.U. 2286)<br />
• Bench BioPak (240R) State Champion<br />
• Bench BioPak (240R) First Place<br />
• Bench BioPak (240R) Second Place<br />
• Bench BioPak (240R) Third Place<br />
Chevron Mining Inc., North River<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> Blue Team (L.U. 1926)<br />
• Bench (BG4) First Place<br />
Highland Mining Co., Highland No. 9<br />
<strong>Mine</strong> (L.U. 1793)<br />
• Bench BioPak (240S) Second Place<br />
The four-day event, sponsored by the<br />
Southern West Virginia <strong>Mine</strong> Rescue<br />
Association and the West Virginia Office<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Mine</strong>rs’ Health, Safety and Training,<br />
included teams from West Virginia,<br />
Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia, Ohio,<br />
Pennsylvania and Illinois. <br />
UMWA slams MSHA drug testing rule<br />
With a number <strong>of</strong> challenges demanding<br />
immediate attention,<br />
the UMWA strongly urged the <strong>Mine</strong><br />
Safety and Health Administration<br />
(MSHA) to withdraw a proposed<br />
drug-testing rule that would divert<br />
the agency’s attention and resources<br />
away from more pressing needs.<br />
“MSHA has not determined<br />
there is a significant problem with<br />
improper drug and alcohol use in<br />
the coal mining industry, and in<br />
fact acknowledges that four out <strong>of</strong><br />
five miners report<br />
that their employers<br />
already use pre-employment<br />
screening<br />
tests, while 75 percent<br />
<strong>of</strong> miners report their<br />
employers subject<br />
them to random testing,”<br />
said President<br />
Roberts. “Moreover,<br />
proceeding with this<br />
proposed rule will<br />
divert valuable agency<br />
resources from other,<br />
much more essential rulemakings<br />
that would address health and safety<br />
issues for which the need is both<br />
demonstrated and urgent.”<br />
The proposed federal rule<br />
would require employers to establish<br />
alcohol-free and drug-free programs<br />
that mandate education, testing and<br />
referrals for those who would violate<br />
any such policy. At least two <strong>of</strong> the<br />
key coal-mining states, Kentucky and<br />
Virginia, already have their own drug<br />
and alcohol testing protocols established.<br />
“Although the union certainly<br />
does not condone drug or alcohol<br />
use that impairs a miner at work, the<br />
agency’s effort to implement a final<br />
rule on alcohol and drug use is a<br />
distraction that our members, and all<br />
coal miners, simply cannot afford,”<br />
Roberts said.<br />
For example, black lung continues<br />
to ravage the health <strong>of</strong> coal miners,<br />
including young miners just now<br />
entering the industry. For years, the<br />
union has sought rules that would<br />
protect miners from the health hazards<br />
associated with respirable dust<br />
and crystalline silica, and has urged<br />
MSHA to update outdated air quality<br />
MSHA has not<br />
determined there is<br />
a significant problem<br />
with improper drug<br />
and alcohol use in the<br />
coal mining industry.<br />
chemical substance and respiratory<br />
protection standards.<br />
Roberts also objected to the<br />
remarkably short 30-day comment<br />
period MSHA allowed for the proposed<br />
rule. “The proposed emergency<br />
evacuation rule that was published<br />
after the multi-fatal disasters <strong>of</strong> 2006<br />
provided a comment period <strong>of</strong> 112<br />
days,” he noted. “Other proposed<br />
MSHA rules and policies generally<br />
provide at least twice the time allowed<br />
here, and those proposed rules<br />
are <strong>of</strong>ten extended by request. There<br />
is no compelling reason why this proposal<br />
must be rushed through on this<br />
substantially shorter calendar.” <br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 21
DISTRICTS<br />
in action<br />
District 12<br />
L.U. 12 member and Illinois<br />
COMPAC State Chairman Randy<br />
Henry speaks with presidential<br />
candidate Sen. Barack Obama<br />
after a campaign rally in August.<br />
Local 1392 members met on<br />
Sept. 20 for their first fall dinner in<br />
Du Quoin, Ill.<br />
A special meeting and dinner took<br />
place on Sept. 24 in Montrose, Mo.<br />
On Sept. 28, L.U. 1523 hosted a<br />
picnic for its members in Fairview, Ill.<br />
District 12<br />
Steve Earle was appointed to the <strong>of</strong>fice<br />
<strong>of</strong> International District 12 Vice<br />
President effective Sept. 22, 2008. He<br />
will fill the unexpired term <strong>of</strong> Brother<br />
Roger Myers, who resigned due to<br />
health reasons. Brother Earle will also<br />
continue to perform the duties <strong>of</strong><br />
Region III Director.<br />
On July 31, southwestern Indiana<br />
retirees met in Boonville, Ind.<br />
Locals 1919, 8941 and 9800 held<br />
a picnic at the Ohio County Fairgrounds<br />
in Hartford, Ky., on Aug. 2.<br />
Local 1216 held its annual retiree<br />
dinner on Aug. 9 in Brazil, Ind.<br />
President Roberts, Secretary-<br />
Treasurer Kane and Illinois AFL-CIO<br />
Rich eddy<br />
District 31<br />
Secretary-Treasurer Tim Drea (a L.U.<br />
9819 member) addressed members at<br />
the Aug. 14 District 12 conference in<br />
Carbondale, Ill.<br />
The Labor Day Parade in Petersburg,<br />
Ind., was the largest ever held,<br />
with over 100 parade entries.<br />
District 12 members handed out<br />
wristbands to children for free carnival<br />
rides at the Du Quoin, Ill., State<br />
Fairgrounds on Labor Day.<br />
The Kentucky COMPAC meeting<br />
was held on Sept.4-5 in Frankfort.<br />
In Linton, Ind, L.U. 1410 held a<br />
retiree dinner on Sept. 13.<br />
On Sept.16, Local 14 held a<br />
dinner for members and spouses in<br />
Mulberry, Kans.<br />
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke at length about<br />
the need for coal to be part <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>’s energy future at a rally in<br />
Smithfield, Oh., attended by UMWA members and District 31 leadership.<br />
District 17<br />
District 17 congratulates the two<br />
recipients <strong>of</strong> the District 17 Scholarship<br />
awards. Matthew Stevenson is the<br />
son <strong>of</strong> Franklin, a member <strong>of</strong> L.U.<br />
2232, and Judith Stevenson. Matthew<br />
lives in Vansant, Va., and he plans to<br />
attend Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.<br />
Anthony Haskins is the son <strong>of</strong> Cecil<br />
and Ramona Haskins. Cecil is a<br />
member <strong>of</strong> L.U. 6029. Anthony lives in<br />
Kimball, W.Va., and will attend West<br />
Virginia University in Morgantown.<br />
The 70th Labor Day celebration<br />
was held Sept. 1 at the John Slack Memorial<br />
Park in Racine, W.Va. International<br />
District 17 Vice President Joe<br />
Carter was the speaker for this event.<br />
Speakers on hand included state and<br />
local politicians and labor leaders.<br />
The Labor Day Committee wishes to<br />
thank everyone who participated and<br />
came out for a fun day.<br />
District 22<br />
On Sept. 9 and 10, the District 22<br />
Conference was held in Salt Lake City,<br />
Ut. In conjunction with the conference,<br />
International District 22 Vice President<br />
Mike Dalpiaz held the District COM-<br />
PAC meeting. The main substance <strong>of</strong><br />
the conference was on the upcoming<br />
presidential election. It was very clearly<br />
explained to the membership that<br />
everyone needs to go out to their locals<br />
and tell them how important it is to get<br />
Obama/Biden elected.<br />
22 <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 • <strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal
DISTRICTS<br />
in action<br />
A guest speaker at the conference<br />
was Bill Banig, UMWA Director<br />
<strong>of</strong> Governmental Affairs. President<br />
Roberts sent a very informative video<br />
based on the politics <strong>of</strong> what has<br />
happened over the last eight years<br />
and the importance <strong>of</strong> the upcoming<br />
presidential election.<br />
Also, financial and grievance<br />
training classes were held in conjunction<br />
with this conference. Ron<br />
Airhart, Executive Assistant to the<br />
Secretary-Treasurer, was in attendance<br />
to conduct the financial secretary<br />
training. Bo Martos, Director <strong>of</strong><br />
Contract Services, as well as District<br />
22 Representatives Bill Johnson, Phil<br />
Russell and Dave Maggio, conducted<br />
the grievance training classes.<br />
We had a very large turnout for<br />
this event. We were glad to welcome<br />
the <strong>of</strong>ficers from L.U. 2005 on the Navajo<br />
Nation, which is our newest local<br />
union in our district. This was their<br />
first conference with District 22, and<br />
we hope to see them every year. We<br />
would like to thank all who attended.<br />
District 2<br />
President Roberts fires up the<br />
crowd on behalf <strong>of</strong> presidential<br />
candidate Barack Obama at the<br />
District 2 retiree-pensioner annual<br />
picnic in Fredericktown, Pa.<br />
District 31<br />
International<br />
Secretary-<br />
Treasurer Dan<br />
Kane and Marion<br />
County Central<br />
Labor Council<br />
President Vern<br />
Swisher join L.U.<br />
1702 member<br />
Mark Dorsey as<br />
Dorsey receives<br />
the council’s 2008<br />
Labor Person <strong>of</strong><br />
the Year Award.<br />
Honoring Our Pensioners<br />
UMWA District <strong>of</strong>ficials recently honored the following retirees for their<br />
years <strong>of</strong> service as members <strong>of</strong> the UMWA.<br />
70 Year Pins District 17 L.U. 6196 Andy Semonco<br />
60 Year Pins District 2 L.U. 4426 Clarence<br />
Schreckengost District 12 L.U. 1092 Girthel Figg L.U. 1393 Bill<br />
Combs L.U. 1423 George Adams L.U. 9819 A. Moe Bialas, Bill Herman,<br />
Robert Mitchellson, Joseph O’Bryan District 17 L.U. 5997 Samuel Foley<br />
District 31 L.U. 0283 John J. Tonkovich<br />
50 Year Pins District 2 L.U. 1412 Carl M. Mucci District 12 L.U. 1605 Charles<br />
Babb L.U. 2470 James Durham District 17 L.U. 6608 Bernard Hapney L.U. 8783 Shirley<br />
Gibson, Jr. District 31 L.U. 9909 Paul Hines<br />
J.F. Rote<br />
40 Year Pins District 2 L.U. 1248 Richard Richards District 12 L.U. 5138<br />
James Dockery L.U. 7110 James Ogden L.U. 9800 Donald Cox, Robert Cox, Lonnie Hawes<br />
L.U. 9819 Harry Bandy, Paul Bandy, Bill Herman, Ed Hughes District 17 L.U. 0340 R.W. Gray<br />
L.U. 1440 Bryant Hatfield L.U. 2274 James Stevens L.U. 6633 Ronald Brewer L.U. 9735<br />
Ronnie Lusk L.U. 6243 Clarence Wilson District 20 L.U. 1288 John Chappell, Thomas H.<br />
Gray, Moultie W. Powell District 31 L.U. 1188 Ronald Groves L.U. 9909 Ralph T. Bolyard<br />
David Kameras<br />
Unfortunately, due to the numbers <strong>of</strong> members receiving pins, the UMW Journal cannot run photos <strong>of</strong><br />
pin recipients. In order to receive a membership pin, you must submit an application to the District <strong>of</strong>fice.<br />
Pins are not automatically issued. Your district representative will send the names to the UMW Journal.<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Mine</strong> <strong>Workers</strong> Journal • <strong>September</strong>/October 2008 23
Join your UMWA brothers and sisters on Nov. 4<br />
who are voting for Barack Obama for President.<br />
For your job,<br />
your health care,<br />
your retirement<br />
security,<br />
your family’s future...<br />
H<br />
Vote Obama/Biden!<br />
Printed in the U.S.A.