March - April - United Mine Workers of America

March–April 2006 117th Year, No. 2

United Mine Workers 

JOURNAL 

The Fight Starts Now. Get Ready! ......4 

Over 500 delegates to the UMWA’s 

53 rd Consecutive Constitutional Convention 

gathered in Las Vegas and 

started our Union down the path of 

a fair contract, preserving health care 

for active and retired members and 

their families, improved pensions, 

better workplace health and safety 

and more organizing victories. 

All the news that’s fit to print? ........12 

Local newspaper coverage of workers’ 

issues is spotty at best, the UMW 

Journal finds in its third and last of 

a series examining coalfield media 

ownership and the effect on the 

news UMWA members and their 

families receive. 

Primary election endorsements .......16 

The UMWA COMPAC endorsements 

for the upcoming May 

primary elections in West Virginia 

and Kentucky. 

DEPARTMENTS 

Actively Retired .............................. 15 

Around our Union ......................... 18 

Districts in Action .......................... 20 

Our Health and Safety ................... 21 

Poems, Books, Music ..................... 22 

Cover: UMWA members, retirees and 

officers demonstrate strength and unity at 

the Union’s 53rd Constitutional Convention. 

All photos by Bill Burke, Page One 

Photography. 

UMWA summer school a must! 

As the UMWA gets ready for tough bargaining for a new contract this year, it’s 

time to go back to school. 

The 2006 training session, sponsored by the UMWA’s International Contract 

Department, will be taught by the faculty of West Virginia University’s 

Institute of Labor Studies and Research. Class offerings will include Labor History 

and Labor Law, Collective Bargaining and Leadership Development. 

Over two dozen 

UMWA members 

attended the 2005 session 

on the campus of 

WVU, and were joined 

by Secretary Treasurer 

Kane during their session. 

“This training is 

an excellent opportunity 

for UMWA leaders 

and rank-and-file 

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY 

members to sharpen 

their union skills, 

whether it’s to better 

represent the members 

back at their locals or 

learning to negotiate 

tough contracts,” Kane 

said. “A better-informed 

and better-prepared 

membership is what it 

will take to confront the challenges that are facing us this year and win.” 

Secretary-Treasurer Dan Kane joined UMWA 

members who attended the 2005 summer 

training session at West Virginia University. 

Class reservations and hotel reservations 

must be made by Tuesday, July 11. 

The program is open to all local unions and will be held this year at Lakeview 

Resort outside Morgantown, W.Va., August 27-30. The cost for registration 

is $125 per person, which covers all instructional costs. Individuals need 

to make their own reservations with Lakeview by calling 1-800-624-8300 and 

identifying themselves as UMWA summer school participants to get the special 

rate of $79 per night for a single or double room. 

For more information about the 2006 summer school, contact 

Robbie Massey, former UMWA International Representative, at 304-255-9321 

or by e-mail to RVMassey@wvu.edu. Members may also register by calling 

Sharon Mayfield at the Institute for Labor Studies and Research at 304-293-3323. 

Class reservations and hotel reservations must be made by Tuesday, July 11. 

Produced by the UMWA Communications Department: Phil Smith, Department Director, Editor; David Kameras, Communications Coordinator; 

Thelma Blount, Department Secretary; GO! Creative, LLC, Design 

Official Publication of the United Mine Workers of America, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215, www.umwa.org 

© by the United Mine Workers of America. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. The United Mine Workers Journal (ISSN 

0041-7327, USPS 649-780) is published bimonthly by the United Mine Workers of America, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, VA and at 

additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UNITED MINE WORKERS JOURNAL, Data Edit Department, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, VA 22031-2215. Telephone: 

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 

members receive the Journal free of charge. If this is a change of address, include the address label from the back cover of your Journal or your old address. 

Pursuant to Section 6113 of the Internal Revenue Code, we are required to notify you that membership dues paid to the UMWA are not deductible as charitable contributions for 

federal income tax purposes. 

2 March/April 2006 • United Mine Workers Journal

LETTERS 

Safety first in 

union mines 

I am a proud 63-year member of 

the great United Mine Workers of 

America. I worked in the mines for 

35 years—all underground and all in 

union mines—and I helped organize 

a few nonunion mines in my time. 

A lot of the nonunion miners didn’t 

agree with us at first, but after we 

explained to them the benefits and 

representation with a grievance and 

safety committee to settle their 

problems with the company, they 

got organized. 

In a nonunion mine you keep 

your mouth shut and do as the boss 

says or it’s “hit the road, Jack.” But 

the life of a union miner means 

safety first, then production after 

that. The fact is that the union gives 

coal miners a say. We can never 

forget that. 

Stanley Brosko 

Indiana, Pa. 

L.U. 3548, Dist. 2 

Blessed to be a 

UMWA member 

I want to tell every UMWA member 

how blessed I have been to have 

worked over 60 years with union representation. 

I am now 81 years old 

and have some of the best pension 

and health care benefits of any in organized 

labor. I get all these benefits 

for just the $6 per month which gets 

taken out of my check to belong to 

this organization. I read in the Journal 

that there are some who don’t 

pay their dues, yet my union sends 

them their benefits every month all 

the same. That’s wrong. 

If you will check history you’ll 

find that building this Union required 

lots of sacrifice and lives to 

get where it is today. Those of you 

who are not paying your dues owe it 

to every UMWA member and retiree 

to get back in good standing with 

our International Union. 

Marcus Combs 

Beaver Dam, Ky. 

L.U. 8941, Dist. 17 

“The Last Mantrip” 

Down in the mines at the close of the day 

When miners all place their shovels away 

They walk through the dark and meet at the place 

Where they’ll ride to top—the mantrip awaits. 

The darkness subsides, the labor is done 

Their family awaits, their heading toward home. 

Finally on top, the mantrip arrives 

The light of the day bedazzles their eyes. 

They don their clean clothes—all just the right size 

and spot their loved ones—the spirit revives. 

Was it worth it—all the troubles 

Risks taken and shifts doubled? 

See earth’s riches turned to rubble 

Gone in an instant as a bubble! 

Is life’s hardship worth the pain 

What’s to lose, what’s to gain? 

Comes the answer, clear and plain 

From that one stepping off the train, 

“No more pain, no more sorrow 

Joy and hope for all tomorrow!” 

The UMW Journal welcomes 

letters. Please include your name, 

address and local number and 

keep letters as short as possible. 

Letters may be edited for length 

and clarity. Send to UMW Journal, 

UMWA, 8315 Lee Hwy., Fairfax, 

VA 22301-2215 or email to: 

journal@umwa.org. 

— Dr. Joe McKeever, son of Carl J. McKeever, a 70-year UMWA 

member (and charter member) of L.U. 6855, Dist. 20 

United Mine Workers Journal • March/April 2006 3

The Fight Starts Now. 


BILL BURKE, PAGE ONE BILL BURKE, PAGE ONE 

BILL BURKE, PAGE ONE 

GET READY! 

With pride and determination to maintain benefits for active and retired 

members, preserve the Coal Act, prepare for national bituminous coal negotiations 

and organize the unorganized, more than 500 delegates arrived in 

Las Vegas for the Apr. 10-13 53rd Consecutive Constitutional Convention. 

“For 116 years, the United Mine Workers of America has led the struggle for basic workplace 

justice and human rights,” said President Roberts. “This Convention has brought together 

our officers and some of our most active rank-and-file members to ensure that we remain true 

to our historic mission of improving the lives of working families.” 

Committee meetings, April 5-7 

Delegates chart course 

for union’s future 

Members of nine UMWA committees met during the week prior to the Convention to finalize 

their proposals for review and approval by the delegates. 

The Collective Bargaining Committee took a hard look at the resolutions submitted by 

locals for consideration as our Union prepares for the upcoming National Bituminous Coal 


Resolving to fight for our future 

Committees craft guidelines for future policy 

DAVID KAMERAS 

Throughout the week leading 

up to the 53rd Consecutive 

Constitutional Convention, 

members of nine different committees 

pooled their ideas, backgrounds 

and expertise to draft new resolutions, 

review several hundred proposals 

submitted by locals and report 

to the Convention their findings 

and recommendations. 

Acting on recommendations of 

the Health and Retirement Committee, 

the Constitution and Grievances 

Committee proposed a constitutional 

change resulting in a new dues 

structure for some retired members. 

Effective July 1, the monthly dues 

will be $10, divided $3 to the local, 

$6 to the international (of which $3 

will go into the district budgets) and 

$1 for the UMWA District Benefits 

Services Fund. However, this change 

does not apply to non-coal members, 

deferred vested and anthracite 

industry retirees and disabled retirees, 

in recognition of the more modest 

retirement benefits they receive. Their 

dues will remain at $6, divided $1.80 

to the local, $3.60 to the international 

and 60 cents to the UMWA 

District Benefits Services Fund. 

The UMWA dedicates huge 

resources toward protecting and 

The Health And Retirement Committee and staff pauses during its work the week before the 

Convention. 

enhancing the benefits members 

receive in retirement. In particular, 

the union has secured increases in 

pensions, maintained health care and 

acquired pension bonuses for retired 

coal miners and widows. Nonetheless, 

retiree dues have remained 

unchanged since the 1990 Constitutional 

Convention. 

Retiree locals contribute substantially 

to the fight to maintain retiree 

pensions and health care, but they are 

also losing members due to mortality. 

These shrinking numbers put a financial 

strain on the non-working locals 

and, if not addressed, may push some 

of them into a fiscal crisis. At the 

same time, many of these locals need 

greater resources to fully participate 

in the fight to protect and maintain 

the Coal Act and the battle to protect 

health care from continuing assaults 

by coal operators. 

Well over 30,000 miners and 

their families have had their health 

care covered by the 1992 Plan and 

protected by the Coal Act. The large 

number of operator bankruptcies has 

stripped many of them of the promise 

that was made, and if not for the 

negotiated 1993 Plan, they would 

be without health care. It is essential 

that the UMWA remain financially 

strong in order to secure legislation 

to protect the Coal Act and find 

long-term solutions to funding the 

Combined Benefit Fund, and the 

1992 and 1993 Benefit Plans. 

The Health and Safety Committee 

determined that protecting and 

enhancing current health and safety 

laws must be the union’s highest priority. 

Accordingly, it called for taking 

action by whatever means deemed 

appropriate to reverse the anti-worker 

programs, policies and regulations 

of the Bush administration, and 

mobilize to force 

the government to 

protect the health 

and safety of 

America’s workers, 

as well as provide 

adequate funding 

for the Mine 

Safety and Health 

Administration, 

the Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration 

and the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health. The 

Committee also demanded stricter 

enforcement of existing laws, and 

reform of the current black lung disability 

benefit system. 

A resolution presented directly 

on the Convention floor reaffirmed 

the UMWA’s “complete and steadfast 

support for the inclusion of all 

people, including people of color 

and women, within every facet of 

our society” and promoting diversity 

both within and outside of 

the union, drawing notice to the 

UMWA’s record of standing against 

discrimination dating to its founding 

convention in 1890. ■ 


Wage Agreement negotiations. Their 

report was submitted confidentially 

to President Roberts and Secretary- 

Treasurer Kane, as required by the 

Constitution. In the course of the 

committee’s report and throughout 

the Convention however, much mention 

was made of the determination 

of the UMWA to preserve health 

care for active and retired members, 

as well as increasing pensions and 

getting a fair wage increase. The 

delegates enthusiastically and unanimously 

supported those demands, 

with demonstrations and comments 

from the floor in support of our 

pensioners and active workers. 

Other committees—Constitution 

and Grievances, Bargaining, 

COMPAC/Legislative, Credentials, 

Health and Retirement, Organizing, 

Resolutions and Rules—also presented 

their final reports to the delegates 

for approval. 

Monday, April 10 

The Convention was opened by Mike 

Dalpiaz, International District 22 Vice 

President, whose district includes 

Nevada. After delegates heard from 

Mayor Oscar Goodman and Nevada 

UMWA Secretary-Treasurer Kane 

warned delegates about the 

seductiveness of the radical right 

wing’s agenda. 

State AFL-CIO President Roberta 

West, and viewed the Convention’s 

inspiring opening video, President 

Roberts called the convention to order 

and welcomed Secretary-Treasurer 

Kane to the podium. 

“We are financially one of the 

strongest labor organizations in the 

world,” Kane said, pointing to significant 

improvements in the Selective 

Strike Fund and the General Fund, 


‘ We have to keep 

our pensioners in 

the forefront.’ 

We need to look out for our 

pensioners. They were the ones 

who did most of the fighting 

to set up the union as it is. 

And every time we go up for 

negotiations, we have to keep 

them in the forefront. We have 

a lot of retirees in our local, and 

we have to think of them before 

ourselves. 

— Bob Brown, L.U. 1332 

“but we may need every dollar in 

the major fight which could come 

very soon. 

“Each and every one of us 

needs to think like a worker, act like 

a worker and most of all, vote like 

a worker,” Kane said. “We should 

ignore the wedge issues that the 

right wing will throw into our path. 

Simply put, the reason for labor’s 

troubles is that too many average 

Americans have been seduced by the 

message of the radical right. 

“Every time workers give in to the 

phony arguments of the other side, we 


AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and UMWA President 

Emeritus Richard L. Trumka pledged the AFL-CIO’s full 

support for the UMWA’s fight for a new contract. 

‘ I don’t think I’ve seen 

more passion.’ 

This is my third convention. I don’t think I’ve seen 

more passion in all the time I’ve been involved with 

any of the conventions—and rightfully so. Because 

what we’re working toward is not only for our older 

members, but for people that are going to be in their 

shoes in a few years. The younger people who have 

20, 30 years to go, the concept for them is not really 

easy to grasp. But even those young people can grasp 

it when they realize how important it is to make sure 

that nothing ever stops health care for retirees. 

— Joanne Zaffarano, L.U. 717 



Former Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) spoke about 

defeating poverty and pledged support for our upcoming 

fights to win a fair contract and organize new members. 

‘ Things are going to be different.’ 

You’ve got to have good leadership, and we’ve got it 

in President Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Kane. It’s 

the only way you’re going to get these young guys to 

understand. You get a guy who’s sort of for the company 

or half-way for the company, he doesn’t know which 

side to be on. Right now we’ve got health care for the 

pensioners. If we lose that, we may as well just throw 

down our shovels—but I don’t think that’s going to 

happen. The guys are ready. The guys in my local and 

everywhere else, they’re aware of what’s going on in 

politics and government. Some guys who actually voted 

for Bush are coming around, they’re saying, “I sure wish 

I hadn’t done that.” Things are going to be different. 

— Chuck Knisell, L.U. 2300 

give away some of our own power,” 

Kane said. “The only thing that we 

have to counter the considerable economic, 

legal and political power of the 

corporations is the unity of everyone 

in this country who works for a living. 

Just as no one gives us a decent wage 

‘ We have a fight on 

our hands.’ 

This convention makes you feel 

that you have a part, that you will 

have a job, that you will finish a 

career. A lot of information came 

down that I did not know, but I do 

now. When I get back to Alabama, 

I have to let my membership know 

that we have a fight on our hands, 

and we’re going to have to fight 

this thing all the way through. 

All this is inspired by President 

Roberts. I’ve always felt that Cecil 

will lead us in the right direction. 

If we need to sit down in water, 

I’ll sit down in water with him. If 

he goes to jail, I want to be the 

second one arrested. 

— Ken McReynolds, 

L.U. 2133 


or a pension or health care in a wage 

agreement, no one gives us freedom 

or equality or justice. We have to take 

them. It’s time to take back what we 

have earned.” 

International Vice President 

Emeritus Jerry D. Jones opened the 

afternoon session, noting that in the 

wake of recent mining disasters, “the 

UMWA has taken the role it always 

has—that of the voice of all miners, 

union and nonunion alike, demanding 

that government and industry 

strengthen and enforce health and 

safety regulations, and adopt new 

technologies that will save lives and 

put people over profits.” 

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer 

and UMWA International President 

Emeritus Richard L. Trumka told 

delegates that he would make sure 

that the Peabody campaign is the 

most important struggle in the labor 

movement. “We’re an army of trade 

unionists, ready to lead our members 

to victory,” he said. “We’re not solitary 

individuals standing in the wind. We 

are the wind. Stand up and lock arms 

and get ready, brothers and sisters, 

because we’re not going to quit.” 


We shall not be moved 

Below are excerpts of President Roberts’ April 11 address to the 

53 rd Consecutive Constitutional Convention. 

We are the young, we are the old, we are the male 

and the female. We are retired, we are widows, 

we are coal miners, we are non-coal, we are in 

Canada and in Alabama, in the Midwast, West Virginia 

and Pennsylvania, out west and on the Navajo Nation. 

Management would like to divide 

us. They would like to say, “Forget 

about those pensioners who walked in 

here. Turn your back on them. Don’t 

worry about them, and we can give 

you $4 an hour more.” We didn’t do 

that in 1890, and I’m standing here 

today as President of the Union to say, 

we are never turning our backs on 

the people who built the United Mine 

Workers of America. 

Do the coal operators really 

believe in their heart of hearts that we 

would turn our backs on the people 

who built the United Mine Workers 

of America? I’d rather be in jail than 

commit that sin. 

◗ We come today with a $700 billion 

trade deficit. As this goes on and on, more people 

lose good-paying jobs. 

◗ Three million manufacturing jobs have been lost 

in the last three years. And soon, we’ll be a service 

economy—we won’t make anything. This is a matter 

of national security. When we cease to make things, 

we cease to be the most powerful nation on earth. 

◗ Forty-six million Americans have no health care. 

◗ Thirty-six million are living in poverty. Almost all 

those people have a job. Some of them have two jobs, 

some of them have three jobs. No health care, no pensions, 

part time, $6 an hour here, $5 an hour there, 

trying to feed a family living in poverty. 

◗ Twenty thousand workers get fired every year because 

they want to join a union. 

◗ We’re trillions of dollars in debt. 

◗ The government wants to privatize Social Security, 

hurting the most vulnerable members of our society. 

DAVID KAMERAS 

◗ Scabs and replacement workers are used continuously. 

When you strike, they replace you. You stand 

there and say, “I’ve been here for 30 years. This guy 

has never been up here.” Then they arrest you because 

you’re standing in his way. 

Everything I just said is public 

policy. I submit to you, it’s time to 

change public policy. 

Which side are you on? If you 

strike, George Bush, Dick Cheney, the 

NLRB, the Department of Labor, the 

federal courts, the Supreme Court, the 

state courts, the U.S. marshals, the FBI 

and the state police—are on their side. 

How did we get that? We voted for it. 

At Peabody, they’re building 

guard shacks. They’re making the 

guards get gun permits. They’re building 

fences. And they’re getting ready, 

but not to give you a contract early. 

They’ve got their high-priced lawyers 

working at $500 an hour. They’re 

restructuring. They put their friends 

in the White House and the courthouses. They look at us 

in their arrogance and say, “Hey, you can’t strike us. It’s 

illegal. We’ll mine and sell coal with you or without you. 

We’ll demand concessions. We’ll get rid of these pensioners. 

We’re tired of paying their bills. We have to answer to 

our shareholders. We’ll fire you. We’re making plenty of 

money. We want more, and we’re not giving you any of it.” 

Well I’ve got an answer to all that. You’re not cutting 

anybody’s health care for our members. No backward 

steps. No takeaway contracts. Our fair share. We make the 

wealth, we produce the wealth and we’re going to make 

some of this wealth ours. 

Patriotism isn’t doing what George Bush tells you to 

do. This land is my land, this land is your land. We want 

health care for every single American. This is not a privilege, 

it’s a right of being an American citizen. 

You’ve got to get on fire for this movement. We’ve 

got to stand like a tree by the water, and we shall not be 

moved. Nobody’s going to turn us around, because we 

are union. ■ 


‘ Very moving and 

inspiring.’ 

Cecil’s message was very moving 

and inspiring. On every issue 

he spoke of, he was correct. 

We’re not going to let these 

coal operators mistreat our 

members and pensioners. After 

what they heard on the floor, 

if there are any delegates not 

ready to fight, there’s something 

wrong with them. 

— Robert Wade, L.U. 7635 

Tuesday, April 11 

The Convention was called to order 

by International Secretary-Treasurer 

Emeritus Carlo Tarley, who praised 

the union’s recent restructuring as a 

necessary step toward wielding the 

power “to continually push forward 

in order to keep from being pushed 

back.” He was followed by former U.S. 

Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), who 

spoke eloquently about the nation’s 

alarming poverty, and the havoc that 

the lack of health insurance is causing 

many of America’s working families. 

Edwards also vowed to be with the 

UMWA in its upcoming battles, saying,” 

I’ll walk a picket line, I’ll help 


Navajo Nation President Dr. Joe 

Shirley linked his people’s historic 

culture with the right of workers 

to organize. 

organize, I’ll stand with you for safety, 

I’ll do whatever it takes.” 

Edwards in turn was followed 

by Dr. Joe Shirley, President of the 

Navajo Nation, who drew parallels 

between basic union principles 

and his culture’s strong emphasis on 

family and community cohesion. 

Shirley was joined on the podium by 

delegates from the Navajo Nation, and 

spoke eloquently about the Head Start 

workers and other Navajo workers 

who have joined the UMWA. 

In the afternoon, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer 

Trumka and UMWA 

Secretary-Treasurer Kane introduced 

President Roberts, who marched in 

to the convention hall with hundreds 

of pensioners and their spouses in a 

tribute to all they have done to build 

the UMWA. Roberts then addressed 

the forthcoming challenges and tasks 

facing the union [see box on page 9]. 

In the course of the day, delegates 

were presented with videos 

geared toward mobilizing for the 

struggles to gain a new national 

bituminous coal wage agreement and 

to preserve the Coal Act. 

Delegates also passed resolutions 

amending the UMWA Constitution, 

most importantly reinforcing the 

constitutional provision that preserving 

health care for active and retired 

members and improving pensions shall 

be the UMWA’s number one priority. 

Wednesday, April 12 

Former International President Sam 

Church opened the morning general 

session by speaking of COMPAC as a 

key tool for wresting control of the executive 

and legislative branches of the 

federal government from “a political 

party with a radical agenda to destroy 

the labor movement.” Delegates 

then received a stirring call to action 

from AFL-CIO Director of Organiz- 

Former UMWA President Sam 

Church delivered a strong message 

about COMPAC and the need for 

UMWA members to support it. 


‘ They’ll be us one of these days.’ 

Going into negotiations is going to be hard, because Peabody is not going 

to just give in. I know this because I’ve worked for them for too long. I’ve 

already called some of the members and let them know what’s going on 

out here, and what’s going to happen. In my local, we’ve got about 35 

guys who are going to retire this year, and right now, they’re worried about 

what’s going to happen. We just put 15 new members in the union. They’re 

all red hats, they’re all young, they’ve listened to all the older miners. 

They’re mostly 25, 21, and they know they’ve got to fight for their pensions, 

because they’ll be the ones looking to retire with security one of these days. 

— Joy Wright, L.U. 6426 


‘They realize what’s at stake.’ 

We have pensioners facing the astronomical cost of medicine today. 

But I know that it’s more than just losing that health care. If we let them 

take away health care, pensions will be next. Pretty soon there will be no 

contracts. We’ll be going backwards. What we fought for in the past and 

what our forefathers fought for, we’ll lose all that if we don’t fight now. Coal 

miners know nothing is forever. They realize what’s at stake. My local is 

from Peabody. They realize what’s coming up. They see what’s happened 

with other people, and they realize they’re next if they don’t stand up and 

fight. They’re well aware of what’s going on. 

— Gary Asher, L.U. 4047 


CFMEU General Secretary John 

Maitland told delegates about his 

members’ struggles with Peabody in 

Australia and pledged solidarity with 

the UMWA. 

PHIL SMITH 

(L-R) Secretary-Treasurer Kane, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Trumka, AFL- 

CIO Director of Organizing Stewart Acuff, CFMEU General Secretary John 

Maitland and President Roberts demonstrate solidarity for our Peabody 

organizing campaign. 

ing Stewart Acuff. He brought to the 

stage workers from Co-Op Mining, 

Rock Springs Development and Peabody 

Energy who are trying to form 

UMWA local unions at their mines, 

Navajo Head Start workers who have 

ratified their first contract and organizers 

who are working to bring more 

Navajo workers into our union. 

Delegates then viewed an emotional 

video honoring the 13 heroes 

who were killed in the Brookwood, 

Ala., explosion at the Jim Walters 

Resources #5 mine in 2001, and another 

on the need for improved mine 

safety and health laws and enforcement 

of existing laws. 

After lunch, former International 

Vice President Wilbert Killion 

reminded attendees that all workers 

must be treated with respect and 

dignity, with “the right to a life without 

fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, 

sickness and financial insecurity.” 

Then the Rev. Jesse Jackson described 

the “common ground” shared by 

union members, the religious community 

and others who are united 

in the struggle for social justice. The 

delegates then heard and approved 

a Resolution on Human Rights and 

Full Participation (details on page 6). 

Thursday, April 13 

Former International Secretary-Treasurer 

Willard “Bill” Esselstyn warned 

that for decades, big business and its 

friends in government have maintained 

an open season on American 

workers, but “we Mine Workers 

refuse to be like deer caught in the 

headlights. We will not be anyone’s 

trophy. Hunting season is over.” 

‘ Building for the 

future.’ 

I like this convention, because it’s 

not like we’re starting over. We’re 

taking from the past and building 

for the future. Retirees put the 

dues in for me, and hopefully I 

can help the retirees as an active 

miner. Prior to this convention, my 

local had a survey about members’ 

concerns for these contract 

negotiations. Some of them are 

young people. The number one 

thing they put on that survey was 

to protect health coverage for 

the retirees. Number two was to 

protect our health coverage. That 

was before we got into wages, the 

sorts of things you would think 

people would be interested in, 

especially younger people. But 

they know what’s going on. 

— Robert Knisely, L.U. 1501 

Then John Maitland, General 

Secretary of the Construction, 

Forestry, Mining and Energy Union 

(Australia), made an impassioned 

speech pledging his union’s solidarity 

and support in the struggle to organize 

Peabody Energy, which employs 

many of his members. ■ 


MEDIA OWNERSHIP IN THE COALFIELDS—PART 3 OF 3 

(Editor’s note: This is the final in a series of three articles about media ownership in the coalfields. Previous articles 

examined radio and television stations in the major media markets where UMWA members live and work.) 

Your Town Newspaper 

ALL THE NEWS 

that’s fit to print? 

For UMWA members, it depends on where you live 

When the Sago mine 

in Tallmansville, 

W.Va., exploded 

in January 2006, 

the national and 

local media went into overtime to 

cover the story and its aftermath. The 

12 miners who were killed in that 

tragedy and the lone survivor, Randal 

McCloy, received a great deal of attention 

on television and in newspapers 

around the country. 

But after the dead were buried 

and Mr. McCloy was released from 

the hospital, the camera lights faded 

and the national television reporters 

went elsewhere. It was left to the 

print media to continue the story— 

the details of the safety violations at 

the mine, the failure of the federal 

Mine Safety and Health Administration 

to strictly enforce the law at 

Sago and in other mines throughout 

the nation, the slow or sometimes 

non-existent collection of millions 

upon millions of dollars in fines 

from coal operators across America, 

the investigations into MSHA and 

improvements needed in mine safety 

laws by Congress, and more. 

There’s a reason for that: the 

print media—newspapers and magazines—remain 

the only media still capable 

of covering stories in-depth and 

over the long term. Though restricted 

by space allocations on a day-to-day 

basis, newspaper reporters can spend 

more time to get the facts, get them 

right and get them in print. 

But only if their publishers and 

editors think a story is worth printing—and 

won’t cut into profits. 

As ownership of local newspapers 

becomes less local and more in 

the hands of far-away media corporations, 

the coverage of stories of interest 

to UMWA members and working 

families is fading in local newspapers 

throughout the coalfields. 

The big boys move in— 

and reporters move out 

For this article, the UMW Journal 

identified 72 local newspapers in 

media markets where the vast major- 

Locally owned papers 

in UMWA markets 

Charleston Gazette (WV) 

Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram (WV) 

Morgantown Dominion-Post (WV) 

Spencer Times Record (WV) 

Welch Daily News (WV) 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) 

Indiana Gazette (PA) 

Clearfield Progress (PA) 

Uniontown Herald-Standard (PA) 

Hazelton Standard-Speaker (PA) 

Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice (PA) 

Washington Observer-Reporter (PA) 

Coalfield Progress (VA) 

Big Sandy News (KY) 

Union County Advocate (KY) 

Gallup Independent (NM) 

Navajo Times (NM/AZ) 

Deseret News (UT) 

Pueblo Chieftain (CO) 

Hinton Parklander (Alberta) 

Estevan Mercury (Sask.) 

Fernie Free Press (BC) 


ity of UMWA members live in the 

United States and Canada. Of those, 

22—or 31 percent— are locally 

owned and published. Although this 

is a much higher percentage of local 

ownership than the UMW Journal 

found in either television or radio 

stations in UMWA markets, it is also 

a rapidly shrinking percentage compared 

to what it was a decade ago. 

The two largest locally owned 

newspapers also cover the two largest 

UMWA media markets—the Charleston 

Gazette in West Virginia and the 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania. 

These are also the two papers 

which had the most in-depth coverage 

of the Sago and Alma disasters, and 

along with the Louisville Courier- 

Journal—owned by Gannett—are still 

following the story of mine safety and 

the need to improve it better than any 

other media outlets in the U.S. 

But in UMWA markets across the 

continent, local newspapers are increasingly 

under the control of corporate 

media conglomerates—including 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. 

(CNHI) of Birmingham, Ala., Ogden 

Newspapers of Wheeling, W.Va., Lee 

Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa and 

Gannett of McLean, Va., also publishers 

of USA Today (see box at right). 

CNHI alone owns nine newspapers 

in UMWA markets—or 14 percent 

of the total—including newspapers 

in West Virginia, Pennsylvania 

and Indiana. Nationwide, CNHI 

owns over 165 daily and weekly 

newspapers, almost all of them in 

smaller communities with a newspaper 

circulation of under 30,000. 

In an article for the Columbia 

Journalism Review, Susan Stranahan 

wrote, “Though largely under the 

radar until now, CNHI has become 

one of the nation’s largest—and 

most aggressive—players in what is 

Top newspaper owners in UMWA markets 

Community Newspaper Holdings, 

Inc., Birmingham, AL 

Ogden Newspapers, Inc., 

Wheeling, WV 

Gannett, McLean, VA 

Lee Enterprises, Davenport, IA 

Knight-Ridder, San Jose, CA 

E.W. Scripps Co., Cincinnati, OH 

* currently up for sale 

Brehm Communications, 

San Diego, CA 

Ebensburg (PA) News-Leader 

Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat 

Terre-Haute (IN) Tribune-Star 

Mt. Vernon (IL) Register-News 

Coal Valley News (Madison, WV) 

Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph 

Beckley (WV) Register-Herald 

Logan (WV) Banner 

Fairmont (WV) Times-West Virginian 

Wheeling Intelligencer 

Steubenville (OH) Herald-Star 

Martin’s Ferry (OH) Times-Leader 

Weirton (WV) Daily Times 

Altoona (PA) Mirror 

Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch 

Louisville (KY) Herald-Leader 

Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 

Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL) 

Flagstaff (AZ) Daily Sun 

* Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader 

* Bellville (IL) News Democrat 

* Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader 

Evansville (IN) Courier-Journal 

Rocky Mountain News (CO) 

Knoxville (KY) News-Sentinel 

Price (UT) Sun-Advocate 

Boonville (IN) Standard 

Princeton (IN) Daily Clarion 


a booming market for buying and 

selling small newspapers. In recent 

years, private equity firms have 

invested hundreds of millions of dollars 

in community newspaper groups 

because the papers’ large cash flows 

require less up-front money, and 

they generate steady income.” 

CNHI’s business model is no different 

from other giant media conglomerates 

buying up local radio and 

television stations—cut costs, standardize 

reporting, rely on outside news 

services like the Associated Press (AP) 

for most of the news it reports and jack 

up advertising rates. They’re in it to 

maximize profit, no matter what. 

So that means that the number 

of reporters who actually snoop 

out stories and write the news are 

slashed. The number of copy editors 

who make sure the stories are accurate 

and read correctly are cut (if 

you’ve noticed more grammatical, 

typographical and even factual errors 

in your newspaper, this is why). 

National and even statewide news is 

usually taken from the AP or other 

wire services. What local news that 

remains reported in papers owned by 

the media giants like CNHI is spotty 

and tilted heavily towards society 

and sports reports. 

There are exceptions. Some 

CNHI papers, like the Beckley Register-Herald 

in West Virginia and 

the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat in 

But in UMWA markets across the 

continent, local newspapers are 

increasingly under the control of 

corporate media conglomerates. 

Pennsylvania, do a decent job covering 

local and even statewide news 

with their own reporters. But these 

papers have larger circulations than 

most CNHI papers and can financially 

justify a few additional reporters. 

But if you want to get a job as a 

reporter for, say, the Logan Banner 

or the Fairmont Times-West Virginian—also 

CNHI-owned papers in 

smaller markets—then don’t hold 

your breath. You’re out of luck. 

Sucking up to the big 

corporations 

In June 2005, Massey Energy and 

its CEO, Don Blankenship, filed suit 

against the UMWA and International 

President Cecil Roberts in a 

Fairfax County, Va., court, alleging 

that the union and President Roberts 

somehow damaged Blankenship’s 

and Massey’s reputation and hurt the 

company’s business by statements 

that were made during the 2004 

elections in West Virginia. Massey 

also sued the Charleston Gazette for 

publishing those statements. 

In September 2005, President 

Roberts submitted an opinion 

editorial to the Gazette in response 

to the allegations in the suit. Fearing 

further legal action, the Gazette 

refused to run the op-ed on its 

opinion page, but did agree to run it 

as a paid advertisement. So did four 

other papers in West Virginia—the 

Beckley Register-Herald, the Morgantown 

Dominion-Post, the Clarksburg 

Exponent-Telegram and the Charleston 

Daily Mail. 

But one paper, the Huntington 

Herald-Dispatch, owned by the media 

giant Gannett, refused to run the 

ad. They thought it was “too controversial.” 

Translation: They were afraid 

of being sued themselves—or maybe 

they’ve gotten too cozy with the ad 

dollars Massey and other corporations 

pay them. 

Many media observers believe 

that, in contrast to the increasing 

ideological tilt to the right that’s happening 

in radio and television as a result 

of increasing corporate control of 

those media, editorial decision-making 

in most local newspapers doesn’t 

always change all that much if they’re 

bought out by a big media company. 

That’s not always true, however. 

In February of this year, CNHI fired a 

columnist at a paper it owns in Iowa 

for his progressive views. The paper’s 

managing editor resigned in protest. 

The Tribune-Review Publishing Co., 

owned by the ultra-right winger 

Richard Mellon Scaife and publisher 

of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and 

the Monessen Valley Independent, is 

notorious for its attacks on unions in 

the editorials its papers run. 

But a more likely reason for a 

corporate-owned paper not running 

a story or refusing an ad that raises issues 

of social concern, like organizing 

or expressing a political point of view, 

is that it might offend an even larger 

advertiser. So what does that mean? 

For starters, if you have to pay for an 

ad to get a message into the newspaper 

it means free speech isn’t really 

free after all. And it means that there is 

no speech at all if what you have to say 

will make the big advertisers mad. ■ 


Tom Kacsmar 

actively 

RETIRED 

Like many other delegates to the 

53 rd Consecutive Constitutional 

Convention, 31-year UMWA 

member and L.U. 6362 Vice President 

Tom Kacsmar was impressed by 

how important the Justice at Peabody 

campaign, the UMWA’s largest 

organizing effort in decades, is to the 

future of the union and its members. 

“We have got to get that business 

about Peabody settled,” he said. “We 

can’t let the companies shut down 

their union mines and start up again 

with non-union operations. At all 

costs, we have to organize them.” 

Kacsmar noted that large 

employers are increasingly turning 

to the bankruptcy courts to get 

out from under their contractual 

obligations to their workers. “These 

bankruptcy judges are killing us,” 

he added. “With the stroke of a pen, 

they can take everything away. We 

can’t let them do that. There’s a big 

fight coming up, and we can’t lose it.” 

Kacsmar sees the link between 

the current political environment 

and the challenges workers face 

when trying to form unions and negotiate 

strong contracts, with managers 

relying on government as an 

ally in their efforts to bust unions. 

Although it’s been six years since he 

retired from Windsor Coal Co. in 

West Liberty, W.Va., the Maynard, 

Ohio, member remains very active 

on the Ohio COMPAC Committee, 

to which he has belonged for some 

15 years. He has also served as the 

local’s Recording Secretary and on 

the Safety Committee. 

Kacsmar spent most of his career 

in the mines as a roof bolter, although 

he performed many other tasks as 

well, including operating a continuous 

miner and shuttle car, and working 

on the longwall. An avid outdoorsman, 

he enjoys fishing and travel. Last 

year, the father of three daughters 

went with his wife on a cruise to the 

Actively Retired is a regular feature highlighting UMWA retirees still working 

on behalf of the union. If you’d like to recommend a retiree to appear in Actively 

Retired, write to the UMW Journal, UMWA, 8315 Lee Highway, Fairfax, Va. 

22031, Attn: Actively Retired. Please include your name, local union, a telephone 

number and a brief explanation of why you’re nominating the individual. 

MARGIE KACSMAR 

Bahamas to celebrate their 41 st wedding 

anniversary. He describes himself 

as a big fan of the Cleveland Indians 

and of the Browns. 

“Tom Kacsmar is a terrific guy 

who has always stood up for his 

union and fellow members,” said International 

District 31 Vice President 

Rich Eddy. “His energy and commitment 

serve to remind us all of what 

we can accomplish when we stick 

together in unity.” 

For Kacsmar, devotion to the 

UMWA is a family tradition. “My 

dad was a strong union man,” he 

said. “You could find him on a picket 

line, or doing whatever else where 

there was work to be done. My 

uncles were strong union men too. 

“This health care fight just shows once again to all members 

that the union is going to be fighting for them.” 

Like them, I’m willing to do whatever 

the union needs, whenever 

and wherever it’s needed.” In fact, 

Kacsmar is planning to take training 

to become an organizer. 

During the convention, delegates 

strongly voiced their support for 

making the maintenance of retiree 

health benefits a number one priority 

in upcoming bituminous coal 

contract negotiations. 

“This health care fight just 

shows once again to all members that 

the union is going to be fighting for 

them,” Kacsmar said. “It shows that 

the union protects you. It gives you a 

sense of security. 

“I’m proud to be a dues-paying 

member,” he said. “I’d go to hell and 

back for my union.” ■ 


STAND UP 

for your family, 

your job, your future. VOTE! 

In this very important election 

year, UMWA members and their 

families in West Virginia and 

Kentucky will have an opportunity 

to ensure that voters in November 

will have a real choice for working 

family concerns, not just an echo 

of the Big Business agenda. 

Do your part to elect candidates 

who will fight for us. Make 

sure you vote on primary day. 

West Virginia State Senate 

Dist. 1 Edwin Bowman (D) 

Dist. 2 Larry Edgell (D) 

Dist. 4 Jim Lees (D) 

Dist. 5 Marie Redd (D) 

Dist. 6 H. Truman Chafin (D) 

Dist. 7 Josh Stowers (D) (WVEA) 

Dist. 8 Erik Wells (D) 

Dist. 9 Sally Susman (D) 

Dist. 10 Fredrick Parker (D) (AFT) 

Dist. 11 C. Randy White (D) (UMWA 

Associate Member) 

Dist. 16 John Unger (D) 

Dist. 17 Brooks McCabe (D) 

West Virginia House of Delegates 

Dist. 1 Joe Delong (D) 

Dist. 2 Jack Yost (D) (ISU) 

Dist. 3 Tal Hutchins (D) (WVEA) 

Orphy Klempa (D) (IBC) 

Dist. 4 Kenneth Tucker (D) (UMWA) 

Dist. 10 John Ellem (R) 

Dist. 13 Dale F. Martin (D) (IAM) 

Brady R. Paxton (D) (AFT) 

West Virginia 

The West Virginia COMPAC has made the following endorsements 

for the May 9 primary election. 

Dist. 15 

Dist. 16 

Dist. 17 

Dist. 18 

Dist. 19 

Dist. 21 

Dist. 22 

Dist. 24 

Dist. 25 

Dist. 27 

Dist. 29 

Dist. 30 

Dist. 31 

Dist. 34 

Dist. 35 

Matt Woelfel (D) 

Dale Stephens (D) (LIUNA) 

Don Perdue (D) 

Richard Thompson (D) 

Lar ry Barker (D) (UMWA 


Jeff Eldridge (D) 

Lidella Wison Hrutkay (D) 

Ralph Rodighiero (D) (IBT) 

Jamie Evans (D) 

Harry Keith White (D) 

Mike Burdiss (D) (UMWA) 

Richard Browning (D) 

Molly Lohr-Robinette (D) 

(WVEA) 

Anita Skeens Caldwell (D) 

(AFT) 

Paige Flanigan (D) 

Virginia Mahan (D) 

Clyde D. McKnight, Jr. (D) 

(UMWA) 

Melvin Kessler (D) 

Kevin Maynus (D) 

Tom Louisos (D) 

Ted Boettner (D) 

Bonnie Brown (D) 

Nancy Peoples Guthrie (D) 

Barbara “Bobbie” Hatfield (D) 

Sharon Spencer (D) 

Danny Wells (D) 

Carrie Webster (D) 

Brent Boggs (D) (BLE) 

Sam Argento (D) (UMWA 


Dist. 36 

Dist. 39 

Dist. 40 

Dist. 41 

Dist. 42 

Dist. 43 

Dist. 44 

Dist. 46 

Dist. 54 

Dist. 58 

Joe Talbott (D) 

Bill Hamilton (R) 

Mary M. Poling (D) (WVEA) 

Ron Fragale (D) (AFT) 

Richard J. Iaquinta (D) 

(WVEA) 

Tim Miley (D) 

Mike Manypenny (D) 

Mike Caputo (D) (UMWA) 

Linda Longstreth (D) 

Timothy Manchin (D) 

Barbara Fleischauer (D) 

(UMWA Associate Member) 

Steven Fumich (D) (UMWA) 

Charlene Marshall (D) (LIUNA) 

Alex Shook (D) 

Chris Cooper (D) 

Walter Duke (R) (WVEA) 

Locke Wysong (D) 

West Virginia COMPAC 

also recommended the following 

candidates to the National COM- 

PAC Council for its consideration. 

United States Senate 

Robert C. Byrd (D) 

United States Congress 

Dist. 1 Alan B. Mollohan (D) 

Dist. 3 Nick Joe Rahall (D) 


Kentucky 

State Supreme Court 

Dist. 15 

Dist. 1 Rick Johnson 

Dist. 17 

Dist. 5 Mary Noble 

Dist. 18 

Dist. 6 Will Schroder 

Dist. 20 

Dist. 21 

Kentucky Court of Appeals 

Dist. 22 

Dist. 1, 1st Div. Christopher Nickell Dist. 25 

Dist. 1, 2nd Div. Donna Dixon 

Dist. 28 

Dist. 2, 1st Div. Jeff Taylor 

Dist. 29 

Dist. 2, 2nd Div. Dwight Lovan Dist. 30 

Dist. 7, 1st Div. Sara Combs 

Dist. 31 

Dist. 7, 2nd Div. David Barber Dist. 34 

Dist. 35 

U.S. House of Representatives Dist. 36 

Dist. 2 Mike Weaver (D) 

Dist. 37 

Dist. 4 Ken Lucas (D) 

Dist. 38 

Dist. 6 Ben Chandler (D) 

Dist. 39 

Dist. 40 

Kentucky State Senate 

Dist. 41 

Dist. 2 Carroll Hubbard (D) 

Dist. 42 

Dist. 4 Dorsey Ridley (D) 

Dist. 43 

Dist. 6 Jerry Rhoads (D) 

Dist. 44 

Dist. 8 David Boswell (D) 

Dist. 46 

Dist. 28 R.J. Palmer (D) 

Dist. 47 

Dist. 30 Daniel Mongiardo (D) 

Dist. 48 

Dist. 34 Ed Worley (D) 

Dist. 56 

Dist. 57 

Kentucky House of 

Representatives 

Dist. 60 

Dist. 61 

Dist. 1 Steven Rudy (R) 

Dist. 62 

Dist. 2 Fred Nesler (D) 

Dist. 65 

Dist. 4 Michael Cherry (D) 

Dist. 67 

Dist. 6 J.R. Gray (D) (IAM) 

Dist. 68 

Dist. 7 John Arnold (D) 

Dist. 69 

Dist. 9 Peter McDonald (D) 

Dist. 70 

Dist. 10 Eddie Ballard (D) 

Dist. 71 

Dist. 11 Gross Lindsay (D) 

Dist. 72 

Dist. 12 Jim Gooch (D) 

Dist. 73 

Dist. 14 Tommy Thompson (D) 

Dist. 75 

he Kentucky COMPAC has endorsed the following candidates 

T in the Kentucky primary election on May 16. 

Brent Yonts (D) 

C.B. Embry (R) 

Dwight Butler (R) 

Jody Richards (D) 

Malcolm Cherry (D) 

Rob Wilkey (D) 

Jimmie Lee (D) 

Charles Miller (D) 

Kevin Bratcher (R) 

Tom Burch (D) 

Steven Riggs (D) 

Mary Lou Marzian (D) 

Jim Wayne (D) 

Lonnie Napier (R) 

Ron Weston (D) 

Tim Firkins (D) 

Robert Damron (D) 

Dennis Horlander (D) 

Tom Riner (D) 

Reginald Meeks (D) 

Darryl Owens (D) 

Joni Jenkins (D) 

Larry Clark (D) (IBEW) 

Rick Rand (D) 

Amy Shir (D) 

Joe Barrows (D) 

Derrick Graham (D) 

David Ryan, Sr. (D) 

Royce Adams (D) 

Charles Hoffman (D) (UFCW) 

Arnold Simpson (D) 

Dennis Keene (D) 

Linda Klembara (D) 

Randy Blankenship (D) 

Mike Denham (D) 

John Will Stacy (D) 

Carolyn Belcher (D) 

Don Pasley (D) 

Kathy Stein (D) 

Dist. 76 Ruth Ann Palumbo (D) 

Dist. 77 Jesse Crenshaw (D) 

Dist. 78 Thomas McKee (D) 

Dist. 79 Susan Westrom (D) 

Dist. 81 Harry Moberly, Jr. (D) 

Dist. 82 Charles Siler (R) 

Dist. 84 Brandon Smith (R) 

Dist. 85 Tommy Turner (R) 

Dist. 86 Jim Stewart (R) 

Dist. 87 Rick Nelson (D) 

Dist. 88 Chris Frost (D) 

Dist. 90 Tim Couch (R) 

Dist. 91 Teddy Edmonds (D) 

Dist. 92 Ancel Smith (D) 

Dist. 93 W. Keith Hall (D) 

Dist. 94 Howard Cornett (R) 

Dist. 95 Churck Meade (D) 

Dist. 96 Robin Webb (D) 

Dist. 97 Hubert Collins (D) 

Dist. 98 Tanya Pullin (D) 

Dist. 99 Rocky Adkins (D) 

Dist. 100 John Vincent (R) 

Floyd County Judge Executive 

R.D. (Doc) Marshall (D) 

Pike County Judge Executive 

William (Bill) Deskins (D) 

Pike County Magistrate 

Dist. 1 Jeff Anderson (D) 

Dist. 2 Chick Johnson (D) 

Dist. 3 Leo Murphy (D) 

Dist. 4 Kenneth Robinson (R) 

Dist. 5 Hillman Dotson (D) 

Dist. 6 Chris Harris (D) 

Ohio County Judge Executive 

David Jones (D) 

Harlan County Jailer 

James Middleton (D) 

Harlan County Sheriff 

Jack Minard (D) 


around 

OUR UNION 

Old-Timer really paid his dues 

dues-payer since 1934, Joe 

A Tagliente, Sr., is easily one of the 

oldest members of the UMWA at 92 

years old. A meticulous record-keeper, 

Tagliente still has every pay stub he 

ever received, from 1932 through his 

retirement in 1981, including one 

from 1934 showing his first dues deduction 

of 50 cents. Joe is still paying 

his dues as a member of L.U. 2286. 

Tagliente’s parents arrived at 

Ellis Island from Italy in the early 

1900s with nothing more than a 

handful of clothes. They were given 

$1 and sent by train to Kayford, 

W.Va., where Joe was born in 1914. 

They later moved to Stickney, where 

Joe’s father died in a roof fall. The 

oldest of three children, Joe dropped 

out of school and worked for as 

little as 25 cents a day to support his 

widowed mother and siblings. His 

first year in the mines, he loaded 

18 March/April 2006 • United Mine Workers Journal 

coal by shovel for no more than 30 

cents a ton. 

“Often when I was a young boy, 

I went on picket lines with him,” said 

Joe Tagliente, Jr., a retired Assistant 

Superintendent of Boone County 

Schools who is running for the county’s 

Board of Education. “People like 

my dad helped make the union.” ■ 

The oldest of three children, Joe dropped out of school 

and worked for as little as 25 cents a day to support 

his widowed mother and siblings. 

UMWA all the way in the Navajo Nation 

The Navajo Nation has certified the 

UMWA as the exclusive bargaining 

agent for blue collar, white collar and 

clerical employees, bringing nearly 

1,400 new members into the Union. 

In petitions filed with the Office 

of Navajo Labor Relations, substantial 

majorities of eligible full-time 

blue collar workers and white collar/ 

clerical workers demanded a voice 

at work. 

On April 11, more than 800 

Navajo Head Start workers ratified 

their first contract with the Navajo 

Nation, winning pay increases and 

improvements in health care benefits. 

The UMWA also represents Navajo 

coal miners in the Kayenta/Black Mesa 

region of northern Arizona. In all, the 

UMWA represents nearly 3,000 workers 

in the Navajo Nation, with more 

still seeking to join our Union. ■ 

IN MEMORIAM 

Willard P. Owens 

The UMWA deeply regrets the 

Feb. 16 passing of Willard 

P. Owens, staff attorney for the 

union from 1948 to 1986. He was 

86 years old. 

Owens was born in the coalmining 

community of Pleasant 

City, Ohio. After graduating from 

college in 1941, he became a CIO 

organizer for the UAW in aircraft 

manufacturing plants. After 

the attack on Pearl Harbor, he 

enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to 

the rank of First Lieutenant. After 

receiving his J.D. in 1948, Owens 

was hired by John L. Lewis to 

serve as a house attorney, later 

Senior Counsel, for the UMWA, 

saying that he wanted to have a 

“son of labor” in this position. 

When Owens retired in 1986, 

he wrote President Trumka, “I was 

born in a coal mining community 

and reared in the shadow of the 

UMWA. As a result, I came to 

know something of the purpose 

and the record of achievement 

of our organization; and came to 

know and understand something 

of the hopes and ambitions of its 

membership, something of their 

failures, something of their fears, 

and something of their courage 

and spirit that was and is the 

cohesive and compelling factor 

molding this organization into 

the force that resulted in great 

contributions to the welfare, not 

only of its membership, but to 

the welfare of working men and 

women everywhere.” 

Those wishing to make a 

donation in his memory may send 

contributions to the Michael J. 

Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s 

Research (michaeljfox.org). ■

around 

OUR UNION 

Harry Morris Scholarship 

Angela Marra, daughter of Sam 

and Twyla Marra of Fairmont, 

W.Va., is the recipient of the first 

L.U. 1501 Harry Morris Memorial 

Scholarship. The scholarship was 

established in memory of Harry 

Morris, a dedicated member of L.U. 

1501 for over 50 years. Recipients of 

the UMWA-Harry Morris Memorial 

Scholarship must be descended 

from a L.U. 1501 member, have a 

3.0 grade point average and have 

been accepted to, or attending, an 

accredited college, university or 

trade school. 

Angela is in her second year at 

West Virginia University, majoring in 

pre-pharmacy. She has earned a 3.45 

grade point 

average and is 

classified as a 

junior. Angela 

belongs to the 

National Exemplary 

Scholars 

in Science, 

the National 

Society of Collegiate 

Scholars 

and the American 

Pharmacist 

Associate Academy 

of Student Pharmacists. She is 

also active in the Italian American 

Organization and holds the office of 

Community Service Chair. ■ 

President Roberts reiterated the Union’s strong support 

for the election of David Jones, the UMWA-endorsed 

candidate for Ohio County (Ky.) Judge Executive. A 33-year 

member of L.U. 9800, of which he has been President since 

1992, Jones has also served on the Union’s mine safety, 

grievance and COMPAC committees. 

The Harry Morris Memorial 

Scholarship is presented to Angela 

Marra and her mother Twyla Marra 

by L.U. 1501 Financial Secretary 

Mike West. 

UMWA provides 

‘New Hope’ 

The good citizens of Clinchco, Va., 

can now enjoy the New Hope 

Community Center there knowing 

that the non-profit owns outright 

the building it has rented from the 

UMWA for 11 years. 

To help defray the expenses of 

recording the deed, International 

Representative Ken Holbrook returned 

the last two rent payments to 

the center’s President, Roxie Mullins, 

as he and District 17 Representative 

Mike Kennedy presented her with 

the deed last January. 

The donation of the building, 

which was owned by the UMWA since 

1947, was suggested by L.U. 2490 as 

it was holding its meetings elsewhere. 

By helping the community, Holbrook 

said, the Union was also helping its 

members in the community. ■ 


DISTRICTS 

in action 

HONORING OUR PENSIONERS 

UMWA District Officials recently honored the following retirees for their years of 

service as members of the UMWA. 

70 Year Pins 

District 2 L.U. 0762 John Greskovich L.U. 1248 Charles Kern 

L.U. 1520 Herman A. Adam L.U. 1980 Charles E. Porter District 

12 L.U. 7110 Edward L. Lidwell District 17 L.U. 6025 Bill Tinsley 

60 Year Pins 

District 2 L.U. 0488 Joseph Pacconi, Sr. L.U. 0819 Charles D. Miller, Sr., 

Richard W. Toy L.U. 1269 Francis Lantzy L.U. 1412 Arthur S. Trunzo L.U. 1520 Joseph H. Bloom L.U. 1980 

Matthew J. Bertovich L.U. 6754 John A. Cherok, Leonard Metrovich District 12 L.U. 1545 Arthur Ray 

L.U. 9926 Kenneth Park, Ellis Truitt District 17 L.U. 0633 Seymore McClure L.U. 1440 Hughey Bailey, 

Raymond Scott L.U. 1766 Angelo Deraimo L.U. 7555 Duard A. Cline L.U. 7950 George Williams District 20 

L.U. 7813 James E. Robbins District 22 L.U. 6363 Byron E. Cook, Van J. Gardner L.U. 6417 Martin Brezonick, 

Donald W. Palmer L.U. 9958 Joseph Cha, Donald G. Logston, Mac T. Worley District 31 L.U. 1058 Joseph 

Cimino, Clifford Pugh L.U. 1949 George M. Lotz L.U. 4172 Junior W. Channell, Kenneth Fenstermacher, 

John W. Gilmer, Walter F. Lach, John F. Phillips 

50 Year Pin 

District 2 L.U. 0998 Thomas J. May L.U. 1248 Albert Yozie L.U. 1257 Michael Rebovich, Joe Yaworksi 

L.U. 1269 Tony J. DePetro District 12 L.U. 9819 Joe Kovack, James Perryman District 17 L.U. 1340 

Evart Caddell L.U. 1440 Cecil Hunt L.U. 1971 Carl Adkins, Jr. L.U. 7327 Thomas Woosley. District 20 

L.U. 7813 James R. Custred, Buddy Dodd District 22 L.U. 1769 Henery Seely L.U. 9958 Arsenio Romero 

District 31 L.U. 1058 Kenneth E. Bedillion, Jack A. Simms, Ralph W. Summers L.U. 1466 Gale Dorsey 

L.U. 1501 Samuel A. Ramsey L.U. 4172 George R. Anderson, Billy E. Bailey, Dale K. Bartlett, Doyle Dean, 

Howard M. Harris, Charles Moran, Henry L. Moran, Jr., William L. Mundy, Walter E. Murray, Bedford 

Wilfong, Jr. L.U. 9909 Patsy Colisino, Charles P. Stevens 

40 Year Pins 

District 2 L.U. 1197 Fred Mehok L.U. 1520 Denver W. Hampton L.U. 1980 John Butcho, Jr. District 12 

L.U. 1793 Ralph W. Collins L.U. 1825 Kenneth Mathis L.U. 9926 Gary Abel, Earnest Cotton, Robert Dausman, 

Michael Denton, Richard Helms, Brent Hooker, Garry Ingram, Larry McDaniel, James McNeeley, Charles 

Miller, Chester Poehlein, Glen Ruff, William Winstead, Richard Wirtz District 17 L.U. 0340 Eugene Raynes 

L.U. 1503 John White L.U. 7327 Richard G. Phipps L.U. 7425 Arlie Sergent District 22 L.U. 1769 John L. Oliver 

L.U. 6363 Vernell Rowley District 31 L.U. 1466 James G. Fisher, Jimmy L. Martin, William E. Williams 

L.U. 1501 James O. Nichols L.U. 1570 James R. Moore, Darrell Starkey, Franklin M. Swisher L.U. 4172 

Orville B. Cain, Everett D. Curtis, Earl P. Frazier, Joe J. Haskiell, William E. Jacobs, William T. Ketchem, 

Aaron Marks, Tommy D. Murphy, Charles F. Murray, John E. Rowan, Lloyd Spotloe, Conard D. Tenney 

Unfortunately, due to the number of members receiving pins, the UMW Journal cannot run photos of 

pin recipients. 

In order to receive a membership pin, you must submit an application to the District offi ce. Pins are 

not automatically issued. Your district representative will send the names to the UMW Journal. 

District 2 

Effective March 21, the offices of 

District 2 (including the former Belle 

Vernon and Masontown offices), 

Region 1 and the Department of 

Contract Services are now located at 

113 Roberts Rd., Suite B, Grindstone, 

PA 15442. The new office boasts easy 

access to pensioners, with all departments 

situated on one floor, as well as 

two conference rooms. A welcoming 

event is planned for some time in the 

summer. New phone numbers are: 

District 2: 724-785-8692 

Region 1: 724-785-8693 

Contract Dept.: 724-785-8694 

FAX: 724-785-2456 

District 2 mourns the January 

22 passing of L.U. 1901 Recording 

Secretary Amelia K. Karmanoski. She 

was 91. Having retiring in 1978 from 

U.S. Steel’s Everson Shop after 36 

years of service, Sister Karmanoski 

was the first female local union officer, 

and the first woman to receive a 

pension from the UMWA Health and 

Retirement Funds. 

District 12 

The Freeman Crown III Mine in 

Farmersville, Ill., was shut down in 

February due to a hotspot. After seven 

days, the area was sealed and miners 

were cleared to return to work. 

On April 1, International District 

12 Vice President Roger Myers 

coordinated and hosted the 44 th 

Annual John L. Lewis Celebration in 

Oakland City, Ind. 

The District was involved in the 

2006 Arthritis Foundation Telethon 

on April 9 in southern Illinois. 

District Representative Gary 

Butler was the Master of Ceremonies 

for the April 28 Workers Memorial 


our 

HEALTH&SAFETY 

Safety legislation moves 

forward 

Spurred to action by the mine disasters 

earlier this year, legislators 

at both the federal and state levels are 

continuing their push for new laws 

aimed at averting accidents in the 

nation’s mines. 

In March, Kentucky’s legislature 

passed a law requiring at least three 

visits a year to the state’s mines by 

state inspectors. The bill, which Gov. 

Ernie Fletcher (R) promised to sign, 

will require self-contained self-rescuers 

(SCSRs) located at key escape 

Day at the State Capitol building in 

Springfield, Ill. 

The Second Annual Mother 

Jones Festival will be held June 23- 

25 in Mt. Olive, Ill. 

District 17 

District 17 will be accepting applications 

for the annual college 

scholarship program beginning 

May 1. Applications and guidelines 

for eligible dependents of District 

17 members may be obtained by 

calling the District 17 office at 304- 

346-0341 on or after May 1. The 

deadline for applying is Aug. 1. 

District 20 

Effective March 1, the Birmingham 

phone/fax numbers from the old 

District office were disconnected. 

All incoming calls should be 

directed to the Hueytown 

District numbers: 

Main: 205-744-9853 

FAX: 205-744-9510 

locations underground, provides for 

the state fining operators for safety 

violations and protects whistle-blowers 

who report such violations. 

Other states, including Illinois, 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and 

Virginia, are also working to enact 

new mine safety laws. West Virginia 

had earlier passed a comprehensive 

bill that also addressed the issue of 

underground communication in addition 

to requiring more SCSRs and 

better emergency notification. 

The union also continues to 

lobby hard for federal mine safety 

and health legislation sponsored by 

Sens. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), Jay 

Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Arlen 

Specter (R-Pa.), and Rep. Nick Rahall 

(D-W.Va.). 

Symposium 

reviews new 

technology 

An international conference held 

April 20-21 examined new 

technological innovations aimed at 

preventing and responding to mine 

disasters. 

The symposium, held at Wheeling 

(W.Va.) Jesuit University, examined the 

current state of mine emergency technologies, 

safety and emergency best 

practices, disaster response alternatives 

and the safety implications of overlaying 

resource extraction. 

“This was an important forum for 

some of the best minds in mine safety 

to come together and exchange ideas,” 

said President Roberts. 

International 

standards 

UMWA Health and Safety 

Administrator Dennis O’Dell 

will participate in a May 8-13 

meeting of experts on safety 

and health in coal mines. 

The Geneva, Switzerland, 

conference, sponsored by the 

United Nations’ International 

Labour Office, will bring in 

two dozen specialists from 

around the world to examine 

and adopt a revised Code of 

Practice on Safety and Health 

in Underground Coal Mines. 

Hotline failures 

UMWA staff met with the 

U.S. Department of Labor’s 

Inspector General’s office 

in April to try to resolve 

persistent problems with 

MSHA’s emergency hotline. 

Among the issues cited 

regarding the line, whose 

services are now contracted 

out, are unanswered calls, 

reporting errors and delays 

of up to 12 days before 

MSHA actually receives the 

information that is reported to 

the hotline. 


POEMS • BOOKS • MUSIC 

A Coal Miner’s Way 

Each morning he would wake up to start a brand-new day, 

For this was his daily routine, yes this is a coal miner’s way. 

Fixing sandwiches for his dinner bucket, and coffee for his jug, 

Putting on his work clothes, giving his wife a kiss and hug. 

Heading off to the coal mines, like he has for so many years, 

Knowing it might be his last shift, yes this is what a coal miner fears. 

He works so hard for his family, to clothe them and put food on the table, 

Tired and sore his muscles ache, but he still thinks he’s able. 

At dinnertime he has a chance, to rest and eat at the dinner hole, 

No it’s not the name of a fancy restaurant; it’s between two blocks of coal. 

It’s dusty down there and sometimes so very hard to breathe, 

But he keeps on working in the deep dark mines; you see it’s so hard to believe. 

That this is what he has to do; to him it seems so unfair, 

To work a shift and sometimes two a day in this unclean air. 

Though he keeps on thriving and working each day trying to make ends meet, 

The sweat on his brow, dust in his eyes and lungs, he thinks he’s facing defeat. 

But this is the life of a coal miner, who faces imminent dangers each day, 

He puts all his troubles behind him, for this is a coal miner’s way. 

He knows he’s put here for a reason, to work for his family, company and friends. 

So he works his shift and heads back outside, for tomorrow he will do it all over again. 

—James Browder, Retired L.U. 6869 member, Huntington, W.Va. 

Cooking up a union meal 

Arkansas Coal Miners’ Wives Cookbooks: A History Cookbook contains 275 

recipes, plus pictures and text touching on the history of coal mining and coal miners. 

The book, which is dedicated to the United Mine Workers of America, is available 

for $19.95, including shipping and handling, from 1701 Ford Dr., Clarksville, 

AR 72830, 479-754-3808 or 479-754-2135, crowden@river-valley.net. 

Combating racism 

Dancing on Live Embers: Challenging Racism in Organizations by Tina 

Lopes and Barb Thomas investigates the ways racism, power and privilege 

operate in the ordinary moments of organizational life. Tina Lopes, a community 

activist, and Barb Thomas, co-author of Education for Changing Unions 

and Educating for a Change, hold up familiar workplace interactions for scrutiny 

and look for openings to create more equitable organizations. Through stories 

and exercises, the book offers concrete examples and strategies, relevant to all 

organizational settings, from the racial justice work that is practiced by a range 

of experienced activists. The 416-page paperback is available for $26.95 from 

Between the Lines at www.btlbooks.com. 

22 March/April 2006 • United Mine Workers Journal 

Wartime patriotism 

vs. class 

Labor, Loyalty, Rebellion: Southwestern 

Illinois Coal Miners & 

World War I by Carl R. Weinberg 

uses the 1918 lynching of Ger- 

man-American coal 

miner Robert Prager 

as a starting point 

to challenge the 

conventional wisdom 

that workers of the 

era benefitted from 

demonstrating loyalty 

to the nation. The 

first published study 

of wartime strikes in the region, 

the book examines a people torn 

between patriotism and instinctual 

class solidarity that spawned 

a rebellion against mine owners 

both during and after the war. The 

201-page paperback is available 

from Southern Illinois University 

Press, P.O. Box 3697, Carbondale, 

IL 62902, www.siu.edu/~siupress. 

Diary of an era 

Kelly’s Creek Chronicles: The 

Illustrated Diary of James 

Alexander Jones, a West Virginia 

Coalminer, 1870-1939 describes 

the life of the Kanawha County 

worker from 

his childhood 

shortly 

after the Civil 

War to his 

decades in a 

very formative 

period of 

the coalfields. 

Edited by Lt. Col. (Ret.) liam Roosevelt Hudnall, the 

Wil- 

paperback is available for $24.50 

postpaid from Kelley’s Creek 

Publishers, Rt. 1, Box 174A, New 

Canton, VA 23123, 434-581-3526, 

whudnall@moonstar.com.

POEMS • BOOKS • MUSIC 

Documenting 

the family of 

miners 

Having come of age 

in New York during 

the Great Depression, 

the photographer 

Milton Rogovin often 

made poverty the 

subject of his work. 

Milton Rogovin: 

The Mining Photographs includes 

more than 100 images of miners working 

in Appalachia, Europe, South Africa, 

Mexico and Cuba, photographed 

between 1962 and 1990. He called his 

archive of portraits showing miners at 

both work and home “the Family of 

Miners.” The hardcover book is available 

for $60 in bookstores or through 

Getty Publications, 800-223-3431. 

A New Take on Ludlow 

A Rendezvous with Shame revisits 

the Ludlow Massacre through the 

eyes of Patrick L. Donachy, whose 

father was summoned by UMWA 

organizer John Lawson to help min- 

ers fired upon by 

company goons. 

In great detail, the 

author describes 

the conditions 

and events leading 

up to the strike, 

and comprehensively 

examines the massacre and its 

aftermath. The paperback is available 

for $15.95 plus $2.59 shipping and 

handling from The Inkwell, P.O. Box 

966, Trinidad, Colo. 81082, 

www.theinkwell@adelphia.net. 

Always low practices 

The Bully of Bentonville: How the 

High Cost of Wal-Mart’s Everyday 

Low Prices is Hurting America 

describes how the world’s largest 

employer puts the 

squeeze on its workers, 

suppliers and 

competitors to reach 

the lowest cost—at 

any cost. Anthony Bianco, 

a senior writer 

for Business Week, 

reviews the success- 

ful efforts by this corporate pirate to 

drive down wages, skirt benefits, filter 

consumer tastes and force manufacturers 

to send American jobs overseas. 

The hardcover book is available 

in stores for $24.95. 

Tales of 

Pennsylvania Miners 

Anthracite Roots: 

Generations of Coal Mining 

in Schuylkill County, 

Pennsylvania describes the 

work these miners 

have done 

throughout the 

years. Former 

coal miner 

Dr. Joseph W. 

Leonard III 

recalls the unforgiving 

conditions 

that he and five generations 

of his forebears endured in 

the mines, and illustrates 

the conditions of thousands 

of Coal Belt families. The 

paperback is available for 

$16.99 from History Press, 

18 Percy St., Charleston, SC 

29403, 843-577-5971, 

www.historypress.net. 

The Miner 

(Dedicated to the Coal Miners of America) 

Down in the deep and the dark and the damp, 

Where they make their way with a hard-hat lamp, 

Are the men by whom great legends grow; 

Down in the shafts and the dust of coal, 

Down where the sounds of hard-swinging pick 

And the shuffle of coal cars, clickety-click. 

Let the world dance in the sunlight fair 

And drink in deep the sweet-fresh air, 

But never forget and with kindly prayer 

To remember the men who work down there; 

Down where few thoughts may ever be wrung 

For the men who face the dread, black lung. 

What wages they earn, what little to save 

To dig them a home and dig them a grave. 

By the sweat of our brow we bring forth our bread 

But Lord, bless the miner, whose life's at a thread. 

For no beauty compares in the whole human race 

To the smile of a miner's grime-covered face. 

—Edwin Vogt, Little Falls, N.Y. 

Agents of Change 

Agents of Change: The 

Pioneering Role of the Miners 

of the Little Cities of Black 

Diamonds in the Nation’s 

Labor Movement is a monograph 

surveying the labor 

history of the Hocking Valley 

of Ohio from 

the latter 

half of the 

19th Century 

to the 

1930s. Cheryl 

Blosser and 

John Winnenberg 

de- 

scribe the conditions that gave 

rise to the Columbus founding 

of the UMWA. The publication 

is available for $20 plus $4.95 

shipping from Little Cities 

of Black Diamonds Council 

at 740-394-3011 or www. 

littlecitiesofblackdiamonds.org. 


WIN this West Virginia theme bike! 

Proceeds to benefit Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals 

Raffle Tickets to win the bike are $30 each, and are available by calling 304-965-3400. 

All proceeds will be donated to benefit Shriners Children’s Hospitals. 

The UMWA is a sponsor of this initiative. 

Get more information and check out 

more pictures of this beautiful work of art at 

www.templeofsteel.com 


This custom-built masterpiece was created by Rob “Bear” Parsons of the Temple of Steel custom bike shop in Elkview, W.Va. to honor the 

state of West Virginia and its people. It includes a sculpture of a miner on the rear fender, complete with the signature of President Roberts. 

Printed in the U.S.A.

March - April - United Mine Workers of America

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