January - February - United Mine Workers of America

Government
in action
by the collapse of the banking and
mortgage systems as a result of lax
oversight and too-friendly regulations
by the Bush administration, the
economic disaster is deepening every
day. The numbers are staggering:
• 2.5 million jobs were lost in
2008, over 524,000 of them in
December alone;
• The national unemployment rate
jumped to 7.2 percent in December,
and some analysts are predicting
it will top 10 percent by the
middle of 2010;
• Ohio has run out of money in its
unemployment insurance fund,
more states will follow and others
are overwhelmed with claims.
In response, the incoming Obama
administration has been working for
months on an economic stimulus
plan that will likely include a mix
of middle-class tax cuts with a fast
infusion of money for infrastructure
work on highways, roads, bridges
and more. Though President Obama
is urging Congress to move quickly
to approve the package, several details
remain to be worked out.
Quick passage and implementation
of the stimulus package is
critical for working families, including
UMWA members. Due to the
worldwide recession, industrial
production that is directly related to
UMWA members’ jobs—in the steel
industry, for example—has been cut
back. UMWA members have been
laid off at Cliffs Mining’s Pinnacle
mine in West Virginia and at Consol
Energy’s Eighty-Four mine in Pennsylvania.
Other mines producing
metallurgical-grade coal are under
pressure as well.
“Though coal mining has by
and large escaped many of the worst
aspects of this recession, that won’t
last forever,” President Roberts said.
“We’re seeing layoffs among our
members who produce met coal, and
that will only get worse if steelmakers
and other basic industries don’t start
producing again. We are in strong
support of President Obama’s
plan to get our industrial base
moving again.”
“The only reason there is a
middle class in America
today is because of the rise
of labor unions in the 1930s
and ’40s. And the reason
working families have seen
their real incomes shrink
over the last decade is
because of the loss of union
membership and power of
the labor movement.”
Jimmy Thomas,
L.U. 1928
Obama’s already connected
with the people. He’s going
to contribute some good
programs. He knows what
the working person wants
and needs, and will help the
average citizen, unlike the past
president. I think he’s going to
be a champion on mine safety
and health. Before he ran for
public office, he was a community
organizer, a fighter for
working people. He is in touch
with the working people.
David Kameras
United Mine Workers Journal • January/February 2009 11