January - February - United Mine Workers of America

“The future strength of our union depends on our ability to organize new members.”
labor law in this country with little expectation of receiving
anything more than a slap on the wrist from federal
agencies and courts. The Employee Free Choice Act would
change that by giving employees the right to form a union
at any workplace if a majority of workers sign a card saying
that they want a union.
For coal miners, it’s a matter of life or death. The fact
is that 26 of the 29 coal miners killed on the job in 2008
were working in nonunion mines. Simply put, union
mines are safer mines. With the Employee Free Choice
Act, coal operators would no longer be able to fire union
supporters almost at will. No longer would they be able
to threaten to close mines
if a union is organized.
No longer would miners
concerned about safety have
to choose between keeping
quiet and keeping their
jobs, or speaking out and
getting fired.
And it’s no better for
people who work in health
care, manufacturing, even
public sector jobs. The climate
of fear when it comes
to working people having
a true voice on the job—no matter where they work—is
bad and getting worse. We’ve got to reverse that.
Already, the bad guys are circling the wagons. Big
business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers
and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are wielding
a huge war chest to convince any wavering members
of Congress that the Employee Free Choice Act would
mark the end of civilization. Make no mistake—this will
be labor’s biggest effort on Capitol Hill this year, and we
intend to help lead that effort. The future strength of our
union depends on our ability to organize new members.
UMW Journal: Climate change, which has obvious bearing
on the future of the coal industry, was much talked about
during the presidential election. What is likely to take
place on that front?
President Roberts: We can expect several competing legislative
initiatives to be introduced—some responsible, some
not—and we intend to be a major player in that debate.
During the last Congress, we strongly supported a bill
introduced by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Arlen
Specter (R-Pa.) that offered a realistic approach to a growing
problem. The bill recognized that our nation’s energy
security needs will require domestic coal to fuel our
electrical grid for decades to come. Importantly, it would
have further protected the economy and workers if carbon
emission controls exceeded expected costs, and linked U.S.
climate change action with those of developing countries,
where future greenhouse gas emissions growth will occur.
Another bill we supported, introduced by Rep. Rick
Boucher (D-Va.) which had strong bi-partisan support,
promised to spur development of carbon capture and sequestration
technologies, thereby protecting the environment,
the nation’s economy
“I am no stronger than
the collective solidarity
of our membership.”
David Kameras
and future coal jobs all at the
same time.
The reality is this:
First, climate change will be
addressed by Congress in
some form either this year
or next. Second, with coal
accounting for much of the
world’s electricity, including
more than 50 percent in the
U.S., simply walking away
from using coal to generate
electricity is a fantasy. I am
cautiously optimistic that common sense will prevail, and
common ground will be achieved.
Make no mistake. The UMWA will not stand idly by
and let our members become the fall guys for some misguided
energy policy. We intend to fight hard to get our
message out to both returning and new members of Congress,
as well as with the new administration, to ensure
that a practical solution, such as the earlier Bingaman-
Specter and Boucher bills, is adopted.
UMW Journal: Occupational health and safety are vitally
important to every worker. Where do you see the new
administration heading?
President Roberts: I think we can expect to see a vast
improvement under President Obama. But to tell you the
truth, almost anything would be better than what American
workers suffered over the past eight years.
Only two months after first taking office, George W.
Bush killed the ergonomics standard, which had been
more than 10 years in the making and could have protected
1.8 million workers each year from repetitive strain
United Mine Workers Journal • January/February 2009 7