January - February - United Mine Workers of America

injuries. He slashed enforcement
budgets, staffing levels and inspection
activities at federal safety
regulatory agencies.
He refused to strengthen the
rules to prevent chemical explosions.
He cut training grants. He
ignored safety concerns when he
opened the southern border to foreign
trucking. He shut labor out of
the National Advisory Committee
on Occupational Safety and Health.
He even blocked funds to monitor
the health of 9/11 rescue and
recovery workers.
Miners had it even worse. After
stacking the top ranks of the Mine
Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) with industry cronies,
Bush delayed a final rule on hazard
communication, and further
delayed, weakened or withdrew at
least 17 other regulations intended
to protect the health and safety of mine workers. He weakened
safeguards against fires on conveyor belts in mines. He
shifted MSHA’s culture from enforcing safety regulations to
providing operators with “compliance assistance.”
Moving forward, we expect a much friendlier environment.
However, there is much work to be done and
damage to be undone. We need to build on the success of
the MINER Act by gaining quick passage of the S-MINER
Act, which would give MSHA the tools it needs to be a
true, tough watchdog for mine health and safety. We need
to continue the fight for tougher regulations regarding
belt air, safety chambers, tracking and communication
devices, respirable dust levels, Black Lung funding and a
host of other issues, and to demand strong enforcement
of the rules that are already on the books.
UMW Journal: As of now, you are the second-longest
standing president of the United Mine Workers, behind
only John L. Lewis. Based on your lengthy experience,
how to you view the current state of the union and where
it is heading?
President Roberts: It’s been almost 14 years since my good
friend and brother Rich Trumka was elected Secretary-
Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, and I was privileged to become
president of the UMWA. A lot has happened since then.
“The UMWA will not
stand idly by and let
our members become
the fall guys for some
misguided energy policy.”
Phil Smith
We have negotiated three
national coal agreements that have
produced significant wage, pension
and benefit gains for our members,
including the historic 20-and-out
and 30-and-out pension provisions.
Indeed, pensions have more
than doubled since 1995.
In an era of union-busting
not seen since the 1930s, and
while many of our fellow brother
industrial unions have been losing
members and making concessions,
we have held our own.
As a member of the Executive
Committee of the AFL-CIO’s
Executive Council, I have had the
opportunity to directly participate
in guiding the direction of the
entire U.S. labor movement, and
to reach across trade and craft
lines to improve cooperation and
enhance solidarity.
Equally important, we have made enormous legislative
gains, despite hostility from both Capitol Hill and the
White House, and against well-funded lobbying by major
corporations and many of our employers. We scored
the first major improvement to the nation’s mine safety
laws since 1977, while positioning ourselves for greater
victories in the near future. And after more than a decade
of struggle to get the government to keep its Truman-era
health care promises to UMWA retirees, we secured a
stable funding vehicle for our Plans.
Yet ultimately, I am no stronger than the collective
solidarity of our membership. Time and time again, when
the union has sent out the call, our members have stepped
up to the plate with solidarity, determination and militancy,
because we have all learned from more than a century
of experience that the stakes are high and the issues we
face affect every one of us.
There has been no greater honor for me than to
be asked to lead this great union. Every single day, I am
grateful for the opportunity and humbled by the responsibility
it carries. With a new era at last dawning in America,
I am proud to join arms with my brothers and sisters and
confident that, through our collective strength, we will
improve the lives of workers and their families within our
union and throughout our nation.
8 January/February 2009 • United Mine Workers Journal