January - February - United Mine Workers of America

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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
Irvin Smith Former L.U. 1440 President Irvin Smith is a 34-year member of the UMWA, but he has been organizing since before he joined our union. In 1964, he organized workers for the Machinists Union at Capitol Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, Ohio. “We lost the first election by three votes, but came back a year later and won by three votes,” he said. “We didn’t give up... amen.” In 1974, Smith became a member of UMWA L.U. 8840 at U.S. Steel’s mine at Thacker, W.Va., where he worked as a general laborer, mason, scoop operator and shuttle car operator. Then in 1981, Old Ben Coal bought the facility and soon after shut it down. Smith went to work for A.T. Massey Raul Sales’ Tall Timber Coal Co. in February 1983. A year-and-ahalf later, the UMWA struck Massey when the company refused to sign the 1984 BCOA agreement. Smith didn’t return to work until five years later. “They didn’t have a union at Massey, and there was no contract. So I slipped around the job site and got union cards signed. Then I went to the mine superintendent and told him, ‘You are looking at the new president of UMWA Local 1440, District 17.’ The superintendent stormed off out of the lighthouse mad.” And what does the McCarr, Ky., resident think of how Massey is run now? “I remember that [CEO] Don Blankenship said that coal production was first, before everything else, even safety. He has a house high on a hill where he can look around at everyone. He is not well liked in this area.” There are some who still believe that political elections don’t mean anything, but Smith is having none of that. “I’m happy with the new president, Barack Obama. And if we can get the Employee Free Choice Act passed, I believe that we can organize Massey and other companies like it. We really need that bill, because without it, these young guys are afraid to speak out for fear of getting fired.” “Irvin Smith is a fine individual,” said Region 2 Director Gary Trout. “This is a guy who has worked all of his life for the union.” International District 17 Vice President Joe Carter agrees. “Brother Smith is just a good union man. He has always been supportive of 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. actively retired union, and helpful in any way that we ask. When we call on him, he’s always available. He’s been retired for some time, but he always takes an active role.” “If we can get the Employee Free Choice Act passed, I believe that we can organize Massey and other companies like it. We really need that bill, because without it, these young guys are afraid to speak out for fear of getting fired.” Smith retired in 1997 after he was hurt on the job. Since then, he has served as a member of COMPAC, He has remained married “to the same sweet woman since 1962.” As someone who served his country in Vietnam—he was wounded in Operation Buffalo in the Demilitarized Zone in 1966—Smith feels a special kinship with President Roberts and all of the other union veterans of that and other conflicts. “The UMWA draws strength from the sacrifices made by these brothers and sisters,” he said. “That’s one reason why the Mine Workers is the best union going. We’re always trying to help people.” United Mine Workers Journal • January/February 2009 9
Page 1 and 2: January-February 2009 120th Year, N
Page 3 and 4: letters [Ed. note: The UMW Journal
Page 5 and 6: to ensure that veterans are honored
Page 7: “The future strength of our union
Page 11 and 12: Government in action by the collaps
Page 13 and 14: Government in action Michael Ryan,
Page 15 and 16: around our Union Phil Smith Monumen
Page 17 and 18: Celebrating King in the Big Easy ar
Page 19 and 20: Poems • Books • Music The Recor
Page 21 and 22: DISTRICTS in action District 31 The
Page 23 and 24: UMWA Health & retirement funds annu

January - February - United Mine Workers of America

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