WASHINGTON, D.C. – A prominent mine workers’ union this week begged rich West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who represents one of the poorest states in the union, to vote for Build Back Better (BBB) legislation.
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement after Joe Manchin announced he was against the BBB, which would help average and poor Americans live better:
“The United Mine Workers and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have a long and friendly relationship. We remain grateful for his hard work to preserve the pensions and health care of our retirees across the nation, including thousands in West Virginia. He has been at our side as we have worked to preserve coal miners’ jobs in a changing energy marketplace, and we appreciate that very much.
“The Build Back Better (BBB) legislation includes several items that we believe are important for our members and their communities – some of which are part of the UMWA’s Principles for Energy Transition we laid out last spring.
“The bill includes language that would extend the current fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or Black Lung. But now that fee will be cut in half, further shifting the burden of paying these benefits away from the coal companies and on to taxpayers.
“The bill includes language that will provide tax incentives to encourage manufacturers to build facilities in the coalfields that would employ thousands of coal miners who have lost their jobs. We support that and are ready to help supply those plants with a trained, professional workforce. But now the potential for those jobs is significantly threatened.
“The bill includes language that would, for the first time, financially penalize outlaw employers that deny workers their rights to form a union on the job. This language is critical to any long-term ability to restore the right to organize in America in the face of ramped-up union-busting by employers. But now there is no path forward for millions of workers to exercise their rights at work.
“For those and other reasons, we are disappointed that the bill will not pass. We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families, and their communities.
“I also want to reiterate our support for the passage of voting rights legislation as soon as possible, and strongly encourage Senator Manchin and every other Senator to be prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. Anti-democracy legislators and their allies are working every day to roll back the right to vote in America. Failure by the Senate to stand up to that is unacceptable and a dereliction of their duty to the Constitution.”
I can’t believe a bunch of coal miners want to vote in legislation that will eventually destroy their livelyhood with the green deal.
BIDEN 4 MORE YEARS !! Not even the NIT PRAVDA TIMES will say that
Hahaha LOSERS the lot of them !!
This venom cannot be allowed in our schools where it causes destructive damage to the kids that are the future of America.
How?
But Biden cured COVID 19 like he promised
If he cured it, why is it still causing havoc and killing people?
Vote for the New York City real estate developer who was born into wealth, went to private schools, inherited his money, dodged the vietnam draft, and lives at various country clubs. A true warrior who can relate and knows the struggle of the working class!
The working class that trump knows best are prostitutes.
jealous you can’t afford them
Munchkin won’t help. He is in the pocket of big pharma and they tell him what to do.
He’s in his own pocket, like most Senators. Completely corrupt gov’t in DC.
And you know this how?
Hand written garbage. The poorest state, also the dumbest, if they think it will do anything for them. Worst presidential administration ever. All this crazy spending is going to leave our American dollar completely worthless.
Biggest defense bill in history passed this year though, what was it, $768 billion? You’d rather buy bombs to blow up mud huts than take care of Americans here at home. What does the defense bill do for you?
How much pork is in that budget?
Less than what’s inside you.
Democracy Now:
WILLIAM HARTUNG: Well, Congress often adds money for pet projects — Boeing aircraft in Missouri, attack submarines in Connecticut and Virginia — but nothing at this level. You know, $24 billion is the biggest congressional add-on that I can think of in recent memory. So it’s kind of extraordinary, especially, as we said, when the endless wars should be winding down.
And then you have Mike Rogers from Alabama, who’s the key player on House Armed Services. He’s got Huntsville in his state, and Huntsville is sort of the missile capital of America — Army missiles, missile defense systems. He also gets hundreds of thousands of dollars from the weapons industry for his reelection. So, there’s a strong kind of pork barrel special interest push by the military-industrial complex that help bring about this result.
In the presidents first foreign policy speech, he said the U.S. should stop support for offensive operations in Yemen. And yet he’s approved a contract for maintenance of Saudi planes and attack helicopters, and now this deal for the missiles. So he’s basically gone back on his pledge to forge a new relationship with Saudi Arabia and to use U.S. leverage to end the blockade and the war itself.
I would rather have enough weapons to defend ourselves, the fact is that Russia and China have hypersonic missiles that they can use against us. We don’t have them and we need to be able to defend ourselves, get with the program Matt and educate yourself this isn’t about bombing mud huts.
RUS & CHN beating USA with substantially smaller budgets in defense, but I’m the sheep throwing $$$ into the bottomless well of defense budget for the result of losing to our enemies?
With all the oil production the current cadaver in chief handed over to our enemies, they have more than enough budget for a stout military with advanced weapons. Who do you think is getting rich off of the $3.25/gal fuel? Not the US.
Gas is under 2.90 at the pump, come out of your mom’s basement and see.
You been out of the basement lately?
Iowa average gas prices
Price as of 12/28/21
$3.024 Regular
$3.170 Mid-Grade
$3.579 Premium
$3.310 Diesel
National Average for
Regular $3.284
https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=IA
Where did you copy & paste that from? Us non-shut-ins just need to look out the window at the gas station signs and read the numbers, and they are all much lower than what you pasted. You are clouded by hate. May Jesus help you repent.
NIT Publisher December 28, 2021 at 11:13 am
If you’re not smart enough to see the posted link, God help you in your ignorance.
So, I will post the link once more.
https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=IA
I don’t need a website when I just filled up at $2.79 in Iowa, please be less desperate than an 8th grade boy at the Sadie Hawkins dance.
We’ll need that and more when china and putin attack.
Putin threatens military action if NATO rejects Russian ultimatum. The white house will be running scared when that happens. Maybe he can enlist some of the illegals to help.
If Putin or China attacks the US, it will start the biggest war our planet has ever seen. Millions upon millions will die immediately, and tens of millions more will die as a result of the devastation and lingering effects of nuclear war. So, this war you fear benefits none and devastates all.
Man you’re smart!!! And you don’t “fear” war?
The Biden bill will do nothing for the coal miners except put them out of jobs, their dream is to eliminate coal and oil at all costs, and believe me, it will cost all of us plenty!
EXACTLY!!!!
Are the replacement jobs ready? You will end up like the pipe line workers….outside looking in
While standing in the governments bean soup line.