Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners

Keeping the Promise.....

2004-11-28T02:25:00.000-08:00

NEW ACTION ALERT

Over 50 years ago an historic agreement was signed between the United Mine Workers of America and the federal government that created the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds. President Harry Truman was present for the signing ceremony. That agreement, known as the Krug-Lewis agreement, laid the foundation for decades of medical improvements in America's coal fields. Hundreds of thousands of coal mining families have enjoyed the promise of lifetime medical care for themselves and their dependents. The Secretary of Labor's Coal Commission found in 1990 that:

"Retired coal miners have legitimate expectations of health care for life; that was the promise they received during their working lives and that is how they planned their retirement years. That commitment should be honored."

Based on the recommendations of the Coal Commission, Congress enacted the Coal Act with bi-partisan support to ensure that the promise of lifetime health care for retired miners that began in the Oval office would continue for as long as the retirees survived. But today that promise is in danger of being broken for nearly 70,000 retirees and widows. Due to a series of court decisions the self-sustaining financial support for the UMWA Combined Fund that Congress put in place in the 1992 Coal act is in jeopardy. As a result, Congress must once again step in to ensure that the promise is kept.

How You Can Help...

In 1946 a promise was made by Congress to the coal miners, as a direct result of the sweat and blood of generations of coal miners whose toil carried this Nation through war and peace, through the Industrial and the Technological Revolutions.

A promise of cradle to grave health care that manifested itself into the 1992 Coal Act. And a promise made in 1977 to coalfield citizens and communities as a result of the ravages of past abuses, and on the souls of the 118 individuals who perished in 1972 at Buffalo Creek in Logan County, West Virginia.

A promise to reclaim their devastated landscapes, to return their land to productive uses, and to protect their health and safety that is part and parcel of the landmark Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.

The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program has been a success. Unlike the Superfund, this program has a track record of real, on-the-ground progress in restoring lands and eliminating health and safety threats. And since 1992, through the transfer of just the interest which accrues to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to the Combined Benefit Fund, it has provided health care for tens of thousands of elderly retired coal miners whose former employers can no longer be identified.

The nexus is there. The welfare of abandoned miners and of reclaiming abandoned mines, you see, go hand in hand. To date, the promise has been kept.Yet, in June of 2005 the fees assessed on the coal industry which finances this effort expire.

If legislation is passed it will keep the promise to some 50,000 retired coal miners that their health care will continue uninterrupted.

Such legislation has shown dire importance, especially in the states of Kentucky, West Virginia and Illinois where On Aug. 31, 2004 in Lexington, KY, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Howard finalized the decision allowing Horizon Natural Resources to file bankruptcy, thus voiding union contracts providing health care coverage for nearly 3,000 employees, including 2,300 retirees -- many of whom suffer from black lung as a result of their working years at Horizon. For many of these miners their only hope for health care coverage will be the passage of legislation which would KEEP THE PROMISE TO THE COAL MINERS.

New Bankruptcy Reform Legislation Introduced

2004-11-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Praises Today’s Introduction of Legislation in the U.S. Senate and House That Would Prevent More Coal Operators From Being Allowed to Terminate Miners’ Promised Coal Act Benefits By Declaring BankruptcyLegislation Prompted By What Recently Happened in Federal Bankruptcy Court to Thousands of Horizon Natural Resources Coal Miners and Their Dependents.

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is praising today’s introduction in the U.S. Senate and House of companion bills targeted at preventing coal operators from using federal bankruptcy laws to terminate Coal Act-promised lifetime health care benefits to the miners they employ.

The legislation was prompted by an Aug. 31 ruling in federal bankruptcy court in Lexington, Ky., that allowed Horizon Natural Resources to terminate the health care benefits of some 2,000 retired miners and their dependents covered under the Coal Act.Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) introduced his bill today in the U.S. Senate and Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) introduced his today in the U.S. House.

"The UMWA is extremely thankful to our friends in Congress for introducing this very important legislation, and also to those members of Congress who have already given their support to the measures," said Roberts.

"This is a great first step in beginning to address the travesty of justice that occurred in Lexington."He continued, "One of the primary reasons the Coal Act was passed in 1992 was to prevent coal operators from being able to walk away from their obligation to provide lifetime health care benefits to the miners they employed–through the courts, through bankruptcy, or by whatever means.

The principal focus of the legislation introduced today is that bankruptcy law–or any other law for that matter–should not be allowed to supercede the Coal Act. Hopefully, these bills will help confirm Congress’s intent to the courts, which would be a huge help to our campaign to prevent any more Horizons."

Reforming Federal Bankruptcy Laws

2004-11-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

In the coming weeks Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners will be joining forces with the United Mine Workers of America in a campaign to Reform Federal Bankruptcy Laws which are destroying our economy and countless lives of workers, retirees and communities.

On August 31 in Lexington, Kentucky despite three protest rallies and much public outcry, U.S. Federal Judge William S. Howard granted Horizon Natural Resources bankruptcy request
leaving thousands of coal miners, some sick from black lung disease, without health care.

The judge ruled that Horizon Natural Resources, the nation's fourth largest coal company, does not have to honor union contracts that guaranteed benefits for 1,000 active miners and some 2,300 retirees.

The nation's flawed federal bankruptcy laws are not only hurting Horizon coal miners, but also the dreams of workers across the nation at companies like Enron, WorldCom and Bethlehem and Weirton Steel. The reality in America today is that people can work hard all their lives to earn a good pension, health care and other benefits but with just one stroke of a pen, a bankruptcy judge can take it all away–and the practice is alarmingly becoming more and more common. While it is true a lot of important issues will be debated during the course of the upcoming election season, near the top of every working person's list should be the need for our elected officials to reform America's bankruptcy laws–and our labor laws. If genuine reform does not happen, more and more working Americans will soon end up in the same boat as the Horizon Natural Resources employees and retirees.

Thankfully, the UMWA’s efforts to highlight the need for reform of America’s bankruptcy laws have not gone unnoticed. Our friends in Congress are now contacting us to ask what they can do to help. At our Aug. 31, 2004 rally in Lexington, Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., addressed the crowd, telling them that what is happening is wrong and strongly supporting our calls for reform. And Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has recently issued statements saying he intends to introduce legislation that addresses the anti-worker bias of America’s bankruptcy laws. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and Reps. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, and Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., are also pledging to help.

Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners is pledging its support to the Reforming Federal Bankruptcy Laws campaign and will be there every step of the way with the UMWA and others seeking to end the injustice of Corporate Bankruptcy in this country.

Keep checking this site and we hope to have information on the launch of a Reform Bankruptcy Laws dot.com website, petitions and activism links.

Thank You

2004-11-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank everyone who helped in the Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners campaign.

Without the help of those who signed the petition, members of the Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners group, the United Mine Workers of America and various other labor unions locals like the United Autoworkers in Winchester, Kentucky this campaign would not garnered as much attention as it did.

Over 1,000 signatures were sent to Congress urging the passage of HR 3796, which would continue funding to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefits Funds and Orphan Funds.

Now we can only wait and see if during this "Lame Duck" Session of Congress we can get this very important measure passed.

I can assure everyone that Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) are working hard to make sure the Promise is Kept to the Coal Miners and understand fully that thousands of retired coal miners are depending on this legislation to be passed.

Grassroots activism works...don't ever forget that.

UMWA Health and Retirement Funds Explained

2004-10-28T02:15:00.000-07:00

A Brief History of UMWA Health and Retirement Funds

The UMWA Health and Retirement Funds (the Funds) was created in 1946 in a contract between the United Mine Workers of America and the federal government during a time of government seizure of the mines. The contract was signed in the White House with President Harry Truman witnessing the historic occasion.
Today the UMWA Funds provides pensions and medical care to over 100,000 retired miners, widows and dependents. The pension payments are a vital component of the rural economies of the coal field communities, pouring millions of dollars annually into the economy. And the medical payments from the Funds form a central underpinning for the medical care structure of the coal field communities.

Intolerable Conditions

Prior to the creation of the UMWA Funds, medical care in the nation's coal field communities consisted of a pre-paid system based on deductions from the miners' paychecks. Under this system, coal companies deducted money from the miners' pay and hired doctors to provide medical services to the miners. In many cases this was necessary because the isolated, rural areas where coal was produced did not attract medical professionals and only the lure of guaranteed income could induce doctors to set up practice in coal field communities. Over time, the company doctor system came to be viewed by the miners as harmful to their interests.

Because of nationwide concern about health care matters during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt in 1935 appointed a federal Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities. He named as chairman of the committee Josephine Roche, who later became neutral trustee and executive director of the UMWA Funds. One of the major activities of the committee was to convene a National Health Conference, at which Dr. Walter Polakov, Director of the UMWA Department of Engineering, called for the establishment of "group medicine and group hospitalization" in coal mining communities.
Following Dr. Polakov's presentation, the UMWA, through the Good Will Fund of Boston and the Twentieth Century Fund of New York, commissioned a report on medical conditions in the coal fields by the Bureau of Cooperative Medicine. The study concluded that there was a pressing need for medical care reform in the coal fields.

The entry of the United States in the Second World War caused the union to place its demands for a new medical system temporarily on hold. With the end of the war, however, UMWA negotiators renewed their efforts for medical care reform. When negotiations opened in 1945, the UMWA proposed a royalty of 10 cents per ton of coal to be paid to the Union to "provide for its members modern medical and surgical service, hospitalization, insurance, rehabilitation and economic protection."

The coal operators rejected the UMWA royalty proposal. The idea was ultimately dropped when Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins met with both sides and offered a compromise proposal that did not include a royalty. The UMWA accepted the compromise proposal and set its sights on the next round of negotiations.

Krug Lewis Agreement

When the National Bituminous Wage Conference convened in early 1946, a health and welfare fund for miners was the union's top priority. The operators again rejected the proposal and miners walked off the job on April 1, 1946. Negotiations under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor continued sporadically through April. On May 10, 1946, President Truman summoned John L. Lewis and the operators to the White House. The stalemate appeared to break when the White House announced an agreement in principle on a health and welfare fund.

Despite the White House announcement, the coal operators still refused to agree to the creation of a medical fund. Another conference at the White House failed to forge an agreement and the negotiations again collapsed.

Faced with the prospect of a long strike that could hamper post-war economic recovery, President Truman issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of the Interior to take possession of all bituminous coal mines in the United States and to negotiate with the union "appropriate changes in the terms and conditions of employment." Secretary of the Interior Julius Krug seized the mines the next day and ordered the miners to return to work. The miners refused, and negotiations continued, first at the Interior Department and then at the White House, with President Truman participating in several conferences.

After a week of negotiations, the historic Krug Lewis agreement was announced and the strike ended. It created a welfare and retirement fund to make payments to miners and their dependents and survivors in cases of sickness, permanent disability, death or retirement, and other welfare purposes determined by the trustees. The fund was to be managed by three trustees, one to be appointed by the federal government, one by the UMWA and the third to be chosen by the other two. Financing for the new fund was to derive from a royalty of 5 cents per ton of coal produced.

The Krug Lewis agreement also created a separate medical and hospital fund to be managed by trustees appointed by the UMWA. The purpose of the fund was to provide for medical, hospital, and related services for the miners and their dependents.

The Krug Lewis agreement also committed the federal government to undertake "a comprehensive survey and study of the hospital and medical facilities, medical treatment, sanitary and housing conditions in coal mining areas." The expressed purpose was to determine improvements were necessary to bring coal field communities in conformity with "recognized American standards."

To conduct the study, the Secretary chose Rear Admiral Joel T. Boone of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. Government medical specialists spent nearly a year exploring the existing medical care system in the nation's coal fields. Their report, "The Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry," found that, in coal field communities, "provisions range from excellent, on a par with America's most progressive communities, to very poor, their tolerance a disgrace to a nation to which the world looks for pattern and guidance." The survey team discovered that "three-fourths of the hospitals are inadequate with regard to one or more of the following: surgical rooms, delivery rooms, labor rooms, nurseries and x-ray facilities." The study conclude that "the present practice of medicine in the coal fields on a contract basis cannot be supported. They are synonymous with many abuses. They are undesirable and in many instances deplorable."

Thus the Boone report not only confirmed earlier reports of conditions in the coal mining communities, but also established a strong federal government interest in correcting long-standing inadequacies in medical care delivery. Perhaps most important, it provided a road map for the newly created UMWA Fund to begin the process of reform.

Pension Dispute

Shortly after the Boone report was issued, the mines were returned to their private owners and a new National Bituminous Coal contract was executed. It combined the pension and medical programs and increased the royalties to 10 cents per ton of coal produced. Thus began a two year struggle over activation of the pension program. The UMWA wanted to begin providing pensions immediately, while the operators insisted on waiting until the Fund had accumulated an actuarial reserve. After seven months of stalemate, the neutral trustee resigned in frustration, ensuring an on-going deadlock between the union and the operators.

The failure to agree on pensions caused the miners to walk out of the mines in March 1948. Recognizing the intractability of the situation, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Joseph Martin, asked the trustees to meet with him. At that meeting in the Capitol, Speaker Martin suggested Senator Styles Bridges of New Hampshire as a neutral trustee and both sides agreed. Senator Bridges pointed out the delay of almost two years since the Krug Lewis agreement. He proposed to set the retirement age at 62 with 20 years of service. By vote of Lewis and Bridges the resolution was adopted and the long stalemate was Broken. The first pension check was provided to Horace Ainscough of Rock Springs, Wyoming on September 9, 1948.

Medical Care Improvements

The Funds established ten regional offices throughout the coal fields with the direction to make arrangements with local doctors and hospitals for the provision of "the highest standard of medical service at the lowest possible cost."

One of the first programs initiated by the Funds was a rehabilitation program for severely disabled miners. Under this program over 1,200 severely disabled miners were rehabilitated. The Funds staff searched the coal fields to locate the disabled miners and sent them to the finest rehabilitation centers in the United States. At those centers, disabled miners received the best treatment that modern medicine and surgery had to offer, including artificial limbs and extensive physical therapy to teach them how to walk again. After a period of physical restoration, the miners received occupational therapy so they could provide for their families.

The Funds also made great strides in improving overall medical care in coal mining communities, especially in Appalachia where the greatest inadequacies existed. Recognizing the need for modern hospital and clinic facilities, the Funds constructed ten hospitals in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. The hospitals, known as Miners Memorial Hospitals, provided intern and residency programs and training for professional and practical nurses. Thus, because of the Funds, young doctors were drawn to areas of the country that were sorely lacking in medical professionals. A 1978 Presidential Coal Commission found that medical care in the coal field communities had greatly improved, not only for miners but for the entire community, as a result of the UMWA Funds. "Conditions since the Boone Report have changed dramatically, largely because of the miners and their Union--but also because of the Federal Government, State, and coal companies." The Commission concluded that "both union and non-union miners have gained better health care from the systems developed for the UMWA."

Legacy of the Funds Medical Program

The Funds' medical programs accomplished much more than the direct improvements in the miners' lives and in the medical care infrastructure in the coal fields. Its policies and programs broke new ground in medical care and served as a model for other unions to pursue health and welfare programs for workers. The Funds rehabilitation program, with its emphasis on rehabilitating the severely disabled, caused state governments to reexamine state rehabilitation programs that ignored the needs of the severely disabled. Many states adopted new laws that mirrored the Funds compassionate rehabilitation program.

The Funds also pioneered new concepts in medical care. It encouraged "fee for time" medical service as opposed to the prevalent "fee for service" practice and facilitated the establishment of "group practice", where physicians worked together to serve the needs of the community. The Funds developed the concept of a primary coordinating physician who would oversee all of a patient's medical care needs, from general medicine to referral to specialists and centers of excellence. These programs--with their emphasis on the needs of the beneficiary-- serve as a model for today's efforts to reform the medical care system by improving the quality of medical care while, at the same time, reducing its cost.

The Coal Act

Medical benefits for retired miners became a sorely disputed issue between labor and management in the 1980s, as companies sought to avoid their obligations to retirees and dump those obligations onto the UMWA Funds. Courts had issued conflicting decisions in the 1980s, holding that retiree health benefits were indeed benefits for life, but allowing employers to evade the obligation to fund those benefits. The issue came to a critical impasse in 1989 during the UMWA-Pittston Company negotiations. Pittston had refused to continue participation in the UMWA Funds, while the union insisted that Pittston had an obligation to the retirees.

Once again the government intervened in a coal industry dispute over health benefits for miners. Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole appointed a special "super-mediator", Bill Usery, also a former Secretary of Labor. Ultimately the parties, with the assistance of Usery and Secretary Dole, came to an agreement. As part of that agreement, Secretary Dole announced the formation of an Advisory Commission on United Mine Workers of America Retiree Health Benefits, which became known as the Coal Commission. The commission, including representatives from the coal industry, coal labor, the health insurance industry, the medical profession, academia, and the government, made recommendations to the Secretary and the Congress for a comprehensive resolution of the crisis facing the UMWA Funds. The recommendation was based on a simple, yet powerful, finding of the commission--"Retired miners have legitimate expectations of health care benefits for life; that was the promise they received during their working lives, and that is how they planned their retirement years. That commitment should be honored." The underlying recommendation was that every company should pay for its own retirees.

Based on the Coal Commission's recommendations, Senator Rockefeller introduced legislation, known as the Coal Act, that was ultimately signed by President Bush in 1992. Under the Coal Act, all companies (including those that had abandoned their retirees) were required to pay for the cost of their retirees. Orphan retirees, or those without a surviving employer, would be paid out of transfers of surplus pension assets and interest from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund.

The Funds Today and Tomorrow

The structure of the UMWA Funds has changed over the years, but the original promise to retired miners is still being kept. Today, the Funds provides health care benefits to approximately 75,000 retired miners and their dependents. It also provides pension benefits to nearly 110,000 retired miners and widows. It has contributed billions of dollars to improve the lives of those who worked in dangerous conditions to provide the nation with energy. And it has helped alleviate untold suffering and mind-numbing poverty. As John L. Lewis said on the twentieth anniversary of the UMWA Funds "I don't know of anything that runs further into the emotions of a human being than the matter of our Fund, with its security for our people. It is a dream that has come true, long deferred through the centuries."

The success of the UMWA Funds is a tribute to the many thousands of individuals who have strived to make this dream come true--Funds' doctors, lawyers, accountants, administrators and field staff. But mostly the success of the Funds is a testament to the men and women of the coal industry, members of the United Mine Workers of America, who made innumerable sacrifices to secure for themselves a part of the American dream.

Coal Act Legislative Reports 2002-2003

2004-10-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

February 14, 2003
United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Hails U.S. Senate and House Vote to Include $34 Million for the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund in the FY2003 Appropriations Bill

Thanks Sen. Robert C. Byrd for Leadership and Assistance

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is hailing the clearance yesterday by a U.S. Senate and House conference committee of an amendment drafted by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) that appropriates $34 million to the UMWA's Combined Benefit Fund (CBF). Following committee clearance, the amendment was attached to the FY2003 Appropriations bill, which was passed last night in the House and Senate. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation.

"UMWA members nationwide are extremely grateful to Senator Byrd for, once again, leading the charge to ensure that our Combined Benefit Fund remains solvent and that the federal government's promise to provide lifetime health care benefits to retired miners and their dependents is not broken," praised Roberts. "We've said all along, like Senator Byrd, that the $34 million is not the cure-all for the Combined Benefit Fund's financial woes, but it is a huge help because it provides us some much-needed time to work on a long-term solution to the problem." Roberts also thanked Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) for his help and all the members of the House who signed a letter in support of the Byrd amendment.

Roberts again reminded that Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Robert Ney's (R-Ohio) CARE 21 legislation has been reintroduced in the U.S. House and that a version is expected soon in the U.S. Senate. CARE 21 would help shore up the finances of the UMWA's CBF by lifting a restriction in the Coal Act that interest transfers to the CBF from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund be limited to paying solely for "orphaned" coal miner health care. The legislation would allow interest transfers to be made to offset the amount of any CBF deficits in order to prevent any reductions in coverage.

"CARE 21 is definitely a longer-term fix to this financial crisis, and we would encourage both bodies to pass the legislation," said Roberts.

January 23, 2003
UMWA Wins Important Health Care Resolution of Dispute (ROD)

The UMWA won an important victory involving rules on mail order prescription drug programs. Some coal companies, including Peabody Energy and Consol Energy, established mail order drug programs that imposed "surcharges" for long-term maintenance drug prescriptions filled at a local pharmacy. While the UMWA supports the use of mail order prescription drugs, we disagreed with a company's right to impose additional costs beyond the co-payment. The Union filed a Resolution of Dispute (ROD) with the trustees of the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds, asking them to rule that surcharges are not allowed. The trustees have reached a final decision that finds such surcharges are "inconsistent with the prescription drug coverage and cost containment provisions" of the Employer Benefit Plan.

This ROD decision means that companies will not be permitted to assess additional surcharges beyond the regular co-payment if a beneficiary chooses to fill a prescription at a local pharmacy. Any beneficiaries who have incurred such surcharges should contact the company to request reimbursement for all improper surcharges.

This dispute was never about mail order drugs, but about a company's attempt to impose surcharges. The UMWA supports the use of mail order prescriptions and urges you to continue utilizing these programs if you find them convenient for you and your family. Mail order prescriptions are filled without a co-payment, thereby saving you money. However, the UMWA must insist that companies follow the contract and the negotiated benefit plans.

January 22, 2003
United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Hails Inclusion of $34 Million Earmarked for the Combined Benefit Fund in Senate FY 2003 Appropriations Bill
Thanks Sen. Robert C. Byrd for Leadership and Assistance

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is hailing the inclusion of $34 million in the Senate's FY2003 Appropriations bill, earmarked to help ensure the continued solvency of the UMWA's Combined Benefit Fund (CBF).

"Once again, the UMWA is very grateful to Senator Robert C. Byrd for making it his top legislative priority to ensure that our Combined Benefit Fund remains solvent," said Roberts. "Granted, this is only a short-term fix to the larger financial problems confronting the Combined Benefit Fund, but this $34 million will afford us some time to seek a long-term solution to this problem. We thank Senators Byrd and Stevens and all other members of the Appropriations Committee who voted to attach this money to the bill, and we are hopeful the House will soon approve the money as well."

The Senate bill now moves to the House, where there will be a conference to iron out the final legislation that will be sent to President Bush for his signature.

Roberts reminded that Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Robert Ney's (R-Ohio) CARE 21 legislation has been reintroduced in the U.S. House and that a version is expected soon in the U.S. Senate. CARE 21 would help shore up the finances of the UMWA's CBF by lifting a restriction in the Coal Act that interest transfers to the CBF from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund be limited to paying solely for "orphaned" coal miner health care. The legislation would allow interest transfers to be made to offset the amount of any CBF deficits in order to prevent any reductions in coverage.

"CARE 21 is definitely a longer-term fix to this financial crisis, and we would encourage both bodies to pass the legislation," said Roberts. "If this were to happen, there may not be a need for Senator Byrd and others to continue making emergency appropriations like the one announced today."

United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Hails U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 Ruling, Requiring Coal Operators to Continue Paying Into the Combined Benefit Fund

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is hailing a decision (case Nos. 01-705 and 01-715) today by the U.S. Supreme Court that requires coal operators to continue paying into the Combined Benefit Fund, as mandated by the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, or "Coal Act."

By a vote of 6-3, the Court ruled–just as two U.S. Circuit Courts did late last year–that the Social Security Administration Commissioner did not exceed his/her authority by assigning retired coal miners to specific companies after October 1,1993; the date that Congress established in the Act. After the miner is assigned, the coal company designated must pay into the Combined Benefit Fund, which, under the Act, provides health care benefits to 50,000 retired miners and widows.

Writing the majority opinion, Justice David Souter said, "The question is whether an initial assignment made after [October 1993] is valid despite its untimeliness. We hold that it is."

"This is a huge victory for retired coal miners nationwide covered under the Coal Act," said Roberts. "Some coal operators were convinced that they had found a way to wiggle out of their obligation to provide health care to their retired miners, but today's decision by the Supreme Court proves them wrong. These operators knew their responsibility when they signed a contract–and when the Coal Act was enacted–and the UMWA is very pleased that the nation's highest court has now mandated that they hold up their end of the bargain."

Roberts said the UMWA estimates that today's decision will impact some10,000 beneficiaries, who would have had their health care paid for with interest money from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund had the companies won this case.

"Because of today's decision, these beneficiaries are no longer ‘orphans,'" he added.

October 4, 2002
"New Day, New Case, Same Result"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Issues RulingUpholding the Constitutionality of the Coal Act

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is hailing a fifth decision in less than two months that upholds the constitutionality of the 1992 Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, or "Coal Act."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday (case Nos. 00-3729,3798 and 3830) that the Berwind Corporation must continue paying into the Combined Benefit Fund, which provides health care benefits to the company's retired miners.

Like Eastern Enterprises in 1998, Berwind argued that the Coal Act's retroactive language requiring it to pay into the Combined Benefit Fund to provide health care for its retired miners employed prior to 1974 violated their constitutional right to "due process." Berwind also argued that the Social Security Administration Commissioner made assignments to the company after October 1, 1993; the cutoff date that Congress mandated in the Act.

In its ruling yesterday against Berwind, the Court said, "We hold that assignments are valid because the Act is not unconstitutional as applied to Berwind."

Roberts praised the Third Circuit ruling, saying, "New day, new case, same result. Five times now in less than two months, the courts have upheld the Coal Act's constitutionality. The UMWA is cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will soon decide the same."

October 3, 2002
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts ApplaudsNews that the U.S. House of Representatives has Passed the"Coal Accountability and Retired Employee Act for the 21st Century"

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts joined with UMWA members nationwide in applauding news of last night's vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the "Coal Accountability and Retired Employee Act for the 21st Century" (CARE 21).

CARE 21, sponsored by Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Robert Ney (R-Ohio), seeks to bolster the finances of the UMWA's Combined Benefit Fund (CBF)–a fund created as part of the 1992 Coal Act to provide health care benefits to eligible retired miners. Based on an agreement signed in 1946 between U.S. President Harry Truman and UMWA President John L. Lewis, the federal government promised UMWA coal miners cradle-to-grave health care coverage. The Coal Act reiterated and confirmed that promise. Today, several recent adverse court rulings are threatening the CBF's solvency, and CARE 21 would help address that problem by lifting a restriction that interest transfers to the CBF from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund be limited to paying solely for "orphaned" coal miner health care. CARE 21 would allow interest transfers to be made to offset the amount of any CBF deficits in order to prevent any reductions in coverage.

"Last night's action by the U.S. House is a very positive step in helping restore solvency to the Combined Benefit Fund, which is currently suffering financially because of a few adverse court rulings," said Roberts. "While the UMWA expresses our appreciation to the entire House for its bipartisan support of CARE 21, we especially want to thank Representatives Rahall and Ney for their leadership on the issue and for championing this very important legislation." He added, "The next step is to ask our friends in the Senate to take up CARE 21, pass it and then enact it. And if you look at the current deficits being projected by year's end for the Combined Benefit Fund, time is definitely of the essence here."

Roberts also said that the money being taken from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AML) Fund is interest only and not principal.

"The money will still be in the AML Fund to finance the important job of cleaning up our nation's abandoned mine sites," he explained.

September 25, 2002
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Issues RulingUpholding the Constitutionality of the Coal ActUnited Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Hopeful Ruling Will Help Going Into Upcoming Supreme Court Case of a Similar Nature

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is hailing a fourth decision in less than a month that upholds the constitutionality of the 1992 Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, or "Coal Act."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled yesterday (case No. 00-2525) that Shenango Inc., Stelco USA Inc., Stelco Coal Co. and Mueller Industries must continue paying into the Combined Benefit Fund, which provides health care benefits to the companies' retired miners.

Like Eastern Enterprises in 1998, Shenango and the related companies argued that the Coal Act's retroactive language requiring the companies to pay into the Combined Benefit Fund to provide health care for their retired miners employed prior to 1974 violated their constitutional right to "due process." Shenango and the related companies also argued that the Social Security Administration Commissioner "exceeded his authority because he made some assignments after October 1, 1993; the ‘cutoff' that Congress mandated in the Act."
In its ruling yesterday against Shenango and the related companies, the Court said, "We conclude that the assignments are not unconstitutional as applied, and that the District Court did not err in dismissing the Companies' challenge to the assignments."

Roberts said the UMWA particularly welcomed the Court's agreement that the SSA Commissioner's assignments made after October 1, 1993, did not violate the Act's statutory construction.

"This was a very important ruling because in two weeks the Supreme Court will hear argument in a case brought by several companies, where they are also challenging assignments made to them after the October 1993 date," explained Roberts. "We already had a Fourth Circuit decision saying the assignments did not violate the provisions of the statute, and now we have a Third Circuit decision saying the same. Certainly, these decisions will have to be looked at by the Supreme Court Justices."

Roberts added that, historically, there have been numerous cases of deadlines being placed in government statutes and not being met.

September 19, 2002
United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts Hails Court RulingUpholding the Constitutionality of the Coal Act.A.T. Massey's Argument Rejected

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is applauding a third decision in less than a month that upholds the constitutionality of the 1992 Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, or "Coal Act."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled yesterday (case No. 01-2155) that A.T. Massey must continue paying into the Combined Benefit Fund, which provides health care benefits to the company's retired miners.

A.T. Massey argued that the money the Massey Coal Group had to pay to provide its subsidiaries' miners with lifetime health care benefits constituted an illegal "takings." A.T. Massey also argued that the Coal Act's retroactive language requiring the company's subsidiaries to pay into the Combined Benefit Fund to provide health care for their retired miners employed prior to 1974 violated their constitutional right to "due process."

In 1998, Eastern Enterprises used a similar argument to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to rule 5-4 in the company's favor–a decision that dealt a harsh blow to the Coal Act's financial integrity.

In its ruling yesterday against A.T. Massey, the Court said, "We find that the Massey Plaintiffs are part of an entity whose experiences in the coal mining industry are not substantially identical to those of Eastern," and "We find the position of the Massey Plaintiffs easily distinguishable from that of Eastern. Because the Massey Plaintiffs do not stand in a position 'substantially identical' to that of Eastern, the (Social Security Administration) Commissioner's assignments of liability to the Massey Plaintiffs are not unconstitutional under Eastern Enterprises."

"Like some other coal operators, A.T. Massey thought it could use the legal system to try and wiggle out of its promise to provide lifetime health care benefits to its workers," said Roberts. "But if you examine the courts' past three rulings on cases like Massey's, the operators' arguments are simply not holding water." He added, "Thankfully, there are still honorable coal operators out there who acknowledge the promise they made to their workers. My advice to the companies who continue to tie up our nation's legal system with these meritless cases is to follow the responsible operators' example and quit trying to duck your responsibilities."

September 12, 2002
United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts HailsYet Another Court Ruling Upholding the Constitutionality of theCoal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992

United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts is applauding a second decision in less than a month that upholds the constitutionality of the 1992 Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, or "Coal Act."

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday that Nell Jean Industries must continue paying into the Combined Benefit Fund, which provides health care benefits to the company's retired miners, saying "the Coal Act is not unconstitutional as applied to plaintiff." In late August, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia ruled the same in a case brought by Pittston Coal Co. that also questioned the constitutionality of the Coal Act as applied to the company.

"Some of these coal operators continue to try and use the courts to wiggle out of their obligation to pay for lifetime health care benefits for the miners that made them their profits," said Roberts. "But–as they should–the courts are repeatedly telling the operators to own up to their responsibilities–which they have known about all along," said Roberts, adding, "As UMWA members celebrate the tenth anniversary of this very important legislation (the Coal Act), it is heartening to see that–for the most part–the courts are not buying the argument that the law is somehow unconstitutional when applied to certain operators."

September 5, 2002
Senators Jay Rockefeller and Robert Byrd and Representative Nick Rahall to beHonored at a United Mine Workers of America Luncheon Celebrating theTenth Anniversary of the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992

At 1:00 p.m., Monday, Sept. 9, 2002, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Carlo Tarley will join with nearly 200 members, supporters and friends at the Country Inn in Beckley, W.Va., to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992. The UMWA will also honor U.S. Senators Jay Rockefeller and Robert Byrd and Representative Nick Rahall of West Virginia for their steadfast support of the legislation.

Known simply to UMWA members as the "Coal Act," the legislation is a federal government promise to provide lifetime health care benefits to America's coal miners. The original promise was made in 1946 by U.S. President Harry Truman to UMWA President John L. Lewis. In the 1980s, however, some in the coal industry began abandoning their retirees and dumping their responsibilities onto the UMWA's Health and Retirement Funds–moves that caused operators still fulfilling their obligations to bear a heavier financial burden. The issue gained national attention in 1989 when the UMWA struck Pittston Coal, which at the time was one of the operators refusing to pay its retiree health care benefits. The bitter strike led then-Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole to form a blue-ribbon Coal Commission to examine the issue and make recommendations. The Commission, which was chaired by former Labor Secretary Bill Usery, recommended that the benefits be protected and that operators be held accountable. In response to the Commission's findings, Sen. Rockefeller authored the Coal Act, which served to reinforce the 1946 promise. It was a tough legislative battle, but the UMWA prevailed and the Act was passed. It was signed into law by President George Bush on October 24, 1992.

In advance of the Sept. 9 event, Roberts said, "The passage of the Coal Act in 1992 was–and still is–just as important to UMWA members as the passage of the 1969 Coal Mine Safety and Health Act." He continued, "In 1946, the federal government promised UMWA coal miners 'cradle-to-grave' health care benefits and the Coal Act confirmed that promise in 1992. When we gather on September 9, we will not only mark the Act's tenth anniversary but also honor Senators Rockefeller and Byrd and Representative Rahall, all of whom were instrumental to the Coal Act's passage and all of whom have fought with us to ensure the promise to America's retired coal miners is never broken."

In the past few years, the UMWA has been forced once again to elicit the help and support of its friends in Congress, primarily due to a series of adverse court rulings that are presently eroding the Coal Act's built-in financing mechanisms and severely threatening the solvency of the Combined Benefit Fund (CBF), which was created by the Coal Act. Thankfully, Sen. Byrd has twice been able to procure additional federal dollars to shore up the Act's funding, but the CBF's assets continue to dwindle and a long-term solution to the problem is still needed.

"The UMWA is rallying behind Representative Rahall's 'CARE 21' legislation," said Roberts. "To offset deficits, this bill would allow interest transfers from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund (AML) to the Combined Benefit Fund. It is a sensible solution because it takes no AML principal money, just interest, meaning the funds will still be there to continue the important job of cleaning up our nation's abandoned mines."

Rahall's CARE 21 legislation was moved out of the House Resources Committee in late June 2002.

LINKS

2004-09-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

HR 3796/AML News Stories:
UMWA head says reclamation program must continue (10/12/04)
Horizon sale leaves miners in the lurch (10/10/2004)
Union leader: Save health care system (10/9/2004)
Abandoned-Mine Bill Lapse Poses Health Concerns (NPR Audio Commentary)
Bush continues, but cuts abandoned mine tax
Kerry criticizes AML fund cuts
The Charleston Gazette Ongoing News Series: Abandoned Promises

Letters to the editor:
VOICE OF THE READER: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2004
Demand passage
Miners affected by Horizon need support

Other Information Links:
Horizon Natural Resources Bankruptcy News Stories
United Mine Workers of America website

Remember to take action and sign the Keep the Promise to the Coal Miners Petition