Union News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Seems like everywhere you turn these days, somebody’s talking about coal: Where it’s mined, how it’s mined, even whether it should be mined at all.

It’s an important discussion, because the direction our nation takes regarding coal and the future of coal will affect tens of millions of Americans – not just coal miners and their communities, but nearly every American who flips a light switch or turns on a computer, television or air conditioner.

As we develop these policies, it’s important to keep some facts in mind about coal, the UMWA and how we got to where we are today.

Fact No. 1: We would be discussing the future of coal no matter who was elected president of the United States.

Everyone remembers that there was an election last November. And no matter how you look at it, one candidate won (by a lot) and another lost. Even so, many people in the coalfields are saying that the increased attention on coal and especially the rising pressures on the surface mining method known as mountaintop removal (MTR) are occurring only because Barack Obama won that election.

What a crock. I would remind everyone that it was John McCain, not Barack Obama, who said he supported ending MTR during a campaign event in Florida last fall.

I submit that had McCain won the election and done what he said he would do, we would not be talking about whether or not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be issuing letters questioning MTR permits. He would have shut those mines down already.

What is happening instead is a review of MTR in its entirety to see what rules and regulations apply and how they should be applied. The EPA and Department of the Interior have taken steps to move oversight of MTR mining back to the situation that existed for decades in the coalfields.

We believe that, as part of that review, the administration must have a clear understanding of what the full effects of surface mining are on coalfield communities – both the environmental and the economic effects.

That is why I have met with Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in the last few weeks to express our concerns regarding the direction that future MTR policy may take, and to ask for a clearly stated policy that will allow everyone to understand what the rules are as we move forward. I believe the Obama administration is working to do that, though no one can say at this point what that policy will be or whether we will agree with it once they announce it.

I would also remind everyone that Sen. McCain has twice proposed climate change legislation in Congress, including the very kind of “cap-and-trade” mechanisms that are currently being discussed in Washington, which would have severely restricted the future use of coal, especially Appalachian coal.

Indeed, Sen. McCain said in 2000, “In a perfect world, we would like to transition away from coal entirely.” There is no evidence that Sen. McCain has changed his position on this issue. And his is not the only voice on the Republican side of the aisle calling for action on climate change issues and a reduction in the use of coal.

So to say that one political party or another is more favorable to coal and the future of coal is just hogwash. Worse, re-fighting last year’s election is beside the point and does nothing to save a single coal job.

Let’s not forget that we are in the worst recession in decades. Miners are suffering layoffs because the market for metallurgical coal to make steel has dried up and the market for steam coal has stagnated. This situation will eventually reverse itself – hopefully sooner rather than later, for all our sakes.

Fact #2: Action in Washington dealing with climate change was going to happen no matter what the outcome of the 2008 elections were.

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court (a majority of whom were appointed by Republicans) said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases.

What that means is that one of two things is going to happen: Either the EPA will indeed issue regulations as the Supreme Court says they can, or Congress will pass legislation dealing with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. For miners, their families and their communities, it is imperative for Congress to act, because only Congress can write laws that will include the kind of help our industry needs to survive and prosper for decades into the future.

So for the UMWA, our members and their families – indeed, for all coal miners and our communities – the issue isn’t whether something is going to be done. The issue is, instead, what is going to be done and what we can do to influence the outcome of whatever legislation is finally passed.

That is why the UMWA has chosen to become involved in the process in Congress over this pending legislation. We believe that for us to do nothing will provide exactly that for our members and their families: nothing.

Because we are involved, members of Congress are listening to the concerns of coal miners, our families and our communities. Indeed, because many from the coalfields have decided to sit on the sidelines and engage in rhetorical attacks and political grandstanding on this issue, ours is one of the few pro-coal voices anyone of consequence in Washington is listening to.

We are being heard when it comes to including language in the legislation to fund the development of technology that would allow us to use coal in a carbon-neutral way for decades to come. We are being heard when it comes to how climate change legislation might look and how to make sure whatever carbon caps may come in the future are realistic ones that don’t destroy the jobs and economies of coal states and communities.

We do not yet know what the climate change legislation Congress eventually passes will actually say, meaning we do not yet know if it will be legislation we can support. But I can promise this: Whatever happens, we will continue to fight on behalf of our members and their jobs.

There is no question that the current situation presents us with a difficult path to navigate. But navigate it we must, for I am determined that the UMWA will remain true to our core mission: To do our best to preserve, defend and expand the jobs of our members and improve their economic well-being.

That is what unions are supposed to do, and that is what the UMWA has always done.

Roberts is international president of the United Mine Workers of America.