WHEELING, W.Va. — For several months, U.S. senators representing Ohio and West Virginia have worked to preserve health care coverage and pensions for retired coal miners, but time is running short because about 12,500 of them will lose these benefits on Dec. 31 if the law does not change.
“Congress can avoid this tragedy when it returns to Washington next week to wrap up its outstanding business,”United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts said. “It must take action to preserve the health care and pension benefits of these retirees.”
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; have been working to pass the Miners Protection Act throughout 2016, but have not yet found success. They believe about 120,000 retired miners are at risk of losing their benefits over the long-term, in addition to the immediate concern of protecting the health care for 12,500.
The West Virginia and Ohio senators are among 22 who sent a letter to the leaders of both the Senate and the House urging an expeditious vote on the act.
“During the month of October, approximately 12,500 of our nation’s retired coal miners received notices informing them that their health care benefits will be terminated at the end of this year. … On Nov. 1, another 3,600 miners began to receive notices. And next year, 6,500 more will suffer the same fate,” the letter reads.
“Additionally, the pension fund that these miners and their widows rely on for life’s basic necessities will reach the point of no return shortly thereafter.”
The United Mine Workers Of America 1974 pension plan was nearly fully funded prior to the 2008 economic recession. Declining coal demand since then has led to several large coal company bankruptcies, including Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and Patriot Coal.
New technologies also allow coal companies to extract the mineral with fewer employees than once required. This means the number of active miners paying into the union pension fund is minuscule compared to the number of retirees and their dependents collecting benefits.
In fact, senators estimate only 10,000 active miners are paying into the pension fund, while there are 120,000 retirees drawing from it.
“This strong bipartisan team includes senators from Alaska to Florida, Minnesota to North Carolina and all points in between,” Roberts said. “Their clear message is that passing this legislation is not just critical for saving the lives of tens of thousands of coalfield retirees, it represents a continuation of a longstanding commitment by our government to lifetime health and retirement benefits for our miners.”
If the UMWA pension fund fails, the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. would assume the responsibility of making payments to miners and their dependents. This is the same organization now responsible for paying the pensions of many Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Weirton Steel and Ormet Corp. retirees. However, the senators are skeptical the PBGC could handle billions of dollars in new liabilities.
“These retirees earned their retirement benefits through decades of dangerous, backbreaking work providing our nation with the energy it needed to become the most powerful on earth. They aren’t asking for a handot — they are simply asking the U.S. government to keep its promise to them,” Roberts said.
Others signatories to the letter include Sens. Robert Casey, D-Pa.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Al Franken, D-Minn.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Richard Durbin, D-Ill.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Jim Risch, R-Idaho; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas.
“Some disasters, like floods and earthquakes, happen quickly and cause immediate suffering and loss of life. The disaster that will come to America’s coalfields if Congress fails to act on the Miners Protection Act will move slower, but will have the same terrible, deadly outcome,” Roberts added.