By Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cecil Roberts, the longtime leader of the United Mine Workers of America union, has announced his retirement.
The UMWA International president plans to retire in October after 30 years in that role, the union announced in a news release Tuesday.
“I have been blessed and honored to be your president of the greatest union in the world for the last 30 years,” Roberts said in a statement.
A Cabin Creek native and sixth-generation coal miner, Roberts has long been one of the most fiery leaders of the labor movement. Roberts is in his seventh straight term as president after taking over for subsequent AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka in 1995, making him the second-longest-tenured president in UMWA history behind only John Lewis (1920-60).
