We encourage YOU to participate –

The West Virginia Coal Forum – an organization representing both labor and management in the coal industry – will host three forums across West Virginia featuring Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, Congressman Nick Joe Rahall, Congressman David McKinley, UMWA President Cecil Roberts and others to discuss EPA’s War on Coal and, specifically, the agency’s greenhouse gas and Utility MACT proposed rules.

These rules will significantly affect West Virginia jobs, and in fact, have already resulted in the announced premature closure of several state power plants.  The purpose of the Coal Forum events are to increase awareness of the harmful impacts these rules will have on the economy of Appalachia and to discuss strategies for reversing them.

Stakeholders in West Virginia’s mining economy – industry leaders, mining personnel, association representatives, local legislators and policy leaders – are encouraged to attend.

Confirm your attendance at one or all of the events by emailing your name, title, organization and the event you plan to attend to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

EVENT DATES:

May 22, 2012
Charleston, WV        
Embassy Suites Hotel        
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.
Featuring Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and UMWA President Cecil Roberts

May 23, 2012        
Wheeling, WV        
Oglebay Resort         
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Featuring Congressman David McKinley

May 24, 2012        
Beckley, WV        
Country Inn & Suites / Mountaineer Conference Center        
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Featuring Congressman Nick Joe Rahall

(Senator Manchin will have representatives at each meeting.)

Staff
Charleston

United Mine Workers Union President Cecil Roberts says the coal industry continues to grow despite attempts in Washington to stop the use of fossil fuels.

Roberts was the keynote speaker at Wednesday's West Virginia Coal Forum held in Charleston.

Roberts says the national unemployment rate is at 9.2 percent and in West Virginia it's at 8.5 percent. He says despite the dismal numbers, there are plenty of jobs available in the coal industry.

"Everywhere I go people say, 'We can't find a job.' Well I can tell you where to find a job if you really want one. You can find a job in the coal industry," Roberts told the large crowd.

In the past five years Roberts says the union has added 3,000 new miners in West Virginia. Roberts admits a majority of those have been in one area of the state.

"Everywhere I go in northern West Virginia, I see somebody that looks like my grandson mining coal in that part of the state,” he said.

The union chief says they're making a good living thanks to new, five-year contract the rank-and-file ratified with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association back in June.

"We just got a pay raise. They got an immediate one-dollar per hour raise. They're going to get another dollar in January. That's two dollars in six months. That's an 8 percent raise in six months...And over the life of the contract, they're going to get a 25 percent overall raise. I can tell you I don't know where there's another industry that can say that,” Roberts claimed.

On top of the pay raise, there's also the benefit package that was negotiated that kept the union's substantial insurance and pension plans.

Roberts says when those who work in the mine industry are paid fair wages, it benefits everyone because they spend that money where they live.

"It's all coming back to create jobs in that area where the money comes to,” he said. “Nurses, doctors, people are buying cars from the car dealership. People are going to the grocery store. We're lifting up the economy."

Roberts says what this country needs more of is jobs. He says Congress wouldn't have brought the country to the verge of default last week with the debt crisis if more Americans were employed.

"I think the conversation should be how do we keep people working and how do we put people to work and how do we pay them excellent wages, with excellent benefits? We need more taxpayers in the United States more than anything else we can talk about."

Roberts stressed to keep the coal industry strong and adding employees, the federal EPA cannot move forward with its plan to banish coal as a form of energy.

The forum took place at the Charleston Marriott at 9 a.m.

By Andrea Lannom
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  | Other Stories by Andrea Lannom 

Several speakers during Wednesday’s annual coal forum in Charleston urged the passage of a bill, which would put controls on the Environmental Protection Agency.

This comes on the heels of the EPA’s new air quality rules, which would limit the coal mining industry.

One of the main concerns speakers had is the potential shut downs along with the loss of jobs associated with the closures, that these limitations would cause.

“Coal is critical to keep our manufacturing sector competitive and to keep access to affordable power,” Jeff Herholdt from the West Virginia Division of Energy, said during Wednesday’s forum.

Herholdt explained that if these air regulations took affect, 8 percent of coal demand would be lost.

“We are seeing new investments in West Virginia that will continue the demand for coal,” he said, noting a new power plant coming online in Monongalia County, which he says will be “one of the cleanest plants in the country.

“This is a model for future coal development,” he said.

Two other speakers, Cecil Roberts, from the UMWA and Bill Raney from the West Virginia Coal Association, said the loss of jobs could be devastating.

“This is not just an issue of some coal miners in West Virginia,” Roberts said. “This is a broad issue of people making a living off of coal across the country.”

“This is ridiculous when the economy is in shambles,” Raney said.

Roberts noted the struggle of many Americans who are either unemployed or “underemployed.”

“I tell them that they can get a good job in the American coal industry,” he said. “Everywhere I go in northern West Virginia, I see someone who looks like my grandson mining coal.”

The amount of time to retrofit existing plants could also be a concern, says international energy air expert Gene Trisko.

According to Trisco, there would only be 36 months to install hundreds of retrofitted controlled devices in existing plants.

Trisco then mentioned a question he posed to the EPA about these regulations.

“The first question was, ‘could you please identify units in the database that meet these emission standards?’ It was a short answer. Zero,” he said.

“This rule is twice as expensive as any air pollution rule ever proposed by the EPA,” he said, noting an $11 billion a year price tag. “When we go into regulatory impact analysis, where are the benefits coming from?”

See Video here: http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=105075#