Indiana, Kentucky coal miners to fight for their lives (again) Thursday

Jon Webb | Evansville

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump tells Pennsylvania: 'Your steel is coming back' US President Donald Trump on Saturday told supporters in Moon Township, Pennsylvania: 'your coal is coming'. He was speaking during a campaign event for Republican Rick Saccone ahead of next Tuesday's special election.

Retired coal workers fought for years to secure their healthcare. Their reward? Another fight.

Two years after 10,000 United Mine Workers of America members filled the National Mall in Washington D.C., to rally for permanent health benefits, the retirees will be fighting again. This time, for their pensions.

The UMWA – along with supporters from bakery and musician unions, among others – will gather for a giant protest in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday.

Just like in D.C., the protesters will include a strong contingent from the Tri-State. Dave Hadley, a retiree, with Local 1189, said six buses will leave from the Boonville 4-H grounds at noon Wednesday.

“We expect a larger number to attend than the D.C. event,” he said.

No easy solution

They’re hoping for similar results, too. Congress eventually provided permanent funding for UMWA health benefits. It was part of the $1.1 trillion spending bill passed in May of last year.

As far as the pensions, a joint Congressional committee will meet at the Ohio Statehouse to try to hash out a plan, all while union members boil outside. Many of them will lean on walkers or depend on wheelchairs. Some will haul around oxygen tanks.

After decades of hard work, they want the money promised to them.

But a solution could be tough to come by. Pension funds have been gasping for years, especially since the economic crash of 2008. Companies have sliced benefits while asking recipients to kick in more cash.

The joint committee was created as part of the budget deal passed earlier this year. Members have until November to find money for a litany of struggling pension funds, which cover a combined 1.5 million retirees.

And they're looking for a lot of money. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College says the 1,400 multiemployer pension plans across the country are in a $553 billion hole. That doesn’t count struggling public pensions.

'Are you next?'

Politicians will frame this as a money issue. But it’s really more about priorities.

In 2008, the federal government managed to rustle up $700 billion for criminal Wall Street banks – which helped create this pension crisis to begin with. And in the 1980s, we found $160 billion to bail out the equally-blundering savings and loan business – about $360 billion in today’s dollars.

All that was OK, though, because it went toward people who help bankroll political campaigns. A retired coal miner battling black lung in Henderson County, Kentucky, doesn’t have that much political clout. And increasingly, the union doesn’t either.

Another problem is public perception. Unless you’re a monster or Paul Ryan, no one wants to take healthcare away from aging men and women. It’s a relatable problem.

Pensions are different. The UMWA website features pictures of retirees carrying signs that read “Are You Next?” Well, no, we aren’t, because most of us don’t have a pension. We never even dreamed we could. This country values hard work so much that we make you do it until you die.

Coal workers – and especially coal company CEOs – thought they caught a major break when Donald Trump was elected president. One of his main promises amidst a storm of boasts was that he was going to resurrect the coal industry.

But none of those promises extended to retirees. That’s why miners from Indiana, Kentucky and everywhere else will be in Ohio Thursday, fighting again.

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Contact columnist Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com.