KFTC Blog

This week, a delegation of nearly 40 Appalachians from at least eight states – including eight KFTC members – are in Washington DC to meet with members of Congress and push for urgently needed legislation for a Just Transition for miners, their families and their communities. 

Show your support by signing a petition at www.blacklungkills.com

KFTC’s delegation, part of a larger group organized by the Alliance for Appalachia, has scheduled meetings with all eight members of Congress from Kentucky, including Senators McConnell and Paul, plus Representatives Jamie Comer, Brett Guthrie, John Yarmuth, Thomas Massie, Andy Barr, and Hal Rogers.

The KFTC delegation includes three retired miners with black lung and five others who have close family members with the disease. KFTC member Joanne Hill explains why she has made the trip.

“I was born and raised in Harlan County," Hill said.  "My family, well I come from a long line of coal miners. My father had black lung, my brother had it, and my two grandfathers had it. One of my grandfathers had it so bad, there were times he had to use his hands to push his lungs up to breathe. Congress needs to strengthen funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.”

“Also, everywhere we look in my area of Kentucky, we see the devastation that strip-mining has caused. Passing the RECLAIM Act is really important to put jobs back in our communities and make something good come out of all the destruction the coal companies left behind,” Hill said.

The lobbying effort in DC is part of a broader strategy by KFTC and our allies to advance three bills needed for a Just Transition for coal miners, their families, and communities. Specifically, we are calling on Senator McConnell and other members of Congress to take action this fall on:

a) A bill (not yet filed) to strengthen the solvency of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

b) The RECLAIM Act (H.R. 1731), sponsored by U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, to create thousands of good reclamation jobs and support longer-term economic development initiatives.

c) The American Miners Pension Act (H.R. 3913 / S. 1911), which ensures that the UMWA's 1974 Pension Plan can continue to pay pensions to retired miners and surviving spouses.

Show your support by signing a petition at www.blacklungkills.com

In addition to meeting with members of Congress, KFTC members are working to:

In a recent Daily News article "Census data show local growth, challenges", Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said, "It is gratifying to see we are growing. Industry recruitment and workforce development have been a major focus of the local officials in recent years." Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said, “As a community, we have worked together to that goal and we are making progress thanks to the efforts of city, county and state government."

The Benham City Council in Harlan County and Jackson City Council in Breathitt County are the first local governments in Kentucky to pass a local resolution calling on members of Congress to pass three bills needed to help sick, disabled, retired and unemployed coal workers and their families and communities. Benham’s city government took the unanimous action at its monthly meeting on September 13. Jackson's city government adopted the resolution one week later on September 20, 2018.

Advocates hope other local governments may soon follow their example. A similar resolution was adopted several weeks ago in Virginia by the City of Big Stone Gap.

The northern Kentucky KFTC chapter plans to particpate in several upcoming events to help celebrate this year's Hispanic Heritage Month. The Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 through October 15, and serves as an excellent opportunity to celebrate Latino heritage and the growing Latinx community in northern Kentucky.

To celebrate this work, the local chapter will be tabling at the Cristo Rey Parish festival in Florence. Cristo Rey is a Catholic parish in Florence, and focuses on the need for the local Latinx community. KFTC members will be on hand to register voters, hear what issues local communities are facing, and look for opportunities to work together with allies.