USA: Miners march for health care, pensions

"There is something wrong in America when 40 million Americans 
lack health care, millions of children are living in poverty, 3 
million good paying manufacturing jobs have left the country and 
management can screw up companies like Horizon Natural Resources 
and then walk away from their obligations for providing health 
care and pensions to employees and beneficiaries", United Mine 
Workers of America Union President Cecil Roberts thundered before 
800 miners and their families marching on the bankruptcy court in 
Lexington, Kentucky. Horizon Natural Resources is the US's fourth 
largest coal corporation.

"It is not just Horizon but the entire system that is bankrupt!", 
Roberts continued. "The question I pose, is not why the United 
Mine Workers are marching. The question is why isn't everyone in 
America marching?"

Miners rallied and marched June 30 to save their health care and 
pensions from the bankruptcy court axe. With one stoke of the 
pen, bankruptcy Judge William Howard can destroy hard-earned and 
hard-won benefits to 1000 active coal miners and 2300 retired 
miners.

"All they want to do is cut, cut, cut", protestor Johnny Viars, a 
miner at Horizon subsidiary Starfire Mining, said. "We've had all 
the cuts we can take."

Mining coal is not getting any safer. Since June, four miners 
have been killed at work bringing this year's total to 14. On May 
11, 200 miners demanded increased safety enforcement by the 
federal Mine Safety and Health Administration in Hueytown, 
Alabana.

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People's Weekly World