Executive Council Statement
Keeping America's Promise to Retired Coal Miners and Their Families
… mines to their owners and a new collective bargaining agreement was reached with the companies that guaranteed retirement benefits to miners and their dependents and survivors for life. The UMWA Health and Retirement Funds was born. A Consistent … a measure of comfort in their old age. The federal government has repeatedly confirmed its role in guaranteeing retirement benefits for coal miners. In 1992, Congress passed the Coal Act, which established an industry-funded mechanism to pay for … Congress amended the Coal Act to expand the financial resources available to the fund. A Devastated Industry Sheds Jobs, Benefits Today, a depression reigns in America’s coalfields. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost. Multiple companies …