Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win
While miners with black lung struggle during the pandemic, the coal industry is seeking to use the crisis to its advantage, cutting payouts to the federal black lung funds. Last month the National Mining Association asked Congress to decrease the excise tax that coal companies pay toward the fund by 55%. The federal black lung program, which pays out benefits to former coal miners diagnosed with the condition , has already faced financial problems in recent years in part due to coal companies filing for bankruptcy and shifting millions of dollars in liabilities onto taxpayers.
Some 25,000 former coal miners in the US currently rely on black lung benefits, and Robinson said hundreds of former miners will die trying to obtain their benefits, leaving their widows with nothing.
“We have a lot of sick coal miners in the world who need a lot of help,” said Robinson. “I wish these coal companies would own up to what’s happened over the years, but they don’t want to spend the money. They’ll pat you on the back, give you ‘attaboys’ as long as you’re working seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day, but once you get sick, then you’re nobody. You made them millions but they don’t want to do anything for you.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...ners-covid-19-is-a-death-sentence/ar-BB12Rn0F
Some 25,000 former coal miners in the US currently rely on black lung benefits, and Robinson said hundreds of former miners will die trying to obtain their benefits, leaving their widows with nothing.
“We have a lot of sick coal miners in the world who need a lot of help,” said Robinson. “I wish these coal companies would own up to what’s happened over the years, but they don’t want to spend the money. They’ll pat you on the back, give you ‘attaboys’ as long as you’re working seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day, but once you get sick, then you’re nobody. You made them millions but they don’t want to do anything for you.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...ners-covid-19-is-a-death-sentence/ar-BB12Rn0F