(This article first appeared in the November-December 2016 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Thousands of miners and their allies – including the APWU – rallied outside the Capitol on Sept. 8, demanding that Congress “Keep the Promise: Pass the Bill.”

If Congress fails to act, more than 120,000 retirees, miners, and their widows will lose their pension and healthcare benefits.

“It’s time for our government to stand up for working people,” said Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). “Without you here today, this doesn’t get done, I can assure you.” Rally participants urged Congress to pass the Miners Protection Act of 2015 (S. 1714) and the Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act of 2015 (HR 2403).

Roberts reminded participants about the “Promise of 1946,” a deal between the U.S. government and the UMWA to end a nationwide miner’s strike that threatened the nation’s economic recovery after World War II. The deal led to the formation of the UMWA Health and Retirement Fund – and the guarantee of retirement and healthcare benefits for miners and their survivors for life.

Now Congress is threatening to let it all slip away. Coal companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and 2015 have reduced their contributions to the pension funds, putting the funds at serious risk of insolvency.

“I came here today to make sure this government of ours fulfills a promise made 40 years ago,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of the bill’s sponsors. “Mine workers never turned their back on this country and we are never going to turn our back on you.”

Workers and allies pointed out that mining work presents more dangerous conditions than most other types of labor.

‘Tremendous Victory’
California Farmworkers Win Overtime Pay

It’s a big win for United Farm Workers in California.

In September, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation that will give farm workers overtime pay. The overtime pay will be phased in over several years – along with a 40-hour workweek.

“It’s a tremendous victory. We’re extremely excited,” United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez told Workers Independent News. “When I received the word from the governor’s office that he was going to be signing it, I was shedding tears of joy.”

Agricultural workers are excluded from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and have been fighting for basic rights for decades. When passed in 1938, the FLSA established minimum wage and overtime standards, but excluded agricultural workers, who at the time were mostly African-American. Today, agricultural workers are primarily Latino.

“We have not been able to accomplish something that’s so encompassing and so impactful for not only this generation of farmworkers but for generations to come,” Rodriguez said. “And in addition it rights a wrong that’s been in existence now for almost eight decades. We are just thrilled that we have been a part of this breakthrough for farm workers – this historic breakthrough – and look forward to now implementing it.”