If we must grind up flesh and bones in the industrial machine that we call modern America, then before God I assert that those who consume the coal and you and I who benefit from that service because we live in comfort, we owe protection to those men first and we owe the security to their families if they die.
John Lewis, 1919
Equipment and supplies in this office permit only minor first aid
treatment and examination, c. 1946, National Archives
What the doctors from the UMWA Funds saw was beyond belief — paralyzed men (paraplegics) who had not been out of bed for two, eight, seventeen, or twenty years, the story of their pain and despair deeply written on their faces.
Early UMW Fund Annual Report
If was explained to these men and their families that the Fund was prepared to send them to some of the leading medical centers of the country, where everything possible would be done to relieve their suffering and develop and train their broken bodies, so that they might be able to move about and care for themselves. In some instances, it was suggested that they might be able to learn some new kind of work for which they might be paid. When they finally realized that they were listening to the truth, their joy and gratitude can only be imagined.
Early UMW Fund Annual Report
Impacts of the UMWA Funds
The creation of the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds was revolutionary for healthcare in the coal industry. Operators became financially responsible for the health and welfare of employees and their families, and within only 10 years of their creation, over 97,000 disabled miners received rehabilitation services and roughly 6,500 were able to return to work in the industry, while another 20,000 found employment in other sectors or became self-employed. The funds also replaced incompetent physicians with non-profit group practice clinics that emphasized preventative medicine and reducing unnecessary hospitalization. Additionally, it commissioned the construction of hospitals in areas that lacked them, providing high-quality healthcare to miners in poorer regions. These innovations lowered costs and expanded healthcare coverage significantly for miners.
Patient complained of aches and pains all over, c. 1946,
National Archives
During the 1950s the fund established 10 hospitals in areas where no adequate facilities and services existed.
Pennsylvania State University Archives
UMW Hospital Whitesburg, c. 1956, Kentucky Historic Institutions
UMW Hospital Harlan, c. 1956, Kentucky Historic Institutions
Retired miners have legitimate expectations of health care benefits for life; that was the promise they received during their working lives, and that is how they planned their retirement years. That commitment should be honored.
The Coal Commision, 1990
Issues and New Acts
Despite the early success of the UMWA Funds, issues inevitably arose, and its provisions were threatened. As funding for the plan was tied directly to the coal industry, it proved detrimental for the funds when a major coal depression caused employers to go bankrupt, worsened by the general decline in coal production in recent decades and problems with overspending and mismanagement. The government attempted to provide support by passing the Coal Act of 1992, which offered funding for retired miners, though it was unsuccessful in revitalizing the funds. In 2019, the American Miners Protection Act was passed, preventing the funds from becoming insolvent while also giving retirement benefits to 92,000 workers and healthcare benefits to 13,000. Coal mining remains a dangerous occupation, so it's imperative that laws are passed to uphold the promise made in 1946 and provide our nation’s coal miners with the health and welfare they deserve.
Manchin Delivers Remarks On Securing A Permanent Fix For Coal Miners'
Healthcare and Pensions, December 18, 2019, Senator Joe Manchin
This award represents years of bipartisan work in Washington and the tireless efforts of the UMWA miners who advocated to protect the benefits they earned. I’m proud to have played a role in passing this legislation that officially honors America’s commitment our miners.
Senator Mark Warner, 2019
What you see up here is a collection of both sides of our great democracy coming together to say, we made that promise, they earned it, and we're gonna do it.
Senator Donald Norcross, 2019
Banner image citation: Helen coal miners 1947, 1947, National Park Service