Mine workers union president to discuss climate change bills on Wednesday

Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers, will discuss the impact of proposed climate change legislation on the coal industry at a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

The news conference will be held at 10 a.m. in the First Amendment Lounge. Register online.

This event is open to credentialed media and Club members free of charge, with advance registration required.

Climate change initiatives such as the Green New Deal could have far-reaching consequences for the energy industry. The United Mine Workers said the passage of a carbon tax could threaten 2 million direct jobs in 14 energy-intensive industries.

Roberts also is expected to discuss how energy and coal issues might play in the 2020 election. The union offered ways to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel energy production while preserving jobs, and has invited each of the Democratic presidential candidates to visit a coal mine.

Roberts, who also serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO, will talk about pending legislation to help troubled multiemployer pension funds. Absent congressional action, the mine workers union's pension fund is expected to become insolvent by 2022-23 at the latest, the first of several major pension funds to do so.