1 of 3 | Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has decided not to support President Joe BIden's Build Back Better social spending bill. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI |
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Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The United Mine Workers of America on Tuesday urged Sen. Joe Manchin to continue to work on Build Back Better legislation, saying the bill is important for miners and their communities.
"We urge Sen. Manchin to revisit his opposition to the legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will keep coal miners working and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families and their communities," union President Cecil Roberts said in a statement.
The union noted a long and friendly relationship with the West Virginia Democrat.
The $1.7 trillion social spending bill -- which funds a broad range of issues, including child care -- "includes language that would extend the current fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or black lung," the union said, and includes penalties for employers that infringe on workers' right to form unions.
Josh Sword, West Virginia's AFL-CIO president, also urged Manchin to come back to the Build Back Better negotiating table, saying the bill is good for the state's working families.
According to the West Virginia Coal Association, coal and coal-fired power plants generated about $14 billion in economic activity in the state in 2019. Build Back Better's $555 million climate change provisions would push the U.S. toward renewable energy and away from coal.
Association president Chris Hamilton said he is happy Manchin is blocking the bill.
"We are fully supportive of the senator's actions and his strong opposition to the Build Back Better legislation," Hamilton told Voice of America. "We think that this provides a lot of relief to a lot of West Virginia workers, particularly those that work within the fossil fuel industries."
Manchin owns shares of Enersystems, a coal brokerage he founded. His son now runs the company. Enersystems has paid Manchin nearly $5 million over the past decade.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the bill's provisions are popular in West Virginia and offered to pay for a poll to prove it.
Manchin shocked Democrats on Sunday when said he would not support the bill after months of negotiations with party leaders and President Joe Biden.
Manchin cited factors including inflation worries, the COVID-19 pandemic and "geopolitical unrest" in his decision.
His support was key to passing the bill by the end of the year, as all 50 Democratic/independent votes are needed, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaker.
The bill had passed in the House in November by a vote of 220-213 with unanimous disapproval from Republicans and just one Democratic vote against.
