Published: September 7, 2016 |

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With the Powhatan No. 6 Mine scheduled to close in November — and the potential for more layoffs at other Murray Energy Corp. mines looming — more than $1 million worth of federal money is on the way to Ohio to help retrain workers.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said $1.08 million will go to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services for distribution to coal communities experiencing layoffs.

“The changing coal economy has put some workers out of a job through no fault of their own,” Brown said. “This grant will give Ohio the tools to continue its support for displaced workers and help them get back on their feet.”

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice Murray filed with Ohio officials shows 439 workers at the non-union Century Mine could soon lose their jobs. This is in addition to those employees who will lose be out of work once the United Mine Workers of America-represented Powhatan mine closes.

In response to Brown’s Thursday grant announcement, Murray spokesman Gary Broadbent blasted the senator, President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“This $1 million is an absolute pittance compared to the devastation Sen. Brown has caused throughout the state of Ohio, particularly in areas which rely on the coal industry and manufacturing, and the citizens who rely on affordable electricity,” Broadbent said.

The significant Murray layoffs began in May 2015, as the company displaced 1,829 miners from the company’s multiple mining sites in Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois and Utah. Then, Murray released about 700 more miners on New Year’s Eve, amid tumbling coal demand.

Broadbent said Murray officials have been trying to get a meeting with Brown since his 2006 election, to no avail.

“Clearly, the citizens of the state of Ohio deserve better than job-killing Sen. Brown,” Broadbent said. “Even worse, Sen. Brown has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president of the United States, who has said that she is ‘going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.’ We, therefore, must conclude that Sen. Brown shares the same animosity toward coal miners in the state of Ohio and the lives and livelihoods that depend on them.”

However, Brown has worked with Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., among others to ensure the pensions of retired miners.

Source: (September 3, 2016) The Intelligencer

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