Coal Could Have Prevented Crisis, UMW Head Says

A national energy policy promoting the use of coal could have helped prevent the Persian Gulf crisis, the president of the United Mine Workers said today at the convention marking the union’s 100th anniversary.

“The only reason characters like Saddam Hussein have any power at all is because of the oil they have--oil we could have replaced years ago with coal mined in the United States and Canada,” UMW President Richard L. Trumka said of the Iraqi leader.

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland told the more than 1,000 delegates from the United States and Canada that unions are on the verge of a breakthrough after the 1980s, which he called a period of illusion, excess and frustration.

Kirkland urged support of a bill before Congress that would bar employers from permanently replacing striking workers.

“That’s a basic right recognized in all but the most backward or repressive nations,” he said.

The mine workers rejoined the AFL-CIO last year, four decades after famed UMW President John L. Lewis pulled his union out.

The celebration of the once-powerful union’s centennial is mixed with financial concerns.

During the nine-day meeting, delegates will be asked to give the International Executive Board, the UMW’s governing body, authority to close or merge the 21 local districts to help the union save money. Several of the largely autonomous districts are insolvent because of layoffs.