Coal Miners In West Virginia

SUMMERSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA - AUGUST 25: Billy Johnson 68, a retired coal miner with black lung disease and a member of the United Mine Workers Union of America, UMWA, listens to an attorney explain about recent changes to miners health benefits August 25, 2022 at a monthly UMWA meeting in Summersville, West Virginia. Johnson was a coal miner for 41 years. The majority of coal miners who have black lung disease do not receive health benefits they are qualified for due to bureaucratic delays with examinations. A recent agreement as part of the national Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, will restore funds to miners health benefits fund a 50-cent excise tax for each ton of coal sold in the market. UMWA miners had lost millions of dollars of benefits when the 50-cent tax was taken away after coal mine owners pressured for its removal. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)