CONGRESS/DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UNION: “The main U.S. coal miners’ union is set to endorse two Democrats running for Congress in West Virginia, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday [3-22-18]- a boost for Democrats trying to win over a constituency that voted heavily for Republican Donald Trump in 2016.The United Mine Workers of America on Friday [3-23-18] will endorse Richard Ojeda for U.S. Representative in the state’s third district, as well as incumbent Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat and former West Virginia governor, the sources said. They asked not to be named as they were discussing a confidential matter. The union sees Ojeda and Manchin as supportive of major issues facing coal miners, particularly efforts to preserve their pensions, the sources said. In addition, neither candidate has fully embraced the Democratic Party’s push for climate regulation, a sticking point for miners. Trump’s White House win in 2016 was due in part to his promise to revive the ailing coal industry, which has lost more than 40 percent of its work force in less than a decade, by rolling back environmental regulation. While his administration has chipped away at regulations, the coal sector remains in the doldrums, under pressure from cheaper and cleaner natural gas, more than a year into Trump’s presidency.”
–Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici, “U.S. miners’ union to endorse two more Democrats in coal country,” Reuters, Mar. 22, 2018 7:19am