merelygifted:

Coal workers have already suffered from the decline of fossil fuels. Build Back Better would have helped, union says.

Coal miners are imploring Senator Joe Manchin to reconsider his opposition to the Build Back Better Act, citing parts of the legislation that would benefit industry workers.

“[W]e are disappointed that the bill will not pass,” Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America International, said in a statement. “We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families, and their communities.”

According to the union, elements of the bill that would help coal industry workers include tax incentives to encourage clean-energy companies to build facilities in coalfields; an extension of fees paid by coal companies to workers who contract Black Lung; and financial penalties for companies that block their workforce from unionizing.

Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said on Sunday that he couldn’t support the legislation, an ambitious package of social policies including prolonging the Child Tax Credit, expanding Medicare to cover more services, instituting paid employee leave, subsidizing child care and early-childhood education, and investing in clean energy.  …