Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Coal Miner's Movement uses social media to fight back against War on Coal

Mississippi River coal barge
"And it was inevitable that some of these people pushed back..."
Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles.
Two downstate Illinois residents pushed back and they learned they have a lot of support.

From the Southern Illinoisan:
The social media movement started two weeks ago by a Harrisburg couple to tell the stories of coal miners who have lost their jobs will enter a new phase next week.

Bob and Kelly Sandidge started the Coal Miner's Movement as a Facebook page that has drawn more than 18,000 likes.

Bob Sandidge, a coal miner for more than 35 years, will give voice to hardships that laid off coal miners are enduring because of the so-called "war on coal," a widely held belief referring to federal environmental regulations under President Barack Obama's administration.

Layoff announcement after layoff announcement, including 275 lost jobs in southern Illinois announced earlier this month by Alliance Coal, have blamed what they say have been over-reaching regulations that have lessened U.S. demand for coal.
The group has a web site too. And it's not just miner who are the victims in Obama's War on Coal. Truckers, railway worker and barge operators suffer too when less coal is mined.

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