- Sen. Joe Manchin opposed Democrats' bill that would give benefits to coal miners in his state.
- The largest coal miner's union in the nation urged Manchin to reverse his stance.
- A chunk of Manchin's wealth comes from the coal mining industry.
Sen. Joe Manchin reportedly collects $500,000 a year from coal stock dividends from his son's private coal brokerage, and he opposes several initiatives in President Joe Biden's agenda geared toward fighting the climate crisis.
That's why it's so striking that after Manchin seemingly killed passage of that agenda on Sunday, the country's largest coal union is urging him to rethink it.
On Monday, the United Mine Workers of America released a statement urging Manchin to "revisit his opposition" to the $2 trillion climate and social-welfare legislation that passed the House last month. The union highlighted several provisions in the bill that would be beneficial to its members, including benefits for victims of Black Lung disease and tax incentives to employ coal miners that lost their jobs, but now, with Manchin's opposition, "the potential for those jobs is significantly threatened."
"For those and other reasons, we are disappointed that the bill will not pass," the union said. "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."
The Washington Post's Greg Sargent spoke to Phil Smith, the union's chief lobbyist. Smith said transitioning to renewable energy will cause job loss for coal workers, and Build Back Better has a "pathway" to provide additional jobs for those workers.
"We're likely to lose coal jobs whether or not this bill passes," Smith told Sargent. "If that's the case, let's figure out a way to provide as many jobs as possible for those who are going to lose."
On Sunday, Manchin blindsided his Democratic colleagues, and the White House, when he said he will not vote for his party's legislation in its current version.
"I have always said, 'If I can't go back home and explain it, I can't vote for it.' Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia and I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation," Manchin wrote in a statement.
That response was not good enough for White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who said in a statement that Manchin's comments "represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator's colleagues in the House and Senate."
As Insider's Ben Winck previously reported, Manchin has financially benefited from aiding the coal industry and preventing a shift to renewable energy. He owns a $5 million stake in Enersystems, a coal brokerage he founded in 1988 that his son now operates, and he's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors in the gas and oil industry.
But while Manchin has a strong hold in the industry, coal workers can't say the same. Mining and logging businesses in West Virginia employ roughly 19,000 people — significantly fewer than the nearly 36,000 payrolls the sector had in 2011. The industries also haven't returned to their pre-pandemic strength, most recently losing 1,000 jobs in August.
And according to the state's government website, coal makes up about 5% of West Virginia's economy and has declined significantly over the past two decades due to the conversion to renewable energy.
Still, despite the decline of the industry, Manchin's relationship with coal leaders plays a dominant role in his legislative actions, as seen with donations from energy companies like Exelon. And as Biden wants to shift the country to cleaner energy, Manchin's opposition toward Build Back Better — and the climate provisions within it — could hold progress back.