| Don’t let Big Coal destroy America’s history! Protect Blair Mountain from mountaintop-removal mining.
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Friends,
How would you pay tribute to a place that changed the course of the labor movement forever — protect the West Virginia mountain where coal miners fought for their right to unionize or allow Big Coal to blow the top off Blair Mountain in exchange for a simple plaque?
Ninety-three years ago, miners protested their unreasonable work conditions — dangerous mines, long hours and low pay. For five days, they battled coal company-hired soldiers along the Blair Mountain ridgeline in Logan County, West Virginia, in a fight that captured the nation’s attention. Although they did not win the battle, these miners helped usher in the golden age of union organizing in the United States.1 The Blair Mountain Battlefield deserves to be protected as a national historic site dedicated to the memory of those fearless miners. It should serve as a reminder to all Americans that organizing for safe working conditions and fair wages is a fundamental human right.
Of course, Big Coal is opposed to any efforts to protect Blair Mountain and has proposed a plan that would allow them to use mountaintop-removal mining to destroy the battlefield. Right now, there are three coal mining permits that encompass parts of the battlefield, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the opportunity to limit mining and protect the historic site.
Thanks for all that you do,
Mary Anne Hitt
Beyond Coal Campaign Director
P.S. Six letters are even better than one. Please share this email with five of your friends and family.
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Source
1. Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
NC Central Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club 