Kaine Invites United Mine Workers of America Leader James Gibbs of Bristol to State of the Union

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine announced that his guest to Tuesday’s Presidential State of the Union Address will be Bristol, Virginia resident and At-Large International Vice President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) James Gibbs. James is a third-generation coal miner from Dickenson County who has worked as an electrician in underground mines and as a lineman at surface operations.

“I’m honored that James Gibbs, a lifelong Virginian who has been a member of UMWA for 48 years, will join me for this year’s State of the Union. James is a friend and his presence in the Capitol on Tuesday will serve as a powerful reminder of two things,” said Kaine. “First, James is an example of the importance of keeping our promises. Working in a mine is a tough, scary, and dangerous job. In exchange for our miners’ hard work to power our nation, we’ve long made promises to protect their health insurance and pensions and to fully fund the black lung benefits program that helps the many miners—about one in five in Central Appalachia—whose day-in and day-out job inhaling coal dust and silica dust exposes them to a horrible pulmonary disease. When the funding for the program was put in serious jeopardy, James partnered with us here in Congress to ensure that we’d keep our promise by permanently extending funding for the program through the Inflation Reduction Act. That step will be transformational for the thousands of Virginians who rely on that program and I’m deeply appreciative for James’ advocacy.

“Second, James represents the fact that our economy’s greatest asset is our talented workforce. As we work to build on the economic progress we’ve made since the pandemic, we can and must do more to further invest in our workers, including by making it easier for them to access the high-quality job training programs they need to get good jobs with good wages. That’s why I recently reintroduced my bipartisan JOBS Act to allow students to use federal Pell Grants for high-quality job training programs, and why I’ll keep pushing to support workforce development,” Kaine continued.

“I can’t thank Senator Kaine enough, for not only inviting me to attend the state of the Union Address, but also for his support in passing pension and healthcare legislation, guaranteeing UMWA retired miners, can retire with the dignity they deserve. Change can’t happen without support, which is why we rely on allies such as Senator Kaine,” said Gibbs.

Kaine met with Gibbs most recently in August 2022 while visiting with UMWA members in Castlewood, Virginia to discuss the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which was permanently extended by the Inflation Reduction Act that Kaine helped pass last year. Previously, Kaine successfully pushed to ensure that miners receive the pensions and health care they earned and joined his colleagues in introducing the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, legislation to help miners with black lung disease and their survivors access benefits.

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