Richard Trumka on Tom Smith

Richard Trumka is the AFL-CIO President.  Tom Smith is the extreme reactionary running against Sen. Casey,  attacking Casey for his record regarding the coal industry.  Mr. Trumka recently issued a statement on Tom Smith's campaign ads.  Here is Trumka's complete statement.

The claims by Republicans like Tom Smith that Senator Bob Casey has conducted a war on coal are insulting to those who do one of the toughest jobs in the world. Tom Smith doesn’t tell you that last year employment in the coal mining industry reached a 15-year high.

As a third generation coal miner, I know who does and who does not stand up for the interests of these hard working men and women – Bob Casey has been a champion of working people in western Pennsylvania.  
When we fought to protect miners’ safety and health on the job, Tom Smith was on the other side. Smith knows full well how important a safe mine is, yet the mines he owned were cited hundreds of times for safety issues. Coal mining is a dangerous job.  The threat of physical injury and black lung disease is a constant in this line of work.  Instead of making workplace safety a top priority, Republicans in Washington have failed workers by pushing to eliminate basic protections for miners, putting them at risk every day – and Tom Smith will play right along if he is elected.