WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-12th, gave the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) a $2 million boost for the union's job retraining program.
The money will be used to help fund UMWA Career Centers Inc., which has helped train and more than 2,400 long-term unemployed or underemployed miners across Indiana, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties.
"Coal was the backbone of our region," Murtha said, "and as the coal industry declined, many of these areas and their workers have struggled economically. The key here is to help people rejoin the workforce and earn living wages that will enable them to provide for themselves and their families."
