Calling all Coal Miners!

I take exception to Mr. Duran's comments. As a Local president and Union activist, the support of the gas industry is supporting the interests of working people. No one who opposes the proposed gas regulations is doing so for the benefit of the gas industry. We oppose these regulations for the benefit of the employees who work in the gas industry and the community those employees live in. Many of the people who work in the gas industry are former coal miners, as is my husband, who found themselves out of work after the coal mines closed and Trinidad provided no other employment options. Ludlow was about the right of good, hard working people to make their lives better, to prosper from the fruits of their labor and to protect their right to put a roof over their family's head and food on the table. How do we support the interests of working people if we don't support the industry that provides so many jobs for so many in our community? I will again ask the question that no one seems to have the answer to–if the gas industry pulls out and 1500+ workers are left without jobs, how does Trinidad and Las Animas County provide jobs for these people? Where will the jobs come from? The reality everyone is ignoring is that if the gas industry pulls out there WILL BE NO OTHER JOBS FOR THESE UNEMPLOYED WORKERS! There is no other industry or entity in our community that will be able to provide jobs for these displaced workers and their families will suffer massive personal ruin or have to leave our community to find work. This issue is ENTIRELY about the interests of workers. My husband worked the mines, my husband endured strikes, my husband carries a 6 inch scar down his back from a mine injury. He is a proud UMWA member and a proud Teamster. He has endured the difficulty of finding work after the mines closed. He knows about workers' rights. The first right of the worker is the right to earn a living through good, honest labor. As a Local president and Labor activist, I can tell you the gas industry here in Las Animas County respects the workers they employee. Ludlow was about respecting the worker, the worker's vital role in the success of any business and the worker's right to stand up together and speak in one voice against the special interests of a few that threaten to harm the many. In that light, there is no better example for the members of our community fighting for their right to earn an honest living than our brothers and sisters from Ludlow.