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Proposed bill would increase KY’s minimum wage to $10 per hour
BY NADIA RAMLAGAN PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE A newly proposed bill would increase Kentucky’s minimum wage to $10 per hour, placing it above the federal baseline. The state’s hourly pay rate is among the lowest in the nation, currently matching the nationwide minimum of $7.25, which has not increased since 2009. Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, chair
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Federal Bureau of Prisons ends union contract; CPL-33 vows legal fight
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT The Federal Bureau of Prisons has terminated its collective bargaining agreement with the Council of Prison Locals, a move the Trump administration says will improve working conditions but which union leaders denounce as an attack on employee rights. Bureau Director William K. Marshall III announced Thursday that the contract with CPL-33, which
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Louisa man pleads guilty in cover-up of coal mine fire
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT A Louisa man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up an underground coal mine fire in Illinois and defrauding federal mine safety regulators. Timothy Brandon Parsons, 38, entered his plea Aug. 29 in federal court to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The charge stems from
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New jobs report shows worst August job gains since 2010
by Tim Henderson, Kentucky LanternSeptember 5, 2025 The United States added only 22,000 jobs in August, and previously reported gains in June were revised down to a loss of 13,000 jobs in a Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued Friday morning. The August jobs increase was the lowest for that month since 2010 in the
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Unions: NIOSH cuts will harm Kentucky workers
BY NADIA RAMLAGAN KY NEWS CONNECTION Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cut a majority of jobs at the federal agency responsible for worker health and safety is seen as a direct attack on Kentucky workers by labor unions in the state. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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New federal rule aims to prevent coal operators from shifting black lung liabilities to taxpayers
by Caity Coyne, Kentucky LanternDecember 30, 2024 A new final rule was issued by the federal Department of Labor earlier this month that will require coal operators who self-insure to post adequate security bonds that cover all of their black lung benefit liabilities. The rule comes as a protection for coal miners who currently or could
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Kentucky labor unions want next administration to support PRO Act
BY NADIA RAMLAGAN Kentucky News Connection Labor groups in Kentucky and across the nation are pushing for the next administration to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act. The legislation would reform existing labor laws to clamp down on union-busting tactics and strengthen workers’ rights during organizing and bargaining with their employers.
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Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society hosts scholars for coal mining research collaboration
INEZ — On Sept. 24, the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society welcomed Anna Fenyvesi from Hungary and Briane Turley and his wife Anne from West Virginia State University. Professor Turley has done extensive research on the effects of coal mining in rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. He has also examined the influence
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How We Owned a Mine, or A Brief History of Kentucky’s Mining Cooperative
A Hungarian immigrant created a collectively owned coal mine that, for a brief moment, proved an alternative to ruthless and exploitative mining operations of Appalachia in the early 20th century. by Anya Petrone Slepyan July 10, 2024 For over 100 years, Himler House stood on a hill overlooking Beauty, formerly Himlerville, in Martin County, Kentucky. Once the
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Deaths of two Kentucky workers demolishing coal-prep plant bring $31,500 fine for safety violations
BY LIAM NIEMEYER kentuckylantern.com On a cool evening in late October, David Peyton heard a pop then a warning scream to get out. Within seconds two men were trapped under 11 stories of steel and concrete. Peyton ran to where Alvin Nees and Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels were trapped in the collapsed Pontiki/Excel coal preparation
