UMWA President Cecil Roberts retires

United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts announced his retirement from the post he has held for three decades at a recent special convention in St. Louis.

Roberts started serving as a UMWA official in 1977 and succeeded the late Richard Trumka in 1995. Roberts gained national notoriety in 1989 during a 10-month strike against Pittston Coal with miners on picket lines demanding better pay and healthcare.

Following Roberts is the 16th president of the UMWA Brian Sanson—a West Virginia native who began work in the mines in 1995 and an International negotiator with Congress.

(IMAGE: Property of United Mine Workers of America / Official Facebook)