Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is running the following ad today in eleven eastern Kentucky newspapers. The ad is an open letter that calls out Senator Mitch McConnell for his inaction on a number of critical issues facing east Kentuckians, and asks people to go to a KFTC web page to add their names to the letter.
The text of the ad is below. A PDF of the ad is at the bottom of this story.
When times are hard, eastern Kentuckians pull together. We make sure our neighbors are safe from high water. We pack hot meals to folks who are grieving. We stand up to injustice. We choose each other.
Right now, so many of us in Kentucky are hurting from:
- The COVID-19 health crisis, and the ineffective national response.
- The collapse of coal industry jobs, with no plan for the future.
- Widespread poverty and racism, which leave us divided, hurting, and vastly unequal.
- Political leaders in Washington who have turned their backs on us.
It doesn’t have to be this way. For years, eastern Kentuckians have called on our elected officials to show up for our miners and mountain communities. We’ve organized, made phone calls, written letters, rallied, and ridden the bus to Washington. Time and again, we’ve asked Sen. Mitch McConnell to protect our miners with Black Lung Disease, pass the RECLAIM Act to clean up abandoned mines and polluted waterways, and help our communities shape a Just Transition to a brighter future.
But McConnell and his allies in Washington are busy stirring up fear and dividing us instead of delivering the help we urgently need.
- Why has Sen. McConnell blocked bills that support the health and well-being of Kentuckians in this time of crisis?
- Why has he delayed action on The Heroes Act, a bill that provides unemployment insurance, food stamps, and affordable health care?
- Why has he failed to pass HR 2, a bill that invests in new water lines, broadband, and the clean up of old mine sites?
- Why does he oppose relief funding for state and local governments and for essential public services like our post offices, schools and hospitals, and safe elections?
- And why has he failed to secure a long-term funding solution for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund?
As members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (kftc.org), we share a vision for thriving and healthy communities. We’re committed to doing everything we can to build a bright future here in the mountains and across our Commonwealth. We need our elected leaders to do their part.
We welcome you – and all Kentuckians who share our love for eastern Kentucky – to sign your name to this open letter to Sen. McConnell at http://kftc.org/mcconnell-action.
Signed,
- Teri Blanton, essential worker, daughter and sister of Harlan County miners, one who died of Black Lung disease and another after a mining accident
- Joanne Golden Hill, retired nurse, daughter and great-granddaughter of Harlan County miners who died of Black Lung disease
- Patty Amburgey, a voice from Letcher County and widow of a miner who died from Black Lung disease
- Mickey and Nina McCoy, retired teachers, school board member, and advocates for clean and affordable drinking water in Eastern Kentucky
- Davie Ransdell, retired state surface mining inspector, originally from Clay County
- Larry and Hattie Miller, community and labor advocates and retired UMWA miner with Black Lung Disease
- Cara Stewart, health care advocate from Floyd County
- John and Jean Rosenberg, Floyd County residents and advocates for civil rights, women’s empowerment, and equal justice for low-income Kentuckians
- Andrea and George Massey, employment coordinator at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and retired UMWA miner with Black Lung
- Bennie Massey, long-time City Council member in Lynch and retired UMWA miner with Black Lung
- Maye and Rutland Melton, residents of Lynch and retired UMWA miner with Black Lung
- Randy Wilson, Folk Arts Director emeritus of Hindman Settlement School in Knott County
- Carl Shoupe, US Marine and retired UMWA disabled coal miner
- Stanley Sturgill, retired UMWA miner and federal mine inspector from Harlan County
And hundreds of other concerned Kentuckians
| Please add your name to this letter at http://kftc.org/mcconnell-action |
PDF of the ad: KFTC Ad – Ashland Daily Independent
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