Cecil E. Roberts, President
United Mine Workers of America
 Cecil Edward Roberts, Jr., a sixth-generation coal miner and one of the labor movement's most stirring orators, became president of the United Mine Workers (UMWA) of America on October 22, 1995, having served as vice president of the union since December 1982. Roberts succeeded Richard L. Trumka, who was elected secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.
Born to Evelyn and Cecil E. Roberts, Sr., on October 31, 1946, Roberts grew up on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County, W.Va. His great-uncle, Bill Blizzard, was a legendary organizer during the West Virginia mine wars of the 1920's and a UMWA district president under John L. Lewis. Both of his grandfathers were killed in the mines.
After college and military service in Vietnam, Roberts began work at Carbon Fuels' No. 31 mine in Winifred, West Virginia, in 1971. He worked for six years in a variety of underground jobs including general inside laborer, shuttle car operator, unitrack operator, greaser, beltman and mechanic.
His fellow Local Union 2236 members elected him to the local's mine, safety and political action committees. He also became active in the Miners for Democracy movement that restored control of the UMWA to its membership in December 1972.
In 1977, his local elected him a delegate to the District 17 convention, where he chaired the Constitution Committee. The same year, he was elected vice president of District 17 by a 2-to-1 margin. In May 1981, he was re-elected without opposition.
On November 9, 1982, Roberts was elected vice president of the UMWA, again by a 2-to-1 margin, running on a slate headed by Trumka and including John J. Banovic, who was elected secretary-treasurer. The Trumka - Roberts - Banovic team was re-elected without opposition five years later.
In 1989, Roberts was the "on-the-ground" leader and "day-to-day" negotiator in the UMWA's militant 10-month strike against the Pittston Co., which had cut off health benefits to its retirees and was trying to walk away from its obligations to the UMWA Health and Retirement Funds. For his role in that successful strike, Roberts received the Rainbow Coalition's Martin Luther King award as well as awards from Citizen Action and the Midwest Academy.
On November 10, 1992, Roberts was re-elected by an 80-percent margin to his third term as vice president. Trumka was re-elected president and Jerry D. Jones, secretary-treasurer.
In December, 1995, Roberts assumed the UMWA presidency, following Richard Trumka's resignation to become the AFL-CIO's new secretary-treasurer. Subsequently, Jones was named vice president and International Executive Board member Carlo Tarley was appointed by Roberts to be the UMWA's new secretary-treasurer.
In 1996, Roberts re-opened the UMWA's National Agreement for the first time in the union's history and made significant improvements in the wage agreement.
In August 1997, Roberts was elected by acclamation to a new, five-year term, winning the support of 99 percent of the locals participating in the union's nominating process. He was once again joined at the union's helm by Vice President Jones and Secretary-Treasurer Tarley. Also of note, for the first time in UMWA history, the entire leadership team's slate, including tellers and auditors, ran unopposed. In 1998, Roberts negotiated a new National Agreement that was ratified by the highest percentage in the Union's history.
In August 2000, the membership acknowledged Roberts' strong leadership and numerous accomplishments by re-electing the Roberts/Jones/Tarley team by acclamation to a new five-year term. An election was not scheduled to occur again until 2002, but delegates to the UMWA's International Convention in March 2000 approved a motion to move the election up so it would not coincide with scheduled negotiations on a new contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators' Association. The UMWA's tellers and auditors also ran without opposition.
In December 2001, Roberts bargained a new, five-year National Agreement more than a year before scheduled expiration of the existing contract. The new agreement included the highest pension increases ever negotiated and "30-and-Out" language that now allows miners with 30 years service to retire with full benefits at any age.
Early in 2003, Roberts called an International Special Convention for September 2003 to discuss the leadership team's proposed restructuring of the UMWA to save the union money. Delegates overwhelmingly approved the proposals, which eliminated the International vice president position and combined the International Executive Board member, District president and District secretary-treasurer positions into one position called International vice president. Ten International auditor and teller positions were also combined into just three positions called International auditor/teller. Due to the restructuring, delegates also approved moving the scheduled 2005 leadership elections up a year to 2004.
In August 2004, the UMWA membership again elected Roberts by acclamation to a new, five-year term. This is the first time in UMWA history that the membership has elected its president three times in a row by acclamation. Running with Roberts for International secretary-treasurer was International Executive Board member Dan Kane. Roberts asked Kane to run with him after Tarley announced that he would retire in December 2004. Also victorious on the Roberts/Kane slate were: International Vice Presidents Ed Yankovich, Rich Eddy, Joe Carter, Daryl Dewberry, Bill Brumfield and Mike Dalpiaz; International Vice Presidents At-Large Don Barnett, Freddie Wright and Terry Osborne; and International Auditor/Tellers Roy Fernandez, Jerry Stallard and Bob Burchell.
In addition to serving as UMWA president, Roberts has also held office or worked on behalf of several other organizations over the years, including serving on the Committee for Employer Support of Veteran Employment and the West Virginia Employment Opportunities and Economic Development Commission. In 1985, he was elected president of the National Council of the Holmes Safety Association. He has also been appointed to serve as a member of the West Virginia University Institute for Labor Studies and Research Advisory Board in 1996 and he is a member of the American Legion, and a lifetime member of the VFW.
Roberts graduated in 1987 from West Virginia Technical College, and in 1997, he received an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from West Virginia University of Technology.
Roberts is married to the former Carolyn Sue Stewart. They have a son, Kyle Edward, a daughter, Melissa Dawn, and two grandsons, Aaron and Brandon and one granddaughter, Savannah.
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