Senator Camera Bartolotta has announced the formation of “Energy Workers for Bartolotta,” a coalition of blue-collar workers in the coal, oil, and gas industries supporting her re-election campaign.
According to her office, “Since her election in 2014, Senator Bartolotta has built a reputation as an energy champion, earning support from industry leaders and labor organizations. This November, she faces an “Independent” challenge from Jodi Borello, an environmentalist and community organizer with the Center for Coalfield Justice, which opposes fossil fuels.”
“Southwestern Pennsylvania has a proud history of coal mining, power generation, steel, and manufacturing, and I’m honored to have the support of the blue-collar energy workers who power our Commonwealth and nation,” Bartolotta said. “I will keep fighting for Pennsylvania’s coal, oil, and gas workers against the job-killing policies pushed by Jodi Borello and the Center for Coalfield Justice. We cannot afford their Green New Deal agenda, which would devastate our regional economy and crush blue-collar families.”
The release continued, “Bartolotta has worked with industry and labor to promote energy affordability, protect grid reliability, invest in legacy energy communities, and defend blue-collar jobs from regulatory overreach. She led the fight against the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon tax that threatened to shut down Pennsylvania coal mines and raise energy costs, an initiative backed by the Center for Coalfield Justice.”
Aric Baker, President of IBEW Local 459, which represents workers at coal-fired, waste-coal, natural gas, and pumped storage hydro plants in western Pennsylvania, said: “Thousands of patriotic, blue-collar workers are supporting Senator Bartolotta for re-election. She has been a strong, reliable friend of working people, and she supports an energy strategy that keeps us working and protects our national security.”
Bartolotta has been a champion of Pennsylvania’s natural gas Impact Fee, or Act 13 – a lifeline for communities in Greene County. This year’s distribution alone delivered $5.5 million directly to Greene County and an additional $9.7 million to its municipalities, providing essential funding for road repairs and public safety projects that families and local communities rely on every day.
The PA Energy Workers Alliance, which represents three-quarters of Pennsylvania utility lineworkers, partnered with Bartolotta on critical safety reforms. After learning that linemen working on highly energized power lines often lacked access to AEDs despite the constant risk of cardiac arrest from electrical shock, Bartolotta introduced legislation requiring AEDs on electric utility worksites.
“She immediately went to work,” said Travis Beck, President of UWUA System Local 102. “She partnered with us because she understands Pennsylvania lineworkers perform inherently dangerous work and deserve lifesaving protections on the job.”
The senator’s office noted, “Greene County is home to several active coal mines, including the Cumberland, Bailey, and Harvey mines. These operations employ thousands of workers and support the local tax base that funds schools and community programs. Bartolotta has worked to protect and expand coal jobs and has backed workforce programs that recruit, train, and place dislocated miners in fields such as mechatronics, commercial truck driving, and forklift operation, as well as efforts to cap orphaned gas wells.”
Over Labor Day weekend, Bartolotta spoke at the UMWA Pensioner Picnic in Clarksville, then visited Brice and Linda Rush in Paisley to view their extensive coal mining memorabilia collection. “It was especially meaningful to see their remarkable display of coal mining memorabilia, honoring generations of sacrifice and contribution by Pennsylvania coal miners,” Bartolotta said. “I will continue to fight every day to protect their jobs and preserve their legacy.”
Bartolotta has been endorsed by several energy-based labor organizations, including the United Mine Workers of America; IBEW Local 5, 29, 459, and 614; Utility Workers Union of America; Steamfitters Local 449; Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council; Operating Engineers Local 66; and Boilermakers Local 154, among others.
