UMWA bringing back Annual Labor Day Picnic in Mannington

Times West Virginian, Fairmont
·2 min read

Aug. 30—FAIRMONT — After a two-year hiatus brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Mine Workers of America is bringing back its popular Annual Labor Day picnic.

UMWA President Cecil Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson will be special guests this year at the Marion County Central Labor Council's Annual Labor Day Picnic, which takes place Sunday, Sept. 4 from noon to 4 p.m. at Hough Park in Mannington. A shuttle bus will be available from the parking lot to the picnic grounds.

"This is the first time the Marion CLC has been able to hold a Labor Day Picnic since 2019," UMWA member and President of the Marion County AFL-CIO Mark Dorsey said. "So it's fitting that we will feature such outstanding guest speakers to help us celebrate working families, who form the bedrock of our state and country, and the unions that fight for them."

The free event will kick off at noon and include food, ice cream, soft drinks and prizes. It is sponsored by the Marion County AFL-CIO, UMWA and Marion County Democrats. The program will begin at 1 p.m.

Sen. Mike Caputo, a vice president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO and former UMWA District 31 international vice president, said he is thrilled the picnic, which had become an important tradition in the region during the past 20-plus years, is back.

"I'm looking forward to joining with others in our community and region in reflecting on the hard work and dedication of our brothers and sisters that paved the way for us today," Caputo said.

In recent years, picnic guests have viewed the gathering as not only a time to celebrate hard-working Americans, it's also a time to gather together in support of the labor movement as a whole as it has been under attack for the past 20 years.

Through the organization of people, everybody can memorialize the people who died fighting for the working class, and Dorsey told the Times West Virginian in 2019 that he hopes to see that take place during the Labor Day weekend celebration.

"It's a day off work, it's a time to enjoy each other's company," Dorsey said then. "Enjoy the fruits of our labor, and that's what it's all about; to give thanks to the forefathers who got us to where we are today."