One retired miner represents the struggles of many

Today, the Hibbing Daily Tribune has a nice profile about John Flynn, the retired miner and Vietnam vet who was asked to introduce Hillary Clinton at Tuesday night’s Iron Range rally for Barack Obama. Flynn’s story, including lost health care, pension funds and a suspended retirement, is shared by many on the Iron Range.

Last night, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, campaigning for Al Franken, met with Steelworkers facing pension cuts and lost health care. There was a lot of anger in that room, I am told. Obama and Franken would both be well served releasing a position paper explaining how they plan to bolster the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, the federal entity charged with protecting pensions after corporate bankruptcies. These miners are facing a retirement of 40 cents on the dollar of what they were promised. A little bit of help for them would go a long way.

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