The United Mine Workers of America - an organization that strongly supported President Barack Obama's 2008 bid for president - has come out firing following the EPA's recent proposal to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030, a standard that many believe will devastate the nation's coal industry and lead to higher electricity prices.

Under this rule, our reward is to be kicked to the curb, hopefully out of sight and soon forgotten," UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said, referring to the coal miners he represents, thousands of whom reside in the Ohio Valley.

"I assure you, if that is the choice before us, we will not go quietly. We will not be out of sight. We will not be forgotten. You will hear from us." Christopher Kessler said the owners of coal mines and coal-fired power plants paid $18.4 million in property taxes to the county for tax year 2013. The county also collected $3.5 million in coal severance taxes last year.

Roberts had been a fervent supporter of Obama in 2008, saying at the time that "Obama shares the values of UMWA members and our families. He understands and will fight for the needs our members have today and the hopes our members have for a secure future for themselves and their families.

"Sen. Obama is from a coal state," Roberts said in 2008, according to published reports.

"He understands that coal will remain a primary source for electricity generation in this country for many decades to come and he will join with the UMWA as we work to ensure that it will be used for that purpose in an environmentally responsible way."

The UMWA declined to endorse Obama in 2012. And now, Roberts questions the wisdom of decimating the nation's coal industry and power-generating capabilities when other nations such as China and India continue to burn coal and emit carbon dioxide.

Fact Box COAL PAYS THE BILLS

The average coal job in the Ohio Valley pays an annual wage of $88,000. Listed below are 10 jobs in West Virginia with a comparable wage scale, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2013 survey:

Materials scientist - $90,800

Attorney - $90,200

Veterinarian - $87,500

Biochemists/biophysicist - $87,500

Airline pilot - $86,700

Computer science job - $86,600

Chiropractor - $85,600

Engineer - $85,390

Financial manager - $83,200

Software developer - $82,300