Controversy is swirling in Belmont County after a local union announced it could be taking legal action against the campaign of presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Murray Energy Corp.

Tuesday afternoon, at a news conference at the Belmont County Courthouse, members of the Service Employees International Union said anonymous sources reported that miners were mandated to attend a Romney rally at a Murray coal mine, but the miners were not paid for their time.


The rally was held in Beallsville in August. A short time later, officials with the SEIU 1199 said various sources told them about a requirement to attend without pay.

SEIU union leaders said they are working with a legal expert, preparing possible legal action against the Romney campaign and the coal company.


"We've reached out to the Department of Labor to investigate whether there was anything illegal done. At this point we don't know if anything illegal was done. That's why we asked them to investigate that," said Diane Twarog, SEIU coordinator.

Officials with Murray Energy say the claims are false.

In a response issued on Tuesday, Murray representatives said they were never contacted by the union about the complaint.

In a statement, Murray officials said, "It is readily apparent that the SEIU 1199 has absolutely no standing or justification to threaten this nonsensical and meritless litigation. It is clearly an attempt by SEIU 1199 to perpetuate their liberal job-killing agenda and to blunt criticism of Mr. Obama's War on Coal."

The company's release further stated, "Murray Energy will vigorously defend against these meritless threats and will continue its work to preserve and protect the jobs of its 3,400 employees against Mr. Obama's radical War on Coal."

Union members are asking affected miners to come forward anonymously by contacting the Justice For Murray Miners hotline.

--Click here for more information about the Justice For Murray Miners hotline.

--Click here to read Murray Energy Corp.'s  unedited response to the union's claims.

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