Coal Miners: From Powering America to Powerless. Layoffs Announced. Brownouts Predicted.
Have you ever spent time in a coal-producing region? I have. The coal region in Virginia is tucked away…from everything. It’s not going to be so easy for these laid-off workers to brush the coal dust off their boots and go on interviews. A new good-paying job will most likely entail relocation resulting in more local businesses suffering, more layoffs and more homes bloating the housing market. (Not to mention the possibility of foreclosures).
And then of course we will be adding more Americans trying to scrape by on government benefits including unemployment and food stamps.
From Arch Coal Lays Off Nearly 600 Workers (Kentucky. com June 21, 2012):
Exacerbating Eastern Kentucky’s unemployment woes, major coal producer Arch Coal announced Thursday that it will lay off nearly 600 Kentucky miners in several counties. Additionally, 150 will be laid off from a mine in West Virginia. Late Thursday, the St. Louis-based company announced it would idle several operations and reduce production at others in Appalachia “due to the unprecedented downturn for coal-based electricity.” Arch’s actions will mean a total job loss of 750 full-time positions, with about 79 percent of the jobs in Kentucky, 19 percent in West Virginia, and the rest in Virginia…
…Gov. Steve Beshear said he had authorized the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet’s Rapid Response Teams to help the newly unemployed.”We are extremely disappointed and disheartened by the announcement from Arch Coal today, as we know the announcement of significant layoffs in Kentucky is devastating news for hundreds of Kentucky families,” Beshear said in a statement.
… Bill Bissett, Kentucky Coal Association president, called the layoffs “a serious concern on multiple fronts.”
“If someone wants to build a new coal-fired power plant they can, but it will bankrupt them because they will be charged a huge sum for all the greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.”
Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama, 2008
…”These are high-paying jobs in a region that desperately needs them. … The economic impact will go beyond the coal fields to other cities across Kentucky,” Bissett said. Arch cited a “continuing decline in demand for steam coal in the central Appalachian market” for its decision to idle several Kentucky mines effective Aug. 20…Arch Coal’s share price has been plummeting this year as power companies’ demand for coal has slumped in favor of natural gas
…Beshear said. “Demand for coal is at a 20-year low, thanks to a rapidly shifting energy market and high inventory. Unpredictable federal regulation processes have also hindered legal mining efforts, and we will continue to fight the unfair regulatory changes that effectively delay or halt our mining projects.”
…House Speaker Greg Stumbo said recovery would be slow.”It’s a fragile economy at best, and any disruption of this proportion is going to mean hardship,” said Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg. “A lot of us at the state and federal level have been crying about the war on coal. Obviously, it’s here, and it’s affecting Kentucky families,” he said. “It’s not just those jobs — it’s the ancillary industries, the coal truck drivers, those people who sell diesel fuel, those businesses that rely on payroll.”
Stumbo’s counterpart on the minority side of the state House also decried the job losses. “Today’s reported announcement is yet another example of the overreaching policies on the federal level by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Democrats’ continuing ‘war on Coal’ led by their leader, President Obama,” said state Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown.
”This ‘war on coal’ by Democrats continues to hit those who least can afford it: those families who depend on the coal industry for their income. This also further cripples the business community in that they will see their bottom lines impacted greatly due to the increased utility costs.”This is the second major work-force reduction for coal companies in Kentucky this month…
Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, said he has heard that coal-related layoffs could top 2,200 by the end of summer, and he predicted rolling brownouts as Kentucky and the nation become energy-poor.
People are extremely worried. There’s a threat over all the mines,” Smith said. “It’s not just the jobs lost; it’s the impact on utilities and on energy costs.”With record summer temperatures predicted, “a lot of elderly people are going to pay for failed energy policies,” said Smith, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee. “I directly attribute this to the Obama administration and the EPA. This lays at his feet.”On its Web site, Arch Coal calls itself “a top-five global coal producer and marketer.” It has more than 20 mining complexes in Kentucky, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/21/2233013/arch-coal-lays-off-500-kentucky.html#storylink=omni_popular#wgt=pop#storylink=cpy
Here’s My Take:
Businesses are forced to restructure all of the time due to market conditions. However, I believe only part of the restructuring is due to market conditions. A lot of the blame for new layoffs can be laid at the feet of new stringent EPA regulations, under President Obama’s energy policy which is heavily weighted against the use of coal.
Can our country’s utilities operate as efficiently using natural gas instead of coal? All of us will find out soon if this trend away from coal continues. Either our utility bills will rise or not. And brownouts? No one in America is going to settle for that.
My hopes and prayers to the soon-to-be laid-off coal workers and their families.
What’s your take?
Related Articles:
http://www.usasurvival.org/ck04.05.2012.html#axzz1yWSt93y6
Coal mine was one of the largest work places in the past but now, few people want to work there..
It’s a hard way to earn a living, I agree.
Many Coal Companies are being forced to ship Our Coal to China and Russia. These Government Regulations are designed to cripple this industry thus paving the way for Green Energy start ups. You know, like Solyndra!!!!!!
All of our industries should be competing on a level playing field–and they are not. If natural gas winds up replacing coal because it is more profitable for the businesses and cheaper for consumers–yay! Cheaper rates for me and you, more tax dollars to government tills. However, this administration has decided to over-regulate some industries and subsidize others. Everyone loses–industry, Uncle Sam, and American consumers.
Most likely the EPA will target Natural Gas Industries over Fracking in an on going effort to switch everything over to the Green Energy Industry the Progressives are so heavily invested in.
In an effort to control American citizens you mean, by way of higher cost and reduced reliability of electricity. I did a tongue and cheek post about being tired by being Green last year. It’s not funny anymore. The Green movement is really the globalists’ movement that will take natural resources out of the hands of private ownership and even indiviual nations. He who controls the land/water/air controls the world. And we stupid people all over the world are complying because it makes us feel so good about ourselves to protect “mother earth”. I feel a hard-hitting post and more coming.
There is no doubt that Obama and his green Marxist intended to use regulations to put an end to coal mines and coal-fire power plants. However, they weren’t planning on matural gas production to increase the way it has and gas prices to fall to the point that many coalfired plants are converting to natural gas. I feel bad for those that depend on small high cost underground coal mines for their livelyhood. Those companies, if they are not already taking action, need to form a sindication where they could ship their coal to a specialized port and sell their coal overseas. They might be able to make as much or more than they were and it would help our trade imbalance problem.
That would be great if the coal industry could stay profitable through exports. But my other concern is the long-range reliability of natural gas for our power grid. I don’t pretend to know enough about the topic, but it frightens me that we may be forcing a cheap natural resource like coal to either extinction or exports while Americans may end up spending more to power our homes and businesses.
Reblogged this on Gds44's Blog.
Thank you for the re-blog.
Well B.O. has been anti-coal from the beginning which is why we wonder why the union supported him…http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/05/21/united_mine_workers_union_back.html
But they figured it out here: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/01/03/obama-gives-coal-workers-the-shaft/
Now WV governor and senator are planning to play hookie from Dem convention. But it’s a little too late for the coal miners who were duped into voting for B.O. and whose dues went to his campaign coffers – kinda stinks.
Thanks for that link! Let’s hope America’s out-of-work miners aren’t too busy looking for work to go to the polls in November.
Yes, a huge part of this mess for the coal miners is the EPA regs — the greatest part of this mess, in fact.
What are these families going to DO? They can’t sell their houses for much, and they can’t find work. It is the road to serfdom for them, and many of these folks are the salt of the earth.
I say we take some of that stimulous money that and give it to the coal industry to 1-upgrade equipment 2-shore up new, larger markets for export. You are correct. The coal regions are built around coal mining. There isn’t a lot of other industry around to support the towns.
I live in this region that this article is written about. In this area, all the small businesses rely on money being spent by those coal miners to keep their businesses in tact. I fully understand the need for a better energy burning alternative but for my region, we will not reap benefits from this; we’ll simply watch as our neighbors and friends are signing up for unemployment & searching for jobs that they aren’t qualified for; not to mention jobs that will not be there once the coal money is not there to fuel the businesses we’d seek employment with. In this area, even the local McD’s is not going to require all it’s workers when the money from the coal miners is not bringing in business on those Friday and Saturday nights. The fact is, my coal mining husband can’t walk into a Hospital & ask for a job. He’d have nothing to hold for it yet in this area, it is the only job that pays what he has accustomed himself to having to pay for his home , cars & utilities. Foreclosure seems to be another word my four year old will learn & instead of being able to tithe to the church, it appears some families will be relying on church charities. It’s a sad situation. I can clearly state that this upcoming election, I will not be voting Obama. Not only due to this downfall in our region but due that every night on the news, I’m hearing more layoffs, more unemployment in other fields & how he promises things to be better. I’m sorry, but I’ve waited four years for something that will not show itself if I vote him in another four.
Misty, I am glad you found my blog and took the time to share your story. My heart goes out to your family and your community. I hope you are able to hold on to your home or sell it if your husband finds a job in another area. And I know where you are right now because my family went through it a few years ago and it is not a good place to be. I think it can be worse for a man when he loses his job than a woman because for so many men, their identity is completely tied up in what they do for a living. Most women, no matter how dedicated they are in their careers, have other roles like motherhood or caring for parents that define them, so the loss of a job, while devastating, doesn’t erode self-confidence like it does to a man. Hug him tight and boost him up. I hope you are in a position to move if you have to. It’s painful (I know) but being unemployed is worse.
While it will even take a while for Romney’s policies to turn this economy around, at least we know a turnaround is on the horizon if he is elected. But Obama has had almost four years already and America is in much worse shape. Another four years would kill us.
When I heard about the layoffs on Fox News I sought out local Kentucky newspapers because I knew they would carry the details. I’ll keep watching for improvements.(And you are welcome to drop in on any page or post and give updates) I hope your state and local enconomic development groups are working overtime right now.
Take care and God Bless.
I live in Ohio Misty.
I watch the coal industry too.
Many of the coal plants have been converted to natural gas that burns cleaner than coal.
That then becomes the new EPA standard, and a conversion back to coal would render the plant ‘too dirty’.
The EPA is the problem.
They now have new regulations on the amount of dust that a tractor can throw up.
The EPA is going to kill this country.
The Socialists who disguise themselves as Democrats are responsible for this misery. First Obama & the Leftists in Congress have to be removed from power in November, then the EPA & the rest of these unaccountable, unAmerican agencies have to be scaled back to their original charter. The next 10 years are going to be spent undoing the damage of the last four.
You’re spot on, Bob. Electing Romney is just the first step.
We tend to blame the EPA, Obama, Democrats, socialists, politicians — anybody but ourselves. Such is our nature. We lie to ourselves. We the people put the EPA at our own throats. We voted for those politicians. Instead of looking for someone to blame and expecting Mitt Romney or somebody else to solve the problem, we need to try to understand how we created this mess.
We elect politicians and we create Federal bureaucracies to solve problems. Pollution is a real problem, and burning coal produces pollution. We also tend do overdo things. Therefore, we have the EPA trying to shut down the coal industry, both to stop real and imaginary (global warming) pollution.
What can we do to mitigate our tendency to overdo things? We can begin by insisting our leaders obey the oath they have taken to support and defend the Constitution. That includes, by the way, Romney, should he become our next president. In addition, we should get rid of some of the constitutional amendments that have allowed the Federal government to grow beyond reason. That includes the 16th and the 17th amendments. Finally, we should cut back on the size and power of Federal, state, and local government bureaucracies. We do not need bureaucrats telling our neighbors how to run their businesses. If a business pollutes, we should penalize that business for polluting, but we do not need bureaucrats — in our name — telling our friends and neighbors how to run their lives.
My hope and prayers are with the coalminers and their family… these are tough times for many of us. TY for this one.
“Businesses are forced to restructure all of the time due to market conditions. However, I believe only part of the restructuring is due to market conditions. A lot of the blame for new layoffs can be laid at the feet of new stringent EPA regulations, under President Obama’s energy policy which is heavily weighted against the use of coal.”
I’d surmise about 80% is due to EPA, and yes, I do agree with Tom, also. This is not what the Clean Air Act envisioned though, it has been perverted.
It’s going to have serious repercussions all through the economy, Natural gas is starting to look like viable again but, we are putting too many eggs in that basket too soon, we don’t have enough at market for energy generation and truck transportation and all the other uses, in time probably but, not yet.
Reblogged this on nebraskaenergyobserver and commented:
This is a super post on what the EPA’s new regulations are doing to the hardworking folks in the coal industry.
Read Freedom’s commenter’s too, too often we talk macroeconomics and forget the people that get hurt along the way.
Thanks for the re-blog, Nebraska. You and Tom bring up excellent points. So often what starts out as good intentions by our government gets “perverted” and winds up costing a lot more than the regulation or law was supposed to save.
I used to work in a charcoal factory. I had to shower before coming home. I had soot from head to toe.
Sounds like a dirty job indeed. I spent my formative years working on a chicken farm. Even after showering I still had dust up my nose! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Reblogged this on Catholic Glasses and commented:
Pray for these Coal Miners. Obama is so anti-business. Pray for can vote him and all Democrats out, for good.
Thank you for the re-blog. Excuse me if I sound obtuse but I visited your blog and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where/how to comment. Please point me in the right direction!
I use my iPhone to post mostly. So, I do not always have the option to allow comments. I rarely get onto my computer. Sorry about that.
Thank you both for this exchange. I, too, had wondered.
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I give it two years and the Chineese will ro-open the mines with enntirely immigrant labor and management all the product to go to export at best prices, and all of that to go to chineese shipping interests.
The Chinese owning and running American coal companies? That’s not a comforting throught. Thanks for stopping by.
Patriot Coal (PCX) filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PCX
Thanks for the update, rjp. More bad news that can be laid at the feet of the EPA.
In Montana, they are planning to expand coal mining for export to China. There will be dozens of trains headed to the West Coast PER DAY. Location, location, location- the eastern US is just in the wrong place. This isn’t about Obama- this is about capitalists maximizing their profits, plain and simple. They choose to whom they sell their production. And don’t forget the XL Pipeline from Canada to Houston refineries, who will then send the products overseas. Maybe we should hang onto our resources just in case real shortages do occur.
Instead of using taxpayer’s dollars to help costly Green endeavors, those monies could be spent to help East Coast mining companies explore new markets for export–saving jobs, saving our tax base, and keeping our resources going. In a time of war or other crisis, the president has the power (by executive order–another issue for another day) to seize control of our country’s resources so in theory, we shouldn’t ever be in an emergency situation where our own resources are not available at all.
Thanks for the information, Fred. And thank you for stopping by.
Freds comments were very clearly directed at the rich CAPITALISTS who really run the politicians, natural resources, and all big businesses. Why must you change the substance of his comments to TAXPAYERS DOLLARS. He did not even mention that. Your motivations do not seem to be with the miners but with your political affiliations.
I am not quite sure how you interpret my comment as not being in favor of jobs for American miners? Fred’s comment, like yours, stands on its own merit. How I choose to respond or not is my choice. As should be clearly evident on my blog, I most certainly have a point of view and I do not apologize for it. Thank you for visiting and sharing your views.