Coal Industry Faces Labor Shortage

May 17 -- At the University of Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia's coal country, only one student will be studying for a career in a coal mine when the class of 2005 converges on the campus next fall.

The university this spring graduated 10 students with degrees as mining engineers, down from dozens a generation ago. That's a worrisome trend for an industry basking in the reflective glow of an energy policy unveiled today that emphasizes more production and less regulation.

Just as the United States is calling for more coal, there are serious questions about who will mine it. "We have a labor shortage," said Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association.

So Appalachia's coal-mining towns, which have been slumping since the 1970s collapse of the energy-intensive steel industry, could miss out on the next boom.

‘Not a Pick-and-Shovel Industry Anymore’

The causes of the labor shortage are historical and complex, Caylor said, and there's no quick fix. It starts with the steady outmigration that is shrinking the labor pool throughout the coal belt. And it's harder than it once was to persuade those who stay to take a dirty and dangerous job in a coal mine with starting pay ranging from $11-$16 an hour.

"We're a high-tech industry, which people need to realize," Caylor said. "We're not a pick-and-shovel industry anymore."

Not everyone agrees that the labor pool is as shallow as the mine operators say it is.

"There's a lot of age-bias and anti-union sentiment out there," said Doug Gibson, a United Mine Workers spokesman, who said the union has lists of experienced people willing to work in the mines. But some mining companies are reluctant to bring back laid off or retired workers because of health-care liabilities stemming from mining-related black lung disease or other problems, Gibson said.

What's more, coal companies in Western states like Nevada and Wyoming are tapping surface deposits with more machines and fewer workers than are needed to mine the hills of Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.