"Energy Options: Coal" - Coal and Jobs (Part 3)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007SUSIE GHARIB: After decades of layoffs and consolidation, the coal industry is staging a comeback. Half of the electricity generated in the U.S. now comes from coal. Power producers have turned to coal to fire their plants as natural gas prices increase. But there are still challenges. As we wrap up our special series, "Energy Options: Coal," Stephanie Dhue examines one of those challenges -- finding employees to replace an aging workforce.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Miners here at Consol Energy are working to meet the surging demand for coal. The company operates 20 mines in six states, including two in southwestern Pennsylvania known as the Bailey Enlow Fork complex. Dave Hudson, who heads up Consol's Pennsylvania operations, says its annual output has increased.
DAVE HUDSON, VICE PRESIDENT PA OPERATIONS, CONSOL ENERGY: 21 million tons plus, between the two mines -- that's clean tons will provide the power for seven million households, the electricity for seven million households in this country. Now, that's pretty amazing when you think about that number.
DHUE: Another big number for Consol is employees nearing retirement. 1,250 people work here in the Bailey Enlow Fork complex. In the last year and a half, the company has hired 250 new employees as 50 have retired. That surge in new hires comes as Consol plans for the next decade, when half its work force will be eligible for retirement. The coal industry as a whole expects a similar need over the next 10 years. Coal companies now plan to hire 50,000 new workers to replace their aging workforces and meet increased demand. But finding that number of qualified workers is a challenge. Vladislav Kecojevic teaches mining engineering at Penn State. The program is helping to unearth the next generation of miners. There are 26 students in the undergrad mining engineering program and eight graduate students. The goal is to double that number over the next two years.
VLADISLAV KECOJEVIC, MINING ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, PENN STATE: It really takes a lot of time and effort to convince the students, to explain really the importance of the mine.
DHUE: Job opportunities for these students are promising. Kecojevic says multiple job offers are common, as are $60,000 starting salaries, bonuses and tuition loan payoffs. Matt Mowry, president of the Student Mining Society, is also helping recruit would-be miners.
MATT MOWRY, PRESIDENT, MINING SOCIETY: Currently, our efforts are focused more towards students in other colleges of engineering, other engineering disciplines, that perhaps are realizing that the opportunities aren't as great as they thought they were in what they're doing.
DHUE: Coal companies are also finding workers in other industries. Don Blumetti worked as a foreman in a local factory for 17 years. Fearing his job could be outsourced to China, he moved into coal mining.
DON BLUMETTI, SECTION FOREMAN TRAINEE: It was an opportunity for us and for my family to where I would have a 25-year career hopefully. The financial rewards are there and it's exciting. It's not a mundane -- go to the same chair everyday.
DHUE: Still, it's a dirty and dangerous business. The August accident at the Crandall canyon mine in Utah is one of the latest reminders of that. Six miners and three rescue workers were killed in that incident. Last year, 47 miners perished on the job in the U.S. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says 1,500 miners die each year from black lung disease. Still, with overtime, coal workers can earn a six figure salary. They have health care, pensions and the promise of a long career. Brian Jones started in the mines two years ago, after a 25-year career in construction. He says, while trained to constantly think about safety, it's not really a worry.
BRIAN JONES, SECTION FOREMAN TRAINEE: Everybody has to work together as one a big team. There's a lot of men working underground at one time and if every man does what they're supposed to do and what they're trained to do, then there shouldn't be a problem with disasters.
DHUE: But the biggest hazard emerging for the next generation of miners may be the future of the industry itself. Whether coal continues to thrive or not will depend on how it meets the safety, environmental and political challenges that lie ahead. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, West Finley, Pennsylvania.
