[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Harley-Davidson Las Vegas and Byrna: Power. Freedom. Common-Sense Protection

ELON MUSK: EUROPE IS ON TRACK FOR "WIDESPREAD SLAUGHTER"

Fight breaks out on Virgin Atlantic flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica to London Heathrow.

Caitlin Johnstone: Israel's Depravity Will Always Find New Ways To Shock You

Gen Z Is Returning To Religion. Why?

Nashville ICE Crackdown: 300,000 Criminal Aliens Deported Under Trump!

ICE Troops EMPTY ‘Migrant Suburb’... WHOLE TOWN Deported in 2 Hours

The U.S. Is the #1 Buyer of Sex With Children—Here’s Why No One Talks About It

We Are Not Prepared to Confront China

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg blew $80 BILLION on DEI grants

The Coming $187 BILLION Revolution in Healthcare Courtesy of AI

"Effective Immediately": Shipping Line Suspends EV Cargo Due To Lithium Battery Fire Concerns

Century Heat Scorches China: 158℉ Ground, Glass Explodes, ACs Bursting into Flames

Gaza Isn't Starving, It Is Being Starved

"Plan On It!" Martin Armstrong Sees '100% Chance Of Nuclear War'

The Fed Pours Jet Fuel On The Inequality Gap

Mag 7 Quake off the coast of Northern California

Making Sense of Elon Musk's Plans.

Ode to the Jeffrey Epstein Files (🔥 Just Forget About It!) – AI Parody Song

‘We are the big tent party of freaks and misfits.’

Deutschland Unter Allen!

Inbound: Earth Changes, Inflation, Food Riots, Civil Wars

What REALLY brought down Building 7? Firefighters expose the truth of 9/11

Locusts Descending on Ukraine

Seven Reasons Why PBS And NPR Deserve To Be Defunded

Why the U.S. Buys So Much Nuclear Fuel From Russia | WSJ

Another No News Day

Surveillance Video Shows Illegal Alien Kidnapping Elderly Woman

Tucker's Epstein comments trigger official Israeli backlash

Houthis Launch Mach 16 Ballistic Missiles At Israel


Immigration
See other Immigration Articles

Title: Recruiting Hispanics for Kentucky Coal Mines Raises Debate
Source: Associated Press
URL Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/n ... 1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Published: Feb 18, 2006
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2006-02-18 22:35:45 by Brian S
Keywords: Recruiting, Hispanics, Kentucky
Views: 352
Comments: 9

COAL RUN, Ky., Feb. 18 (AP) — Charlie Bearse, the president of Sidney Coal, was expressing an opinion that many in these mountains secretly share. The problem was, he put that opinion in writing.

"It is common knowledge that the work ethic of the Eastern Kentucky worker has declined from where it once was," Mr. Bearse wrote to the state mining board. Bad attitudes and drug abuse, he argued, were affecting attendance "and, ultimately, productivity."

Mr. Bearse's appeal to the board: Relax an English-only policy in the mines so he could bring in Hispanic workers.

American companies often say they need migrant workers to do low-paying, menial tasks that many Americans will not. But at $18 an hour and up, plus benefits, mining jobs are some of Appalachia's best.

In a part of the country where Hispanics make up less than 1 percent of most counties' populations, Mr. Bearse's comments caused a stir.

Shannon Gibson, who recently took the state test for the "green card" that would allow him to work underground, said: "They're just looking for more workers who will work cheaper and work longer."

Mr. Bearse has acknowledged that his choice of words could have been better. And his timing could not have been worse.

Less than two weeks after he made his request in late December, 12 miners died in an accident in West Virginia. By the time his proposal became public this month, five more coal miners had died.

A generation of layoffs and migration has left a suddenly booming industry with a shortage of experienced miners. Labor officials put that deficit at more than 6,000 miners in West Virginia and Kentucky. "For all kinds of reasons, the labor pool is smaller," said Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association.

But Tim Miller, a United Mine Workers union organizer, said that was nonsense, calling the supposed miner shortage "the biggest farce out there right now."

In the past two years, Kentucky has issued nearly 13,000 work permits for inexperienced miners. In a recent week, state labor officials counted 7,187 people actively seeking coal mining work, 5,390 of whom claimed prior mining experience.

Mr. Miller said there were 1,400 laid-off union miners in Western Kentucky alone who could go to work today. He echoed the sentiments of many who believe the industry was simply hoping to exploit Hispanics and drive down wages.

"They want people who don't have the ability to protect themselves," Mr. Miller said. "If they can flood the market with Hispanic workers, if they can get away with paying a guy $8 an hour, the next guy will be willing to work for $7."

Mr. Bearse said more than a third of his 800 employees had been hired in the past year. Sidney, a subsidiary of Massey Energy of Richmond, Va., has recruited miners from out West and advertised as far away as Charlotte, N.C., but still cannot fill its rosters, it says.

So Mr. Bearse turned to Hispanic workers on his payroll and asked if they had relatives or friends who might consider taking part in a "pilot program." He emphasized they would get the same wages and benefits as the company's other miners.

"It would be administered by qualified bilingual supervisors," he said in a telephone interview. "They would need to have legal worker status."

Mr. Miller said his objections were because of safety, not immigration.

"What if that interpreter is the one who gets covered up in a rock fall?" he said. "I'm outside of the mine screaming they've got smoke coming their way and they don't have any idea what I'm trying to say. They're just sitting ducks."

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: Brian S (#0)

"It is common knowledge that the work ethic of the Eastern Kentucky worker has declined from where it once was," Mr. Bearse wrote to the state mining board. Bad attitudes and drug abuse, he argued, were affecting attendance "and, ultimately, productivity."

And he thinks mexican workers will solve this?? Who does he think is responsible for the majority of the meth in this country?

Zipporah  posted on  2006-02-18   22:38:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Zipporah (#1)

Who does he think is responsible for the majority of the meth in this country?

Within the last year or so this is true, it is coming up from south of the border and of excellent quality.

Before that, local cooks were rampant around these parts until their supply of ephedrine was throttled.

Nasty crap, that meth.

Brian S  posted on  2006-02-18   22:46:32 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Brian S (#0)

Please, no PR's...

Jethro Tull  posted on  2006-02-18   22:48:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: Brian S, *The Border* (#0)

"They want people who don't have the ability to protect themselves," Mr. Miller said. "If they can flood the market with Hispanic workers, if they can get away with paying a guy $8 an hour, the next guy will be willing to work for $7."

That's all it is.

"War is a way of shattering to pieces...materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses... too intelligent." ~George Orwell

robin  posted on  2006-02-18   22:48:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Brian S (#2)

Within the last year or so this is true, it is coming up from south of the border and of excellent quality.

Before that, local cooks were rampant around these parts until their supply of ephedrine was throttled.

Nasty crap, that meth.

Same here.. they had a huge meth bust in the next county but it didnt make the papers which I found quite odd.. all illegals living in one apartment.

Zipporah  posted on  2006-02-18   22:48:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Brian S (#0)

Not another canary shortage...damn bird flu.

who knows what evil  posted on  2006-02-18   22:58:24 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: who knows what evil (#6)

Not another canary shortage...damn bird flu.

{{{chuckle}}}

Brian S  posted on  2006-02-18   23:02:02 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: robin (#4)

Hollowing out the American middle class, replacing it with a peon labor pool.

You can't win. You can't break even. You can't get out of the game.

Peetie Wheatstraw  posted on  2006-02-18   23:23:49 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: Brian S (#0)

We too had one of the biggest Meth busts in Minnesota's History, and all parties involved were Hispanic, Illegal, and the Meth came from... Of Course Mexico. None of the pertinent info made the papers, just cops posing in front of a big bunch of Meth. When you read who was involved, not an Anglo in the bunch.

What's that Mr. Nipples? You want me to ask the nice lady about her rack?.

TommyTheMadArtist  posted on  2006-02-19   1:51:34 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]