In Coal Country, Signing Bonuses Are the Buzz

摘要

Before dawn on Friday, April 7, a miner named Cameron Justice stopped at a gas station in Mingo County, W.Va., to grab two cans of Monster Energy drink before heading underground. He could use the jolt. The barrel-chested 37-year-old works six eight-hour shifts a week at the Ruby Energy mine in the heart of West Virginia coal country. Last year he was lucky to get four shifts. "We're booming," Justice says. "This is the biggest upswing I've seen in five years. Everyone's excited."