Mining groups weigh Biden's outreach to displaced workers

摘要

For decades now, presidents have been promising to bring prosperity to coal country. Too often, they haven't delivered on those visions. President Biden now is offering his own plan for coal-dependent regions. In his ambitious infrastructure proposal released last month, the president pitched spending billions of dollars to reclaim abandoned mines and dramatically expand job programs. The initial budget request for next year unveiled by the White House last week was less lofty but still proposed $550 million for mine cleanup and plugging orphaned oil and gas wells, along with specific earmarks for worker training (Energywire, April 12). As they wait for the release of a promised report from the Biden team on reviving coal and power plant communities, labor leaders and community advocates said this time they are cautiously optimistic. Still, they emphasized that many of the administration's plans remain vague. "They have more than any previous administration — Democrat or Republican — publicly made it a priority to (a) create these jobs and (b) make them well-paying union jobs," said Phil Smith, spokesperson for the United Mine Workers of America labor union.