......I don’t know how much of that’s due to fewer people being needed to do the mining.....I asked the guys in Kentuck about this. They said just look around.
What he meant was that fewer miners are required, but most importantly, mining requires fairly well educated miners. The complexity of the mining operations coupled with the intense technical regulatory compliance demands a quantum leap in educational requirements.
I can see how that would be a problem for the union.
For the industry, too, since a well-educated person could more easily find safer, less arduous jobs. Well, the days when unions were far more help than hindrance are long gone. Miners voting in lockstep with the union won't be doing themselves any favors if they keep living in the past.