Rick Bender, who owns a coal processing plant in Hegins, Pennsylvania, voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016, in part because of his promise to revive the industry from a decade-long decline.
Reuters interviewed 26 coal workers across Pennsylvania and found that all but one plans to back Trump on Nov. 3. While many cited faults with the president, whose incendiary style turns some off, they fear Biden’s clean-energy plan would hasten coal's decline, and that the new green jobs wouldn't come quickly enough to keep their families financially secure. An experienced miner can expect to earn as much as US$100,000 annually including overtime, according to the U.S.
U.S. coal production last year sank to 706 million tons, the lowest level since 1978, when a strike crippled output. Industry employment has plummeted more than 40per cent since 2008 to around 46,500 workers currently.The president put a former coal lobbyist, Andrew Wheeler, at the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
"If nothing else, 2016 made a lot of political scientists and pollsters much more wary of relying so tightly on polls, and aware that small groups can have a big impact,” Karl said.Biden, a Pennsylvania native, is walking a tightrope between the old fossil-fuel interests that support blue-collar jobs and his vision for a US$2-trillion transition to clean energy supported by many young voters.
Still, he said many rank-and-file members fear that Biden's climate plan"is slated to put them out of work."Trump visited Pennsylvania five times in September, the most visits of any state. His campaign has focused on increasing his margins from 2016 in rural counties like Schuylkill and improving his results in urban areas and the suburbs.
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