We need targeted responses that minimize the pain for workers and communities that have relied economically on technologies with dwindling market demand and that create new economic opportunities and pathways to good-paying, union jobs.

The Challenge

For generations, coal-dependent areas—reliant on coal mining or coal-based electric power generation plants—have built their economies around that resource, not only for the employment of their citizens, but for the revenue that supports their schools, infrastructure, and small businesses. We need targeted responses that minimize the pain for workers and communities that have relied economically on technologies with dwindling market demand and that create new economic opportunities and pathways to good-paying, union jobs.   

Because these regions are often geographically isolated and coal facilities are frequently a primary direct and indirect employer of workers across multiple counties, local communities, and their economies undergo harsh and often lasting changes when facilities close. The energy jobs being lost are often good-paying, union jobs. For instance, power plant operators receive an average annual salary around $90,000, while coal miners have an average annual salary over $60,000. On-site management positions typically pay six figures. But it’s not just those workers and their families who are affected. For every direct coal job that has been lost, four other jobs have disappeared in these communities, meaning a quarter of a million jobs already have been lost.