Working the Black Seam

Medical Contributions No Longer Needed: Coal miners don’t live very long. Along with facing the common, yet often lethal, hazards that come with the job, coal miners have an average life span of about 50 years. All of this makes recruiting an acute and ever-present obstacle in an industry viewed by many people as dirty and unsafe. Yet the boom in coal, spurred by a voracious global appetite for electricity in emerging markets, isn’t darkening the skies of coal companies. According to the National Mining Association, 50,000 new miners will be needed within a decade to keep pace with astonishing growth. One company, Alpha Natural Resources in Abingon, Virginia, is offering a passel of “unprecedented” new retention benefits to its 3,600 workers. Each employee receives 25 shares of company stock and will no longer have to contribute to medical benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance. Some employees could receive bonuses, based on length of service, while those participating on volunteer teams could receive “vacation money” in return for their service. In announcing the incentive package, Alpha CEO Michael Quillen called the decision “maybe the most significant” day in the eight-year-old mining firm’s history.