[Ayla]

SIDNEY, Ky. - The president of Sidney Coal Co., a subsidiary of Massey Energy, has asked the Kentucky mining board to make it possible to hire non-English speaking coal miners.

In an official document presented by Charlie Bearse, who heads up the Pike County coal company, he asked for a change in the current law.
Currently Kentucky requirements are that all miners be fluent in English for safety reasons.

Safety concerns, especially because of possible communication problems, are another factor that raises eyebrows among many in the industry.

Bearse cited a declining work ethic and drug problems among the current work force in the document.

The document was distributed at a December board meeting by Bearse.

The situation has apparently concerned some in the mining industry.

“It's common knowledge that the work ethic of the Eastern Kentucky worker has declined from where it once was,” the document stated.

Statistics from the Labor Department show 3,500 new miners are needed in the Bluegrass State, the document says.

“Compounding the worker shortage (problem) is that attitudes have changed among the existing work force, which affects attendance, drug use and, ultimately, productivity,” the document said.

On the other side, Phil Smith, a spokesman from the United Mine Workers of America Communications Department said,

“It says a lot about what Massey thinks of the people there. We don't share that opinion concerning the work ethic or sobriety of the workers in eastern Kentucky or southern West Virginia.”

“This is the first step to paying lower wages and reducing benefits,” Smith said.

“This is reminiscent of the late 1800's and early 1900's when the coal companies brought in immigrants from Europe.

“Everybody knows how bad those days were,” Smith added.

“People just need to be compensated fairly and treated well by their employers,” the UMWA spokesman said.

To many, the request comes at an interesting time. Coal prices are at record highs and companies across the region are running advertisements for skilled miners.

At the same time, state Office of Mine Safety and Licensing records show the agency has issued 12,545 temporary mining cards in the last two years.

The current law trumps any regulatory change by the mining board, said Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Caylor.

“But it really is just a matter of time,” Caylor told a Lexington newspaper. “I think this is just the first shot in trying to adopt this.”

In other parts of the country, Americans have been accustomed to watching the Hispanic population grow and work in construction jobs.

Sidney Coal has “identified Hispanic workers who want to come to the area and train to become miners,” the document states.

“The company's objective is to attract workers to the area who ‘have the necessary work ethic,' and therefore, needs the ability to hire and train non-English-speaking coal miners.”

“We are appealing for the ability to obtain miners' certificates for non-English-speaking workers in a controlled environment,” the document further stated.

The three labor representatives and the chairman of the seven-member mining board voted at the Dec. 22 meeting to table the proposal until later.

The Kentucky Mining Board met again in Frankfort, but Sidney Coal's proposal was not on the agenda. Another meeting is scheduled for Feb. 23.

Hispanic mining applicants would most likely need proper paperwork showing that they are legally in the United States.

One source said that if a company has the need, they can apply and receive permission to employ undocumented workers.

It was not clear whether Massey Energy also wants to hire Mexican workers at its other mining operations. A phone call to Massey's corporate office in Richmond, Va. referred the Williamson Daily News to Jeff Gillenwater in the Charleston, W.Va. office.

Gillenwater contacted Bearse to respond to the story.

Yeah...this makes a lot of sense...with all the recent mining deaths in that area....lets hire people who don't speak English so that it's even more unsafe.... Massey Coal is already a bad company to work for... it's nice to know some things don't change!