Coal-Job Wages Hard to Replace for Struggle To Stay Subject

On this West Virginia Morning, our series featuring people who are struggling to stay or leave Appalachia continues. We’ve been following the story of Dave Hathaway, a former coal miner in Pennsylvania.

Last week, we heard about Dave’s struggle as an unemployed father of two trying to hold onto his dignity while his wife works. He and his wife are committed to staying in Greene County, even though the job choices are thin. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier has our next installment of Dave’s Struggle to Stay story.We also hear from the Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant about an aluminum company Alcoa, which  is officially moving its headquarters back to Pittsburgh, and it’s at a time when worldwide sales of aluminum are on the rise. This is happening, at least in some part, because there can be environmental benefits of using aluminum in products. But there’s a dirtier side to it – aluminum production is energy-intensive.