Having lost a major customer, a wave of coal mines were closing in Kentucky. “I guess this is it then, ain’t it,” Mr. Stalker told his boss. “‘You guys know this has been coming,’” Mr. Stalker recalled the Murray Energy executive telling them. But in the employee parking lot, Mr. Stalker, 45, ran into a fellow miner, who was much newer in his career — still in his 20s. “Man, get out of this industry,” Mr. Stalker said.

Source: New York Times October 05, 2020 15:48 UTC