Labor chief joins Manchin for West Virginia coal mine trip
By JOHN RABY
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has toured an underground coal mine for the first time. Walsh joined Sen. Joe Manchin at a northern West Virginia facility on Wednesday. Walsh did his best to signal that President Joe Biden’s administration won’t be an enemy of the coal industry as he and Manchin visited an American Consolidated Natural Resources mine near Wheeling. Walsh’s agency oversees the Mine Safety and Health Administration as well as the administration of benefits for coal miners disabled by black lung disease. West Virginia has lost thousands of jobs in the past decade as companies and utilities explore other energy fields such as natural gas, solar and wind.
