Work Environments

I was out of the country from July 29 - August 19, visiting my husband's family in the US. We decided to do something a bit different and so we took a short mini-trip to Pittsburgh, PA. While in Pittsburgh, my family and I went to the National Aviary and toured a Pennsylvanian coal mine. Both excursions were really enjoyable and educational, but for the purposes of today's blog post (and its connection to education), I wanted to focus on the coal mine.

Our tour guide told us that he has worked in coal mines for 49 years. He spoke positively about being a miner and said that nowadays, it's a decent paying job with a lot of camaraderie, despite some of the drawbacks. This wasn't true in the past. During our trek into the mine, he shared a lot of stories, with awe in his voice, about the early miners and the many challenges that they faced. For instance, in the photo above and below, he demonstrated how the miner, who had to purchase all his equipment from the mining company, would lie on his side and use his pick ax to chisel out a trough of coal. Then, he would use that manual drill to bore holes to put explosives in and release more of the coal.

Our guide described how many of the workers were immigrants, speaking little or no English. They were paid in "scrip", company money that was exchanged for food, clothing, tools, and their lodgings. The mining corporation charged exorbitant prices for necessities and the workers were often in debt to the company. The miners were sometimes cheated of their just payment, meager though it was - for example, if a foreman or supervisor examining the container of coal claimed that the half-ton load included rock that was not coal, they could refuse to pay for the entire load. (They still kept the load, which meant they took the coal and "inferior" rocks for free.)

Advances in technology and machinery made the work somewhat easier, but not always better. The middle of the three photos below, the shaker conveyor belt, helped to transport the coal down the mine, but it was very noisy and back then, safety wasn't a priority. Many miners lost their hearing because they were exposed to these loud machines for long periods of time every day.

In the past, illumination usually only came from the lights on their helmets. Our guide briefly shut off all the lights while we were in the mine, and it was so dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. The mine wasn't great for taking photos or videos, but these were two short videos I took of some of the demonstrations.

Today my family and I visited a Pennsylvanian coal mine. Here is a short video of checking ceiling depth with a drill (I think). It makes me grateful for unions, who protected the workers from near-slavery. pic.twitter.com/msTvLEkpTe

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) August 16, 2018

The ironic thing about our tour is that our guide said that mining was a tough job, but he'd never trade places with, say, a teacher. I was thinking the opposite! Teaching is a tough job, but I can't picture myself ever possessing the fortitude, strength, resilience, and determination to be a coal miner. In fact, I made this t-chart with some comparisons.

Comparing Coal Miners and Teachers
SIMILARITIES	DIFFERENCES
“Tough jobs” Unions crucial to proper treatment Decent pay (at least for 2018 Ontario teachers and 2018 Pennsylviania miners) Poor treatment in the past Not always respected, though work is important Close-knit friendships develop between workers Long hours (if you count teacher planning and marking time) Don’t always get to see the fruits of their labour	Location (deep underground vs inside a classroom) Access to resources (some of today’s teachers still buy their own supplies to use for work) Gender (miners mostly men, although “girls” were allowed in mines in 1975; teachers mostly women) Danger (likelihood of injury or death high for miners in past) Physically vs psychologically demanding Training Education

Touring the coal mine also gave me a solid dose of reality. My Twitter feed is full right now of people agonizing or rejoicing about setting up their classrooms before the students arrive. I will not complain about my work environment, when I remember that others labour kilometers deep in the ground, in dark and claustrophobic spaces similar to the caves that reminded me of where the Thai soccer team was trapped for weeks. I will appreciate my school library space even when the air conditioning is on too high or the books are in disarray, because standing in the dark in a mine had me recall the virtual sensation of being trapped in a Minecraft mine, and I know which experience I'd prefer. Mining is a tough, dirty job, but someone has to do it (especially if we want our carbonated drinks and other amenities for 21st century living, even though there are other ways to get energy) - and I'm grateful it's not me.