Why The U.S. Is Running Out Of Mining Workers

[@mdaaaa1211]

It's simple, pay people a decent amount of money and see if there will be a shortage. Somehow, when it comes to attracting and retention of good CEOs, we are told we have to pay them exorbitant amounts of money, but the same argument doesn't seem to be applied to workers.

[@kaylab1157]

When they said the average pay for a miner was 57k, I was like.... yea... I wouldn't do the job for that pay either. If it's that technical and rigorous and necessary, then yea pay waaaayyy more than that

[@melikwalker296]

​@@kaylab1157yeah that's true but there are people that make $100,000 a year but they're still living paycheck to paycheck so that should tell you something

[@nicholasmorello6370]

Starting pay needs to be at least 100k in Utah. Double that elsewhere

[@weirdshibainu]

Mining jobs pay well, but much like nursing, the normal labor economics of correlation of wage levels to worker participation doesn't apply due to many of the issues explained in the video.

[@fnorgen]

But what about the poor destitute shareholders? Surely they would starve to death if the workers ran off with the profits.

[@timkaldahl]

I grew up in a mining family. The ways the management companies screwed my dad and brothers over might be part of the problem. It used to be that the majority of high school grads would go to work in the mines. Reagan wouldn't enforce trade laws when Japan was dumping steel. LTV, who at the time also managed Kennicot, went in to chapter 11 and tried to take all of the money out of the pension fund. When you crap all over your workers for the sake of profits you cut your own throat.

[@JamesHoss-hr1jq]

That’s nothing buddy…

[@kindnuguz]

Seeing as you mentioned Kennecott I assume maybe the same area as Geneva Steel? Yeah I lived through that horrible time but only had friends working there. This area has been hugely impacted by out sourcing over seas, funny though; look at it now. Scrambling to become supply chain independent and with the steel plant completely gone I can't see them building another one; at least not in this area.

[@monkeynomics8995]

100 k ain't worth my life or health. Gfy

[@_Tony.Montana]

They fail to mention that they are screwing the workers over

[@nerdlingeeksly5192]

It's biting the hand that feeds you

[@weswest8666]

A huge point missed by the video is that other industries, especially oil and gas are hiring all the folks who graduate with mining/engineering degrees and guess why everyone chooses oil and gas vs mining ore, because oil pays 2-3x more.

[@Heshhion]

It's not huge money when you can earn the same from home..

[@jordanrussell345]

​@@Heshhionelaborate? What jobs pay $150k WFH?

[@adiintel1]

​@@jordanrussell345selling drugs online 😅

[@BryanTorok]

@@jordanrussell345 Yes, I'd like to know what work at home job I can do that pays $100K.

[@erikkovacs3097]

​@@jordanrussell345Only Fans

[@MantisTobogganDoctorofMedicine]

Imagine trying to live in the Salt Lake Valley on $57,000. There's the root of your problem. $500k houses there now.

[@TheBamster00]

Exactly why I left the SL valley and moved to a rural part of Utah. Working underground with my electrical papers and making six figures.

[@NeoAutodroid]

I make roughly 55k/yr but after taxes and pretax medical deductions (for health insurance and accident insurance) its in the low 40s. It's real tough to get by on this little money and I live in a rural part of the south that's among the cheapest so idk how tf other people in more expensive parts of the country are even getting by at this point .

[@iNCoMpeTeNtplAyS]

​@@TheBamster00 6 figures high or 5 figures after taxes?

[@studytime2570]

decarbonisation would be successful if it goes hand in hand with De👇

[@studytime2570]

dollari$sation.

[@tacituskilgore8747]

Everything in life is about incentive. If you want workers, make it worth their while.

[@ImYourAverageJoe]

Perception is also a thing.

[@travisminneapolis]

If you want a great CEO, you pay them. They dont have a shortage of great CEO options because they pay them. Try paying workers more

[@JamesHoss-hr1jq]

My dad drives trucks making over $100,000 per year

[@fumie4996]

if you won't take it there are thousands coming from the border looking for low paying job

[@guru47pi]

Pay them well, and also, don't duck them over. Why would I encourage my kids to work in a mine, when there are so many examples of people who got black lung and no healthcare coverage, who all got laid off the day commodity prices dropped, whose pensions evaporated when the company declared bankruptcy to avoid remediation bills?

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

$57k for such a hazardous and back breaking job!?! I make more than double that in a air conditioned office with a laptop. My jaw legit dropped 😮

[@MalcolmRose-l3b]

The guy in the clip was sitting in an air conditioned truck cabin, as was the digger driver - if you regard back ache from sitting on your ass all day as "back breaking" then you need to get out more.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

@user-fm6ns5nb4j sure thing Mr. "you got soft hands" 🤣 you let them finesse you with that chump change and hopefully they will pay for your spinal surgery and asbestosis treatment in your 40s.

[@darinherrick9224]

What do you do? I make half that working in I.T. with 20+ years experience in the West Coast where pay is high.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

@darinherrick9224 I'm a software engineer at a FinTech little less than 3 years. So I find this video laughable

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

@darinherrick9224 sounds like someone's is finnessing you or your not marketing yourself very well you should be making triple that especially at a west coast tech mecca

[@chanchangoham]

Most of the job shortages are due to low pay.

[@ragingjaguarknight86]

💯💯💯

[@nomobobby]

Same, Politicans can talk all they want about "Made in America", But the pay at my factory is so bad, I could probably go do Online IT instead for +$4-8/hr more. Hoping for more this year, but I'm not holding my breath. Honestly, Mining would have to offer much, much more. Its, dirty, hard body ruining work and there little outside of high pay, great benefits, & possible advancement for more to get me to even consider it. But nobody wants to make that better offer. All these jobs about to be deserted *Deserve* deserted for 3 reasons: Low pay, Too physically/mentally demanding and Not good place to work *period*. Weirdly, there are always pay raises aplently for CEOs and other C-suits, to get them through even the toughest jobs they might get. But then they tell us we're the bad guys for pointing this out, and asking for more *SMH* Either pay for first world rates for US workers to do it or make deals with people who are willing to do it for us and hush up already.

[@billykulim5202]

isnt that why biden allow immigrant to cross border easy? to have low pay worker

[@GORT70]

Maybe not, theres a perception problem. Other skilled trades-electricians, plumbers-are really, really hurting too.

[@keithjackson2035]

They always leave that part out.

[@q_branch_]

This issue isn’t unique to mining, but endemic to many blue collar jobs. My grandfathers worked in the steel mills and aircraft maintenance for a major airline. They were intelligent and respectable men. They also made respectable wages and had great benefits (pension, vacation, and healthcare). They owned their homes and raised families. We know that, over time, wages have lagged behind the broader economy, benefits are continually slashed to cut costs and increase corporate profits, deregulation of industry has reduced the protections for the average worker, and unions don’t play the pivotal role that they once did. Industries like mining are dirty and dangerous - they’re not glamorous. A $56k a year salary is well behind the median and not enough to be considered middle class. Coupled with the increasing cost of goods, especially housing, it should be no surprise why people would look elsewhere. People want to do a good job and to have pay that supports a comfortable lifestyle. Pay them a good wage, with good benefits, and treat them fairly…people will seek out the opportunity.

[@Allium_369]

I totally agree. It took me years to find my job where I make 130 k a year with pension 401k and excellent benefits. I’m a hazmat driver. I won’t ever leave because my company respects my worth and my time.

[@baronvonjo1929]

I found a decent blue collared job atm. But my first job out of high school was one and it has sense given me a very negative view on blue collared work. My high school was a bit unique in that it had classes and course at another building that pushed the trades and companies in the area would fund it. We were all told how much money and demand there was. I never sat back and asked why can these jobs not find people? I got paid very good money out of HS working for one of those companies. But I asked around with others kids and we all came to the same conclusions The work life balance is just terrible. Some are dangerous. The culture of these old middle age dudes just ain't healthy. And it doesn't really get you much further than other jobs. I left because I was just so miserable. It was so incredibly boring. Long hours too. I looked at other jobs and some would want 10 years of experience for not even 15 a hour working 3rd shift? Or just other outrageous stuff. These companies are doing it themselves. They just refuse to be competitive and realize the reality. I think everyone in my program who speant years trying to stick with it left the industry and went elsewhere.

[@bizjetfixr8352]

Pay the worker bees more? That's "commie talk" pal. :) It shows you how out of touch these guys are, believing $57k is a "good salary" You also touch on another issue. Home prices. Another bubble has been blown, that won't be deflated, because too many people would lose their azz in another crash. Here's a clue. Flyover home prices are getting as high as anywhere else. DFW/Texas is no longer a "bargain". A decent 3/2/2 in the KC Metro suburbs is $400k. My daughter and family sold their house in Wichita in 2017. It's price has doubled in 5+years.....in Wichita, fer Chrissakes.

[@Mesozoic_mammal]

"Running Out Of Workers" = Don't want to pay workers enough

[@Ergzay]

That's a rather poor argument because if doing that makes the mine lose money then they close the mine. They don't control the market price of the raw materials sold.

[@kebeleteeek4227]

Your life is too precious to be spent for thousands of hours in nowhere location ... You can't see your baby ..toddler ..kids growing in your home .. your wife .. etc .. the most precious moment in your life ..

[@abdiganiaden]

@@Ergzayok then the mine is not possible if workers are paid peanuts

[@dx-ek4vr]

@@abdiganiaden I have to wonder if that's just a bot response, cause I've seen him say the exact same thing in several other comments already

[@robertl9065]

@@Ergzaywell if paying people causes a mine to close then it shouldn’t be open in the first place. If you can’t run a business without exploiting workers then you shouldn’t be in business.

[@comandinn505]

We need people but don’t want to spend more money, so let’s have CNBC do a promo for us!

[@philliphall5198]

Just stay home folks

[@AdamBechtol]

heh :p

[@SwobyJ]

"Solve climate change by working at a mine for under $60k."

[@watomb]

If you pay more and have amazing benefits then I’m sure you can find people to work. It’s really a fake problem that they tried with truckers and other industries.

[@someutubchannel69]

How much would you work for in this industry? Which benefits are you looking for? Educate me, please

[@BillyBob-oi9kl]

@@someutubchannel69 Enough to be able to buy a house, a car and support a family. You also want healthcare, dental, vision and a 401k.

[@fleshreap]

@@BillyBob-oi9kl I concur. I'd take them up on such an offer.

[@watomb]

@@someutubchannel69 depends on location but any job that’s average pay is below 60k is going to have problems recruiting. Post covid they need to pay over 80k if not 6 figures. Currently the industry pays around 46-57k.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

If you are willing to train people on the job. Instead of expecting them to PAY for school to get a degree then they'd be set. Why get a specialized degree in mining when you can go for something else that doesn't make you work in some remote area? Or pays better? Or does even cooler things? Modern mining doesn't seem like a bad job. Yet they pay too little for what they expect.

[@joshuasanders6375]

Companies that offer a livable/middle class salary with company paid benefits typically have no problem finding workers. The other issue is a lot of industries such as mining and construction involves a lot of bullying and belittling. I don’t come to work to be treated like crap. I come to work to earn a living. They make their own bed, so they need to lay in it.

[@LM-wq4fe]

I would expect regular miners to be making 100k median and engineers to be close to 200k if you want people to do that work.

[@Ryanrobi]

If that's true why do people like my brother spend $120,000 getting a degree to be a TV meteorologist to make $65,000 a year In a very expensive city where 65,000 is almost nothing? The reason is it's a high status job I make more than double the money he does working a blue collar job but my job is not cool and he's not willing to make the change to make more money. It is true that the pay will go up faster than inflation up to their marginal productivity and that might be those higher numbers because mine has become much more productive But that just means everything in this case made with copper will be much more expensive and you'll have a lower demand for it pushing the cost up. I think it's important to remember that 60 to $100,000 in rural Utah is making more than $200,000 equivalent in New York City people happily live in New York City to make six figures which is peanuts there. But I do agree there's really no such thing as a quote worker shortage The market will always figure that out in time with adjusting compensation or finding alternative ways to get the resources out of cost that's still profitable.

[@joshmiller7525]

Well experienced miners are making about 100k yearly at the mine in the video. However! If say I was to hired on from another mine to work their today! They would expect me to start out in one of those big trucks and make their low end base pay. So yeah we skip working for the mine and work for the contractors the mine hires instead.

[@profdc9501]

Given how dangerous the work is and all of the occupational diseases associated with it, and that it's a highly competitive business to obtain a commodity at the very minimum cost and therefore cut corners, it's not surprising that it's not the first choice of many people.

[@mehere8038]

most jobs nowadays are sitting in air conditioned offices or vehicles. Yes, some jobs are not, but they are the lower skill level jobs that they don't have any problems with recruitment for

[@stuiley424]

Don’t mention the diseases, they don’t like to bring that up.🤫

[@sauronthegreat489]

I actually attended an msha course during highschool. I remember hearing about silicosis. I was basically like hell no after that

[@mehere8038]

@@sauronthegreat489 Australia has just banned engineered stone because of this. It's not just mines that cause health problems, more often than not, those who would be working in mines, if not working in mines, will actually choose jobs that give them similar long term health risks (without realising it)

[@sauronthegreat489]

@@mehere8038 a fair point, I work in fuel transport myself. It's certainly not perfect. It pays pretty close to the miners I know atleast. It seems less stressful and hazardous. Though anything where you're constantly in dust and various debris is probably pretty dangerous

[@Psychopappy]

The pay and benefits as well as the hours they have to work in the mines is not worth it!

[@monkey220ms]

Right? Like it’s a simple supply/demand thing - increase the pay and people will do these jobs. Nobody wants to be in a mine grinding away in the middle of nowhere for crappy pay:

[@auroragb]

compared to what? 57k for base level job that probably doesn't even require high school diploma doesn't sound bad. Considering that work is usually in places where rent and expenses are low. As for hours, look for a mine with a union and they'll be reasonable. 57k is about $28 per hour. More than 2x minimum wage in most places

[@joseaguirre744]

@@auroragbThat is really bad dude. You can easily make $20 an hour without a degree in most US cities. Cops make over 57k is most US cities too without a degree. My friend made 100k doing yard work. Vice presidents at most warehouses make easily 200k. Why don’t we send those slimy executives to the pit rather than poor people who couldn’t afford college

[@AK255.]

They should increase pay! Honestly they should just make copper material more expensive so we can pay our workers enough! People are getting too comfortable with copper being so cheap and relatively available!

[@ok.ok.5735]

@@auroragbYou googled that didn’t you 🤦

[@darrellmitchell765]

Why is a miner getting paid $57,000? That should double or triple smh

[@Saliferous]

Right? When we can get 16-20 at mcdonalds or walmart..... why the hell would I make around 28 at a mine? Even amazon would be better.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

@@Saliferous lmao I said the same thing thing employers are out of there f***ng mind😂😭 Who's working in a dark , damp and dangerous cave for pennies.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

exactly

[@darrellmitchell765]

@@thanosianthemadtitanic Its sick smh

[@alexholiday441]

These geniuses apparently haven’t considered paying them more.

[@TuyenHuynh-cl7ec]

Is all about the money. Mining companies aren't the only one. Plenty of companies are complaining like babies about it but don't want to pay up for it. Let the market make the rules and if they close down then they deserve it.

[@lairdnichols457]

Wages have barely changed in the industry in about 30 years.

[@tallbrian100]

Mines are 24 - 7 operations, not many people now days want to work nights, holidays and weekends even for good money. Work life balance is important to people.

[@sharonfieber6458]

Mining Canada workforce look at shift rotation in how many days on and days off. So like 14/14,14/7, 20/10, one shift days next set is nights premium. Work day is 12 hrs.

[@MrJdebest]

Why are corporations always fighting against minimum wage and living wages when CEOs pay is 250X the average employee. The hypocrisy and greed of Corporate America is beyond belief.

[@Scrydragon]

It's closer to 410% of average employee pay, but yeah.

[@MrJdebest]

What is the average CEO average employee pay ratio in the US? In 2022, CEOs were paid 344 times as much as a typical worker in contrast to 1965 when they were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker. To illustrate just how distorted CEO pay increases have gotten: In 2021, CEOs made nearly eight times as much as the top 0.1% of wage earners in the U.S.Sep 21, 2023

[@ronblack7870]

@@MrJdebest how many companies are you talking about? where are the raw numbers? do you include non public companies?

[@MrJdebest]

@@ronblack7870 You have to be some kind of shill for business. P.O.

[@tonysudano778]

Yes, but it's still better than the alternative such as communism or socialism. The U.S.S.R caused 10s of millions of lives. Capitalism > communism. Free market and all..

[@michaelpettett3692]

Lung disease from mining is really coming to light, my uncle died recently from inhaling dust from mines all his life

[@JogBird]

have they tried paying more?

[@robnelson6545]

I think they’re thinking of hiring more managers to find ways to keep costs down.

[@bltzcstrnx]

You probably need to compete with low income countries in the mining industry. Much more so compared to the service and tech industry.

[@I_Died_2_Weeks_Ago]

​@@robnelson6545😂

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

@bltzcstrnx that's not the fault of the workers. Also if they don't increase pay they risk closing good anyway so what's the bigger loss here?🤷

[@danieltorgerson3593]

Before watching this video, I thought, "Simply, pay the workers more." The video confirmed it. Offer the retiring workers a 2 to 4-year contract to train their replacements in recruitment schools with guaranteed jobs after they finish school. The main problem is the industry does not want to bear the cost.

[@brendangalios1961]

As is the problem with many industries in America. Capitalism only works for the rich, but God forbid it work for the laborers

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

that the problem in 90% of these situations. Purely manufactured by corporate greed

[@thepax2621]

Ditto. I thought: "Okay, it can't be that obvious. You're thinking too simple about this, lets watch the video first..." And yeah, there are other issues, image among them or work culture (who wants to be bullied and treated like cr*p at work?), but the sh*tty pay? Especially in regards of who they're "competing" for workers with? Just pay them more, for heavens sake! All these are problems are the cherry on top, but if people have options, the first thing they look at is still the pay! Yes, the beach is nicer then the underground mine, but the beach and good cash vs the underground mine and abysmal cash is a no brainer. There have to be advantages to choosing the mining industrie, compared to others, if you want people to choose it. Not just disadvantages! Some can't be helped, like the location. Others absolutely can, like payments and work culture! This feels like that old Simpsons - scetch: "We've tried nothing and are all out of ideas" 🙄

[@michaeltoma9329]

Probably because the pay and benefits are not worth the labor. If you can’t compete in the job market, that sounds like a problem for your business not the workers.

[@NeoAutodroid]

Problem is also we're also competing on a global scale against countries where workers have no rights and get payed in pennies. If companies in the US payed more they'd be undercut by imports. We have to get really damn strict with import tariffs if we're to keep some of these industries alive. Globalization is a failed experiment and it's time we closed that chapter so we can reinvigorate our local economies.

[@kramerallensmith]

I was a miner for almost 6 years. Loved it, but in order to make a living, I had to work crazy hours. I just recently finished school to be a software engineer. I looked for software jobs in mining and could find next to nothing.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

happy for you bro same here and as a software engineer you will make twice to triple whatever the mine could offer. These companies just want to exploit people it's a fake problem.

[@thanosianthemadtitanic]

congrats brother im a dev myself and also have a comment on this video that went viral. These people are delusional

[@Tuber_Dog]

57k? I will make 150k this year as a company truck driver in the oil field in Texas for less risk.

[@fnorgen]

That's the real issue right there. Who in their right mind would get a mining job if they can do similar work in the petroleum industry for drastically better pay. All these "labour shortages" are mostly just companies complaining that the market rate for labour has gone up, and that they really don't want to pay.

[@kylesmith8128]

Stop paying beancounters 10x what the bean-makers earn, and that would help a lot.

[@doglegjake6788]

Investment firm bean counters have destroyed this country

[@AdamBechtol]

Mmmmm

[@jdreign7210]

Miners, cops, firefighters, medics and paramedics, nurses, teachers, plumbers, electricians, the list goes on and on. No one under the age of 50 considers any of these jobs worth it anymore and it’s scary

[@lethercreate]

These types of jobs lack respect and pay.

[@razorswc]

​@lethercreate This is exactly it. We have had several generations where these types of jobs were devalued and/or mocked/harrassed. Now some are shocked to learn many don't want to work in these fields.

[@rushrush1209]

Which is unfortunate, because we really need younger people in those professions. A lot of those jobs are physical, so they are better suited for people under age 50.

[@pragueexpat5106]

@@rushrush1209 Gen Z is focused on making a lot of money, quick, whether it's OF, Instagram "modeling" or crypto scam, doesn't matter to them.

[@Doomscrolled]

I made more than my paramedic friends, who are saving lives, with years of experience on my first year selling satellite radios in a mall. Yeah society has decided the incentives in capitalism

[@rossstotz775]

Wow, CNBC really went out of their way to avoid discussing higher wages as a possible solution.

[@ClearOutSamskaras]

Propaganda works that way. From the American-Ukraine proxy war against Russia to "running out of workers" in mining.

[@michaeltoma9329]

Shouldn’t the “free market” sort this out? As worker supply decreases, wages and benefits should increase to draw workers. But you know that won’t happen. They will just complain and ask for government subsidies

[@weirdshibainu]

Not really. Some jobs simply don't adhere to the normal wage/participation curves. Nursing is also one of them. Other factors overshadow wages.

[@gappergob6169]

If only those lazy people that always doing crimes willing to work. We really need more Asian immigrants.

[@weirdshibainu]

@@gappergob6169 You cannot force someone to accept a job

[@duancoviero9759]

There is no such thing as "free market".

[@Ryanrobi]

​@@weirdshibainuHow does nursing not follow supply and demand dynamics? I think it follows them perfectly nursing is a very low productivity job This is why wages don't keep up with inflation by and large. In every industry where productivity is significantly increased you see significant increases in compensation. In nursing much of this compensation isn't benefits like health care that have exploded in cost over the last 50 years. To a company We do not care if we pay you $50 an hour with no benefits or we pay you $25 an hour with full benefits It cost us the same amount people now demand full benefits for any job so your hourly compensation cannot go up as much if you're getting compensated in other ways.

[@abctrucker8601]

I’m a truck driver. I’ve delivered to a number of different mines now. One of which was in brookville Alabama which is about 30 miles SW of Birmingham,”. It was an under ground coal mine. I asked one of the workers if it was a good paying job. He said it was one of the best jobs in the area for people without a degree. He said it started at approx 80k per year and pays more depending on one’s job title. It a union job. 80k is more than many people with degrees earn but I’m sure it’s dangerous and lots of hard work. I personally would have applied for that job if I had know about it before I got into truck driving. Some other jobs that also pay well that many people many not know about ( that don’t require a degree) are steel mill workers. Delivered to the Cleveland cliffs steel mill in Steelton PA , pay starts at 80k. Also the railroads pay works well, and offer company paid training for all sorts of skilled high paying careers like Conductors and electricians for rail signal equipment.

[@ZenuxProduction]

@mba2ceono he is correct I lived there - I have many friends who graduated and work there - all men around here go some form of labor intensive job or college

[@maxb306]

wow with the lack of mining engineering students graduating, its almost like they should train you on the job under other engineers for several years, what a concept

[@weirdshibainu]

You still need educated engineers.....what a concept

[@strpe9701]

@@weirdshibainuthe people who can afford higher education today wouldn’t step foot in a mine… what a concept

[@Darksh0t009]

@@weirdshibainuyes and no. Honestly you’re only going to use some college level math and the rest is going to come from certifications.

[@weirdshibainu]

@@strpe9701 Wrong. I know mining engineers and they make well past the 97k as stated. I also know attorneys that specialize in mining tax structures, including one that works on an international level, South America, the u.s. and Australia. These guys might as well have a money printing press.

[@weirdshibainu]

@@Darksh0t009 It's much more than math. College also helps develop critical thinking and communication skills. It also exposes students to the history of the industry as well as current and emerging trends and technologies

[@garyradley5694]

The same situation exists in Australia. The number of graduating mining engineers has halved in the last five years. At present the starting wage is about AU$120,000 ( US$80,000 ) rising to an average of AU$180,000 ( US$120,000 ) per year.

[@lueyR]

220k in Australia is pretty normal for an underground operator

[@Bansheee-p5o]

is it because of FIFO culture?

[@Suduris]

@@Bansheee-p5o Definitely plays a part, but also generally no kids here are going "I want to be a driller!" in high school. They're going into Business, Finance or Computers.

[@wellingtonsanissimo8703]

who wants black lung for 30 bucks an hour? Maybe pay 250 an hour and people will consider lining up to work at the mines.

[@notgrubu2179]

Or create a long recession and people will work for 10 an hour willingly

[@tylercolby6190]

Black lung is extremely rare in surface mining

[@NotThatGuy_YepThatGuy]

Im a Union guy in a pretty decent field in a major metropolitan area. My industry has been at a hiring deficit nationally for years. If you did the math on what my wage could be compared to what other tradesmen in my line of work earned 20 and 30 years ago, compared to the national average wage and increases for inflation, it stands to reason that I would be making nearly double what i do now. I think people are subconsciously realizing that the profit models for labor (wages), even in "good" jobs like mine, aren't lining up. Pair that with generally abandoning exposing young people to trades like mining, my own and a host of other vocations as worthwhile employment and you get a kind of apathy against old fashioned "hard work". It is not surpising.

[@LouisKatz]

Well said.

[@rudociliak6683]

Yea I worked at a plastic injection plant doing mold setup and the people who were just packing parts on the line that have been there since the plant opened (around 1970) with inflation adjusted back then were making more than what the electricians, milwrights , and tool shop were making right now.

[@NotThatGuy_YepThatGuy]

@@LouisKatz thanks.

[@NotThatGuy_YepThatGuy]

@rudociliak6683 that's terribly sad but very believable

[@person.X.]

Y I am a mine worker (in Australia) and my wage in real terms is only 75% of what it was ten years ago. And they complain about labour shortages! Some of those CEOs need to take a basic economics course in supply and demand.

[@bobbj9440]

I dont see why all these companies make finding new talent so difficult. Pay ppl alot and you will have a line of workers waiting to sign up. Real simple

[@rok1475]

All those CEOs having wet dreams about AI and robots replacing workers someday soon…

[@SwobyJ]

Is 'soon' still going to be decades? Because it still looks like it.

[@Matt-nq4du]

@@SwobyJ Robots and software have been replacing Haul Truck driver jobs around the world for the past 10 years (self-driving haul trucks). Dozers, Shovels and more next.

[@SwobyJ]

@@Matt-nq4du Yes, *replacing*. Not replaced. No one is saying the market of 2100 will be the same as 2024, but there's still a good argument to make that 2034 won't be so incredibly different than 2024.

[@PuntiS]

Oh nooo, it's the CEOs again, preaching from their comfortable chairs how you can't find new workers and how their field is desperate to get you to work on their amazing facilities. I sure hope the new generation sees the value in toiling and learning all this skillset to eventually be replaced by machines, or to earn a sliver of what they actually generate in revenue.

[@nomobobby]

This comment section is cheering me up a bit. Everyone knows the dirt againist mining and they can come back to us when they offer a starting wage for *Grown Ups* who understand they are trading their body for this check and won't sell it for less than the adverage office job.

[@Frithgar]

That aging workforce is also to blame, I know people who tried to get into mining 15-20 years ago and the biggest thing that pushed them away or made them change their mind was the existing workforce. The worst ones being the ones then in their late thirties and early forties, the ones looking to retire soon. They did everything they could to discourage new workers, horrible toxic environment that just pushed others away. It's was always looked at as acceptable behaviour, ignored by higher ups. Now it seems such toxicity is causing problems. That and the low wages.

[@Michael-we9vp]

Mining is very hard work! And the pay needs to be higher.

[@NotShowingOff]

Mining companies are still entities that want to make as much profit as possible and are willing to keep a labor shortage in the industry so they can employ people at a certain wage. They most likely aren’t going to risk giving up profits to fill up jobs. They will simply go slower

[@Worldaffairslover]

👵🏻👴🏻: these new generations don’t want to die anymore! Shame on them 😡

[@costcorotisseriechicken2520]

Gen Z are killing the silicosis treatment industry.

[@willism897]

Crappy pay, tons of respiratory issues aside from hazardous conditions, and the shady history of mining companies not paying out insurance benefits and incentive pays to their workers. Gee I wonder why people aren’t flocking in. The biggest DUH ever.

[@kineticstar]

Funny enough, Rio Tanto has very few engineering job postings for the US. For an industry leader who's looking for manpower they dont advertise like it.

[@jacobcastro8026]

150k working on social media at a firm. 53k for dangerous toxic work.

[@giantgizan]

$57,000 pay, thats why you're not hiring anyone...

[@ScottAtwood]

Minor point, but “rare earth” isn’t a generic description, but is a specific group of metals, mostly in the Lanthanide group. Lithium, cobalt, and copper are not rare earths, nor are they even particularly rare.

[@sweetgirly8492]

Because it’s very dangerous and heavily laborers and may not paying well and plus benefits aren’t great; so it’s not worth it to take the risk of the life

[@vatren765]

the executives are blaming for labor shortage but don't pay high enough for miners.

[@william8811z]

Why would you want to live your life in a mine when we're constantly shown glamorous lives

[@napoleonbonaparte1260]

Only fans models earning 8 digits is insane.

[@nomobobby]

@@napoleonbonaparte1260 Teachers not even making a tiny fraction of that is why US can't have nice things. Like why go to school and be a doctor, programmer or what ever when anything vaguely s3xy online makes multiples of your income for less hours every week?

[@KineDa96]

I’m seeing a shortage in almost every field and yet I’m not seeing salaries go up for any of them… and companies have the audacity to complain on how they can’t find anybody.

[@kenmore01]

I have been at that Kennecott mine many times, and any time I go there, I think how glad I am that I dont work there. Same for other mines. Its filthy, dangerous work. I understand it can actually pay well, I guess that depends on how valuable they think you are.

[@BillyBob-oi9kl]

But it doesn't really. They quoted 57k dollar jobs, and 97k jobs. You can get paid much more for easier work elsewhere, and you dont' have to live in the middle of nowhere. Also, look at what happened to all the coal miners.

[@Dominus_Potatus]

Imagine this, there are 2 job choices with similar wage. 1 in an office with AC, 1 in the field with heat and dust 1 in an office where you can return to your home, 1 in a field where you can only get home twice or thrice a year. 1 in an office with good internet, 1 in a field with almost no connectivity with outisde world. 1 in an office with almost no mortal risk, 1 in a field where you are surrounded with mortal risk. Then you asked why is no one wants to join the mining? The answer is most likely the wage is not justified especially when a lot of youngs are getting used to socialization since early year. Now this part is really subjective but to be in a mining especially on the field, most likely you are introvert.

[@Dominus_Potatus]

Plus, do not forget that Engineer is one of the hardest major available. It becomes worse with social media. You ask any kids about "What do you want to be in the future?" My best guess, majority of Top 10 answers are categorized in Influencers and Arts. Regarding few women in mining, you must know that men is socializing in men way. If you put a legal implication, men will choose to isolate the women because of legal issue. Then women will say that they are bullied since men are isolating them. It is not toxic masculinity, it is how men works. Man in 20s are acting like child, when they see a woman they cannot think straight. Man is not a communicative creature.

[@nicholasmorello6370]

Workers need to make more than double what they do now

[@r4raced4doom2]

Lets see here. Working mines: 1. Sucks 2. Pay is trash in relation to inflation 3. Corporations have no loyalty to employees who reciprocate the same 4. Mines are typically in crappy parts of the country that noone wants to move to. Solution: 1. Pay a wage that is so lucrative you have people beating down your door work for you.

[@lueyR]

They wont! If they could move the mine to mexico they would

[@tylercolby6190]

The pay is actually pretty good

[@laneromel5667]

Sounds like the US is not paying their mining staff enough.

[@heyRex]

The title should read: "Mining industry refuses to pay market wages and wants congress to allow them to hire foreign workers"

[@GeneralChangFromDanang]

This makes me think of another CNBC promo for the machining trades. Shops don't want to pay decent wages to machinists so they wanted to start having prisoners work for them for $12 an hour.

[@lordchickenhawk]

@@GeneralChangFromDanang Bugga me. I thought it was bad for fitters and turners in small shops out here in rural Australia. Our local machineshop was paying A$28/hour (US$18.39) for top flight tradesmen last I checked a year ago. That is "plus penalties" but not much overtime is available. For comparison, my housemate is a supermarket checkout operator on A$29 (US$19.04), also penalty rate. Oddly enough, I prefer to cut lawns and do odd jobs for A$30 an hour than work in my trade for that rate . I can just imagine the sort of laws that would get passed if our bosses could save A$10/hour by having prisoners do skilled work... suddenly holding trade papers would mean a life sentence, our current prison population are not so "job ready" The best money available around the region here is in labour hire, generally around A$55 to A$65 (About US$36 to US$42) an hour. But that's working away and "flat rate" with 10 to 12 hour shifts required (ie: compulsory "overtime") It's worth doing but only if accommodation is provided free. The worst thing about those sorts of jobs though are the huge numbers of hovering bureaucrats from HR and OH&S that now infest all heavy industry and mine sites. At least the small workshops are only life threateningly dangerous...

[@briane4975]

I have really been enjoying these CNBC reports on video. Just appreciating them.

[@Qwsgwx]

I’m a marketer and there is a reason why I am a marketer. The type of people who work these sorts of jobs are a special breed. May our blue collar force be restored.

[@LaddDentalGroup]

**Update: The US has run out of workers in every industry

[@heyRex]

-workers- slaves

[@shawncarroll5255]

So these large mining companies make $1.3 trillion dollars. I can remember when companies like IBM and Intel had very aggressive campaigns to fund both the educational programs and the students. Many nursing programs work with local hospitals in a similar way. One of the local high schools where I am has a jet engine, supplied by UPS, as an aviation magnet School. UPS has found recruiting local students early on hugely increases worker retention. I guarantee you that these companies could do the exact same thing. The CEO of Rio Tinti, Jakob Stausholm, received $5.2 million in compensation last year, an increase of 70%. There is a stockholder revolt right now going on over that. Maybe they need a new board of directors, and will redirect the excessive bonus money into programs that will give them the workers they need.

[@drmjmj1]

It’s not about lack of minors, it’s about lack of pay. Corporations need to understand people work pay. Make the pay work while, you solve the labor problem

[@jcmcmcjc11]

When I saw the average pay is 57K, i chuckled a bit. I make 57K at 31M. I work at a bank call center with only a high school diploma in Dallas, Tx. I WFH. The pay is crap. You would have to pay me 100K at least. The pay will never increase tho. CEOs and shareholders have made this clear. I pity the workers for working for peanuts.

[@Kyzzy10]

This is ridiculous. I am a mining engineer , I got laid off recently and I am actively seeking for a job. No one wants to hire, So I don’t understand what they mean by there is a job shortage.

[@MrHamsto24]

Curious, what field? I've found the exact opposite, but I'm not an engineer.

[@dheerajnagpal6288]

If I can earn 30k working as a minimum wager at McDonald's, and 45k easily with a little overtime, why would I work 10 times harder at a mine for 60k. After taxes, the difference is barely 5k a year.

[@tonybowen455]

Just several years ago biden was telling miners to learn to program. Now we need miners. In the next few years we'll be talking about how they need to learn to program again.

[@Skankhunt42-xl9fq]

No I disagree I think we should change the way we think about mining ⛏ I think we Americans 🇺🇸 should replace miners with robots and autonomous machines instead… using robots and autonomous machines will keep the humans safe while the robots and autonomous machines do all of the dangerous hard work.

[@alexn5743]

Modern mining engineers do in fact need to know how to code. Especially those designing new mines, it is ludicrously computationally intensive to define the orebody

[@CyborgZeta]

I hate to generalize, but I'm fairly certain most women aren't going to want to work a mining job.

[@weirdshibainu]

Completely true. While no one should be subjected to harassment or bullying, there are simply jobs that women prefer to not do...logging and commercial fishing are others as well.

[@ogChaaka]

It's not labor shortage. It's a wage shortage.

[@pan479]

I worked in Utah and make more for less work than the average miner. Don’t talk about making less profit because of worker shortages

[@justinkendollrozinek]

Reason: Average pay of 57k per year. Solution: pay a wage that kept up with inflation.

[@jordanrussell345]

This video could have been 30 seconds long when tbeg said $57k for machine workers.

[@joehodgson2815]

56,000 for a job in the middle of nowhere seems very low. If they paid that 50kon 6 months on, six months off, then they'd get young people who could travel or train with that cash. 50k full time, year round? - nobody's going to to take that!

[@aquatiqz4810]

There is no shortage of workers, only a shortage in pay

[@KUSHxKiNG]

Every one associates mining with gold mining and coal mining. That’s not how every mine works. There above ground mines and underground mines and they are very different from each other

[@marcanthony8873]

I just looked at the average salaries and if that’s true, it’s a little lower than they need to be given these jobs are mostly more dirty and more dangerous than tech industry jobs. and the Rio Tinto CEO outlined the other issue, we know tech is coming to change these jobs shortly but unfortunately we are in an awkward moment where we know the work is about to change…but it hasn’t happened yet.

[@robertn2951]

Considering the staggering number of homeless people or people living in poverty, this situation is absurd. Train the poor!

[@svenvaltik5657]

Mining towns are already full of poor people.

[@NPAMike]

People are homeless because they gave up.

[@svenvaltik5657]

@@NPAMike Not necessarily.

[@yaama9984]

They don’t get much into you need a certain personality to live in the area most mines are. I’ve been in mining for 30 years and haven’t heard many mention money as the issue. If you are professional it can be a rougher environment if you aren’t used to it. You are dealing with a lot of trades and regular mine workers and some can be very blunt compared to a regular office environment. As for location, one of the towns I was at in my late 20’s was 1,000 people and probably 3+ guys to every woman. Can’t count the number of divorces as wives moved on to another guy. I left as I was single and wanted to meet someone and it sure wasn’t happening there (or at least with what I was looking for). For lifestyle it was basically outdoor stuff, we didn’t have any leisure facilities other than high school gymnasium and a curling hall, I had to drive an hour to next town when I wanted to use the gym. A lot of people like a bigger city with more options on eating out and such. Some jobs are fly in/fly out due to remoteness. One place I was 14 days at camp, 14 days home, I did that for a year but my wife wasn’t keen on it so found something where it was a bit less away from home. I talked to one guy at one of our operations that was 7 days in camp, 7 days out, he said he couldn’t do many activities as you couldn’t commit to a say baseball team when you were away every 2nd week. Then you have the really remote places. I was working in Tanzania and we weren’t allowed to leave camp, which was in a really remote area, as locals had killed one of engineers who popped out for a beer as he had quit and wanted to have a drink with some of the locals he had worked with before he left. There are also booms and busts that can have an effect as a lot of minerals are market priced and if say copper world price drops significantly you can end up laid off. A trades guy can move on but say a mining engineer, where does he go if mines aren’t hiring due to low metal prices?

[@id10t98]

In a span of one generation, the USA has gone from a place where one person could support an entire family on one job to the point where one person can barely support themselves on one job, let alone a family and all the expenses associated with one. But Corporate Amerika and their C Suite cant figure out why people dont want to work hard or long hours.

[@Ddoglatin]

If these jobs don't pay more expect more shortage

[@enriquedelrivero7577]

Dosent seems like it's a secure long-term career. How do we know how much of these resources are still available.

[@tonyazzaro9593]

I know a lot of dudes that work at that mine, trust me, they make all right money(for Utah)but have absolutely no life.

[@Yannick3585]

Salary is so low lmao. 57000$😂😂

[@nicholasmorello6370]

That has to be a poverty wage

[@james-wx6jh]

Yeah 60k annually and a bonus neurological disease that ill spend 140k annually to treat

[@Lìven-good]

I worked last operating coal mine in Preston County WV 36/48in high 12hr day 6days week.And as a contract Miner all over WV MD Pa For over 12yrs.Laid off some 20times. After losing home .Me like many others went south to NC Same or better pay.Less dangerous..

[@DietterichLabs]

lithium cobalt and copper are not rare earth metals

[@tammyforbes2101]

Time to unionize then. Few years ago we lost the last union mine jobs in ky and it would be nice to have them back!

[@domesticatedwolverine4152]

Ah yes! Yet another worker shortage to add to the list of staffing shortages. First it was trucker shortage, then medical staff, then restaurant worker shortage, then hotel worker, construction, etc. these shortages will continue until ceo's take a paycut and raise worker base pay.

[@googleuser868]

Those CEO salaries get me to boycott companies. One of the rare reasons I might actually buy imported products. America is getting too many plutocrats.

[@TheMocutMiester]

Looks like big mining executives need to start sharing thier pie before they lose it.

[@gregorythompson4517]

They should create comprehensive online training programs that are affordable. That will cause people throughout the country to learn these skills and acclimate to the responsibilities where they can and then decide if they want to capitalize it and move to the site. Obviously increase pay. Reading the job description for some of these mining related jobs, I realize they have more responsibilities than other types of engineering yet are payed significantly less.

[@luisvilla799]

The real barrier would be the BS that these companies actually hire you

[@alexn5743]

Yup, mining engineering, and especially mineral processing, is deceptively more complex compared to what most folks expect our industry to entail. Especially since we've depleted the "easy" deposits.

[@DerpyPenguin4747]

I work 40 hour weeks making about 48k. The median salary was stated at 57k. But was that for 40 hours of work? Also factor in things like work commute hours. I don't live super far from my current job but I used to have a job that had an hour each way commute. And I worked even more hours (sometimes I was doing 60 hour weeks). The higher pay at the time didn't justify getting a lower paying job and having more flexibility. Now after a few years at my company I've seen raises that put me well over what my old job made me. A 9k increase in pay to me isn't worth the cost of relocating to the middle of nowhere.

[@Yotrek]

If mining companies were 100% worker owned and controlled there would be no shortage.

[@xerxes-.-8753]

you are free to establish a 100% worker owned mining company

[@umaikakudo]

I've worked in the 10th largest worker owned company in North America which is in a trades industry. Trust me, it's no silver bullet and attracts long timers that just do the minimum to cash out for retirement.

[@alexrivas426]

They should really use conveyer belts to take the ore from the bottom to the top and use the trucks in the most efficient way in conjunction with the conveyer belts.

[@adriandunne4382]

They do use conveyors in underground mines and open cut coal mines, but the volume mined is much greater.

[@fredyaguilar7716]

They don't pay enough

[@jessek.5899]

Everyone here has it completely wrong. This is not about the pay. I am about to graduate with my bachelors degree in geological engineering with an emphasis in mining. I have had 3 internships in mines from Montana, Colorado, and Vermont. All of this is because everyone wants to sit behind a computer all day and not get their hands dirty... Haul truck drivers are the exact same as semi drivers. They get paid $57,000 a year because they drive in circles all day in an air-conditioned cab.

[@camadams9149]

There is no miner shortage, only a shortage of companies willing to pay the market rate for labor that current supply/demand set Im sure if you paid 1 billion dollars a year, there would be plenty of applicants.... which indicates labor supply is elastic

[@inventor1214]

Entry level engineer (finishing college) from Utah here. My current employer (similar to mining) will hire me on for 72k next year. I'm moving to Missouri to make 50k as an Engineer I because housing in Utah is so expensive. If Kennecott wants to have workers, they need to pay at least 80-90k

[@alexn5743]

Doe Run?

[@inventor1214]

@@alexn5743 Nope! That's super close by though! Was thinking about applying there but I have one more year of college that I'll be finishing at Missouri S&T and their applications said that I needed to have my degree finished.

[@randeknight]

Along with all the other people talking about pay, what about scholarships? A lot more people are going to study mining engineering if they get a full ride and a guaranteed job at the end. Or do they want the taxpayer to fund that?

[@doujinflip]

They want the taxpayer to fund that. They want someone else (public education or private competitors) to pay for all the training so they can poach workers on the cheap, instead of hiring based on aptitude and personality then providing OJT like they used to.

[@GreenCurryiykyk]

$57,000/ year? There’s your problem. I suppose if it comes with 4 weeks of vacation, comprehensive health care, pension (and 401k for when the execs raid the pension) paternal leave, disability etc maybe ok. The US mining companies are headed for a lot of growth. If they want to keep unions at bay, they need to start paying now or suffer strikes and much greater wage expectations if they lose control of employee compensation.

[@Kingpingamer]

ez just pay them more

[@gdmofo]

The American work ethic is gone nobody wants to work anymore they refuse to do their jobs I even see retail stores opening up late past their business hours everybody wants a free ride