On April 1, 2016, Frank Thompson lost his job as a mechanic at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle mine. He was one of almost 500 coal miners laid off that day by Peabody and its competitor, Arch Coal. At the time, Thompson, who is a single dad, was most concerned about what being laid off would mean for his son.
“He’s seven years old, so he kind of sees it as some time to hang out,” he told Inside Energy’s Stephanie Joyce. “But I don’t think he really realizes that this could be us moving away from here.”
Three months later, Thompson still isn’t sure what the future holds, but he’s trying to stay in Wyoming. We caught up with him at a park in his hometown of Douglas.
Click the orange arrow to hear Frank Thompson, in his own words.
What’s next?
- Listen to the story we reported in April about the mass layoffs at Wyoming’s coal mines.
- Check out all of our recent coal coverage in the series Coal Watch 2016.
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