Laura Harbert Allen, Author at 100 Days in Appalachia

Author: Laura Harbert Allen

Dani Miller holds a sign during a rally to support unionization efforts outside West Penn hospital on August 3, 2021. Dani’s mother Sam, left, is a second-generation healthcare worker at West Penn. Photo: David Smith/100 Days in Appalachia

A Complicated Resistance

In Pittsburgh, Union Membership is Changing, Forcing the Unions of Our Past to Learn to Serve Workers’ Needs Today

by Laura Harbert Allen on September 9, 2021 Comments are Disabled

Some days, West Penn Hospital nurse Kayla Rath barely has time to eat. “If you could take a lunch break by three or four o’clock and just scarf down your food, then that was a good day,” she said. Rath, a postpartum nurse at the Pittsburgh hospital, said the past […]

Robert Mitchell has taught in the Pittsburgh public school system for 26 years, but COVID has drastically changed what his school day looks like. Instead of being in the classroom with his students, Mitchell has created a digital workspace in his home where he teaches his middle school students Spanish. Photo: Justin Hayhurst/100 Days in Appalachia

In the Union Strongholds of Central Appalachia, Labor Struggles for Health Benefits Echo in Teacher Vaccination Efforts

by Laura Harbert Allen on March 23, 2021 Comments are Disabled

Robert Mitchell gets up while it’s still dark. Since the pandemic began last March, Mitchell, who has taught in the Pittsburgh city school system for 26 years, rises early to make sure his digital classroom is set up for the day. Between lesson planning – which includes some off-screen Spanish […]

2020 Election

As Trump Campaigns for Re-election, One Issue is Noticeably Missing: Coal

by Laura Harbert Allen on October 8, 2020 Comments are Disabled

You don’t have to go far to find evidence of support for Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency in southern West Virginia. “Trump 2020” signs dot yards and interstate exit ramps, hang from front porches and are posted on the sides of barns and sheds. In late August, a boat […]

After Coal and COVID-19, Appalachia Needs More Than a One-time Check. Universal Basic Income Could Be Next.

by Laura Harbert Allen on August 4, 2020 Comments are Disabled

Last year, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Matt Murphy started his first salaried job, scheduling and placing on-air ads for a state-wide commercial broadcasting company based in Charleston, West Virginia. Before landing full-time employment, Murphy worked as a substitute teacher, bartender and part-time radio announcer. But the transition to regular full-time […]