PERSONAL: “The system’s broken”: West Virginia lumber worker not impressed by Harris or Trump

Record ID: 1846217

  • Title: PERSONAL: “The system’s broken”: West Virginia lumber worker not impressed by Harris or Trump
  • Date: 2nd October 2024
  • Summary: MARLINTON, WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 30, 2024) (REUTERS) DRONE AERIAL OF JIM C. HAMER LUMBER COMPANY’S DRY KILN LUMBER OPERATION (MUTE) VARIOUS OF MANAGER DAMIAN ELLIOTT WALKING ALONG STACKS OF LUMBER (SOUNDBITE)(English) DAMIAN ELLIOTT, MANAGER AT JIM C. HAMER LUMBER, SAYING: “Now our industry is going to be Trump 100%, I mean, there’s no doubt about it. I’m
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2024 22:11
  • Keywords: 2024 presidential election appalachian donald trump hamer kamala harris lumber lumber industry marlinton port strike timber west virginia
  • Location: MARLINTON, WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: MARLINTON, WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001847001102024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Damian Elliott started working at his current West Virginia lumber operation just three days after graduating college with a forestry degree – 29 years ago.
    Elliott is the manager of the dry kiln lumber operation of Jim C. Hamer Lumber in Marlinton, West Virginia, a small Appalachian town with a population of about 1,000 people.
    As the industry struggles with high operational costs, layoffs, closings, increased overseas production and unpredictable weather, the 50-year-old Elliott expressed dissatisfaction with both 2024 presidential candidates while saying many lumber workers support Republican candidate Donald Trump.
    “I don’t like either one of them…I think the system is broken,” Elliott said. “They're out of touch with what goes on. When's the last time they bought groceries? You know what I'm saying? So as an industry, I'm sure that it is largely pro-Trump.”
    Elliott said there’s a belief Trump might economically benefit companies like his, which he said are importing more goods from overseas than exporting lumber out, one of his key concerns.
    Amid the dockworkers strike impacting ports from Maine to Texas, Elliott expressed uncertainty.
    “If they close for two or three days or a week, yeah, it's very inconvenient, but it's something you can get around,” Elliott said. “They close for two months…it's just going to be a mess if something like that happens.”
    The company Elliott works for, Jim C. Hamer Lumber, has operations throughout West Virginia and Kentucky. At the dry kiln lumber operation in Marlinton, wood is heated and dried in kilns to remove moisture and minimize defects in the lumber. The most common types of wood they work with are red and white oak, poplar as well as hard and soft maple, all types of wood commonly found in the Appalachian mountains.
    West Virginia is the second-leading U.S. state for hardwood in the country. The state’s wood industry generates $3.2 billion a year and supports more than 30,000 jobs in West Virginia, according to the state government.
    (Production: Evan Garcia)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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