There is value in walking in another person’s shoes. And while U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh wasn’t exactly suiting up for a day’s work in the Ohio County underground coal mine he visited recently, one would hope he learned a little more about the people whose livelihood are in jeopardy if the wrong decisions are made during the transition and diversification of our energy portfolio and economy.

Walsh was invited to tour the American Consolidated Natural Resources’ Golden Ridge Portal Mine near Wheeling by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. After the visit, Walsh said the Biden administration would not be an enemy of the coal industry.

“I felt it was really important for me to go down and get a feel for what mine workers do,” Walsh told a reporter. “I have a different understanding and appreciation of the work.”

Understanding and appreciation are fine, but will they translate into a little common sense and compassion as policies are developed?

Manchin used the event to discuss with Walsh the impact of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and his desire to ensure the Mountain State’s coal communities would not be left behind (again) as Washington, D.C. plows forward with new policies.

“I have always said the transition to a cleaner energy future must come from innovation, not elimination, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate will do just that,” Manchin said.

But Walsh chose his words carefully.

“The president has goals of carbon neutrality and alternative energy sources,” he said. “Certainly these conversations need to happen. We do have an industry people are working in. They’re concerned about the future of their industry as well.”

Those working in coal jobs are concerned for the future of their industry in a way the bureaucrats and politicians making decisions in D.C. will never feel. But give Walsh credit for taking the trip underground, and learning a thing or two. Now, let us hope he does carry that understanding with him long enough to pass it along to those in the Biden administration who truly need it.