Mining in a Perfect World

In a perfect world, employers would sufficiently value their workers that they would do everything they can to ensure their safety.

My friends, we know all too well that this is not a perfect world.

If you reside on planet Earth, chances are you've seen some of the exhaustive news coverage of the August 6 Crandall Canyon mine disaster in Utah and the tragic rescue effort that followed. That means you have also seen a great deal of the mine owner, who despite repeated assertions that "this isn't about Bob Murray," talked in great detail about his personal history, how he got into the business, how this was his first major accident, how he was the first one in the mine when his rescuers were killed and injured, etc. In fact, during his first major press conference after the initial mine collapse, he went on like this for 20 minutes before his first mention of the six trapped miners.

You also may have gathered that Bob is none too fond of the United Mine Workers of America, nor of me personally. Over the last month, he has blamed us, other mine experts, the news media and phantom earthquakes for the conditions in his mine -- everyone but himself. At a time when the focus should have been solely on the rescue operation, he seemed more intent on diverting attention away from his own safety record and the flawed mining plan that he submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) approved that led to this disaster.

Make no mistake -- this was no act of God. This was an act of men, and these men must be held accountable for their actions. The Crandall Canyon disaster began on June 3, 2007, not August 6, because June 3 is the date Murray Energy submitted to MSHA a plan to engage in retreat mining at the Crandall Canyon Mine.

Likewise, MSHA's best chance for saving the miners was on June 15, not August 6 or any date after that. But when MSHA approved the Crandall Canyon mining plan on June 15, that chance was lost. MSHA had approved a plan to allow a coal company to remove the last remaining supports that were holding up an entire mountain -- a mountain with a history of "bumps" and collapses.

Bob Murray is right about one thing: This isn't about him. It's about the more universal practice, old as the history of mining, of putting production and profits ahead of people. And while mine operators have usually been the culprits, in recent years they've been ably assisted by MSHA. That agency's leadership under the Bush administration rejected important safety reforms proposed during the Clinton administration and ignored the agency's sole reason for existence -- to enforce the law and do everything in its power to protect the health and safety of miners. They abandoned that mandate and shifted the agency's focus to regulatory "compliance assistance."

Now MSHA will begin its investigation of the disaster -- without, by the way, any representatives of the families who lost their loved ones being part of that investigation. The only two parties who will be involved in the investigation are the company and MSHA. And they will be investigating...that's right, the company and MSHA. This situation does not inspire much confidence that the results of that investigation will fully explore all the facts and assign proper responsibility for this tragedy.

That is why I have written to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, calling on Congress to appoint an independent, bipartisan committee of coal mine safety experts to investigate the Crandall Canyon disaster. I do not believe the American public and our nation's coal miners will be well-served by another instance of MSHA investigating itself.

And that's why the so-called "independent" review team put together by DOL Secretary Elaine Chao does not inspire confidence that its findings will be much more than window dressing. By appointing retired career MSHA people to investigate MSHA, it doesn't seem all that different from the specter of MSHA investigating MSHA.

Even though the UMWA does not represent the miners at Crandall Canyon, we do represent the interests of every coal miner, union and non-union alike, especially when it comes to health and safety. We are their only voice, and have been for 117 years. That's why UMWA members were among the first to respond to the Crandall Canyon disaster, and that's why we're so forceful in speaking out in Congress and where ever we can about improving safety in America's mines.

Comments

[HillbillyReport]

Cecil Roberts speaking in Frankfort, Kentucky:
http://www.hillbillyreport.com/blog/2006/09/kentucky_aflcio.html
Mine worker widows speaking in Frankfort, Kentucky:
http://www.hillbillyreport.com/blog/2007/02/february_21_200.html

[kingcityguru]

Shut all the CO2 pollution spewing coal fired electrical generators and switch to CO2 and pollution-free nuclear generation electricity. If France can get 80% of their electricity from nuclear energey, why can't the U.S?

[dpuleio]

I had the privilege to hear Cecil Roberts speak about the Sago Tragedy at Workers' Memorial Day 2006 in Pittsburgh. As my brother, Gary Puleio, http://garypuleio.blogspot.com was killed at Meadville Redi-Mix Concrete , I am painfully familiar with a system that puts profits and greed before workers’ lives. He had been employed there as a cement truck driver and fell 25 feet to his death, from a cement tower, while shoveling gravel off the hopper to clean it. OSHA accepted Redi-Mix’s claim that Gary just “wandered up there on his own” rather than being assigned this task, and after admitting no wrong doing, the company paid a $6000 fine for REPEAT violations . This company had multiple serious violations issued only months before Gary was killed which were informally settled with reduced fines.
Corporations routinely “negotiate” with OSHA to downgrade fines through a process called “abatement” Aggrieved families of dead workers have no such access to OSHA.
In the past 20 years, 170,000 workplace fatalities occurred but only about 1700 were considered by OSHA to be due to the “willful” violation of safety laws. Without a “willful” designation it is difficult for prosecutors to make a case that an employer was criminally liable and civil suits pursued by families are not likely to succeed. The percentage of cases being downgraded from “willful” to less serious violations has been rising steadily. In 2001, the year my brother was killed, 60 percent of all cases were downgraded. Of the mere 1700 “willful’ cases out of 170,000 fatalities in the past 20 years, only 196 were referred to prosecutors. In these 20 years there were only 81 convictions and only 16 carried jail sentences.
It is a MISDEMEANOR to kill a worker by willfully violating safety laws. The maximum sentence is 6 months in jail.
. Issuing trivial fines and citations results in no accountability nor any acknowledgement of responsibility on the part of the offending company.
Donna Puleio Spadaro, MD
Workers' Memorial Day Committee
Allegheny County Labor Council AFL-CIO

[suekush]

This is an extremely old story. I'm writing a book on the 1943 Smith coal mine disaster that killed nearly an entire shift (74 men, plus one resuer later) in a tiny Montana town. The mine was unionized and even the infamous Tony Boyle, who was district prez at the time, fought to get safety laws with teeth. The mine owners swayed the politicians to their side (no real laws) every time. Federal inspectors had found hundreds of safety violations in the mine three months before the disaster, but the owners chose to take a beach vacation rather than make the mine safe. Even after the disaster, when all kinds of new laws finally went on the books, there was still the issue of enforcement, which remains a problem today. I'm writing this book for two reasons: as a cautionary tale, and to honor all the families who lost everything: husbands, fathers, best friends, homes, livlihood, community - because most of those left behind had to move and rebuild their lives. The book won't be out for a year or two (University of Nebraska Press - excuse the plug, but I just want the story to get out there, and, believe me, I'm losing money on this project). I hope 75 families don't lose their loves and lives before then, but I'm somewhat pessimistic.
Sue Resnick

[illinoisminer]

Cecil, Wow! This is a great comment thread, I've truly enjoyed the comments that come from people that have never been inside and underground coalmine. Make no mistake people, I have been wretching since 1998 when Bob Murray took Galatia Mine over. I know personally what kind of weasel Bob Murray is. Make no mistake, he is a weasel. Politicians in his pocket? Oh yes, bought and paid for by the money he scabbed from his own employees. You can be sure very little of it comes from his own pockets. His little rants about himself and how he came up in the coal industry are well rehearsed and he spouts that bull every time he can get himself a captive audience. I have personally been a captive to his 2 hour rants about you Cecil. He loves you! LOL, not. His favortie UMWA rant is the secret plot to assasinate him. Good luck with that, I'm surprised an employee hasn't tried yet.

Okay, as far as the robot comment... tour and underground coalmine and then explain to me how you think a robot can do my job.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Robots can be replaced or rebuilt if there's a cave-in...

[PAFirefighter]

By who - more robots?

Maybe you'd like a bunch of robots to do MY job, too.

PA Firefighter

[avahome]

I wached the panel on c-span today....sure was an eye opener. Mentioning HufPo's piece on the official that Murray threatened....but also that Stickler needs to find out why in the hell the mine was not inspected quarterly per law. Why somewhere in my mind do I equate Murray and Cheney being buds!

Is there always an excuse other than management negligence for miners deaths... seismic...­lightening strike..etc.

[bronceye]

As a disabled miner (34 yrs. active), I feel that I may have some significant input into this mine safety discussion. I have worked at dozens of mines and can say with clarity and conviction that I have never worked in a safe mine unless it was UNION. They give us what they call "Miner's Rights". That is, we can refuse to do anything we feel unsafe. We can also draw unemployment if we exercise those rights. People hate to do it because to camoflauge the repercussion, they will normally lay off a dozen or so and it isn't apparent payback. People who work "pulling pillars" have always been suspect to me. I would never have done it and I could not recount the number of cave-ins that I have helped catch up. MSHA (like every gov't. agency) is only there to levy fines, fees and count corpses. I told them that over 20 yrs. ago in Rosslyn and they were part of an American administration, then.It's much worse with the money mongerer's of this realm. There was another miner killed in N.Nevada a couple of weeks ago and I bet even Harry Reid doesn't know about it. There's a young white girl missing in Provo, you know that. Screw all you hayshakers. If you doubt Murray's concern, just remember that Orrin Hatch stood in for him one day (he's been to space). That stand in, alone, speaks volumns and explains why Murray didn't have to testify before congress. Wretch now.

[UncleDave]

I've been wretching for 6 plus years. And it'll continue til I'm dead.

[rovezaleeker]

One of the most beautiful, awe inspiring states in the United States (Utah) has been treated as a whore and basically shit on by every Republican administration for over a hundred years and yet the people of the state keep voting the bastards into office.

Storing nerve gas at Toelle, clear cutting the forests, strip mining coal, uranium, copper and drilling for oil in the National Parks and wilderness areas. The downwinders and on and on and on. Keep voting for the bastards.

We still joke around our house when somebody lets a good one rip that it smells as bad as the Geneva Steel Mill in Provo. Ahh... fond memories of Utah.

[PAFirefighter]

When one acts like a whore, one should expect to be treated like a whore. Utah votes for the Republicans every election - every single election without fail - because the Mormon church tells them to vote that way. Since the sheep vote the same way every time, why shouldn't Utah be treated like the whores that they are?

Edwards/Obama '08

PA Firefighter
"Cogito, ergo Liberal!"

[retiredUMWA]

When the miners were killed at Sago, the UMWA was allowed to represent the families. The company there did not treat the union reps. with any respect, however they were allowed to inspect the mine and go with MSHA and company to investigate the accident. Now MSHA will not allow them the same courtesy as they did at Sago. I have to wonder if MSHA or Bob Murray had the final say. These families deserve to have some closure. Perhaps the six will never be recovered, but at least let the families know someone cared enough to try and find out what went wong. I think Murray knows what he was doing caused this accident and if the UMWA is allowed to go in he wont be able to hide it. If MSHA and Murray are allowed to be the sole investigators, it surely will be deemed an act of god. I am sick of Murray saying he takes the workers to bed with with him every night. Hopefully he wont ever have another good nights sleep. All he has ever cared about is profit.

[UncleDave]

Pond scum like Murray,The Thugs in The WH,and all corporate robber barons sleep very well,thank you. You and I are inferior and therefore just ants to be used to make gobs of money. It's that simple. As the Kings of old,they are ordained to use US as they wish.

[puddytat]

Unfortunately, the media was once again complicit in this. They never followed up following Sago or the many other mine disasters that have occurred within the last several years.
They fell for the Murray and Stickler Show day after day without any mention of their past records or question of what they were told. They bought the "earthquake" excuse until it was contradicted by every seismologist in the country. They continued to broadcast every lame excuse that Murray offered without contradiction.
They bought it until it became slowly and painfully obvious to everyone how much baloney these guys were shovelling out. Why have they forgotten that it's the JOB of the media to always do research and ask the tough questions?
I wonder how any of these people can look at themselves in a mirror or sleep at night.

[eplatypusunum]

Follow the money, puddytat. Media are all owned by huge business now. (Big Business doesn't quite capture the scope of today's multi-national corporations.) MSM has NO interest in seeking the truth let alone informing US of it. They're corporate shills now, no different than the old tobacco industry lawyers.
They are Pravda, propaganda­-purveyors for their masters is all they are, except their masters are corporations rather than the Politburo...

[joekonn]

Anyone who goes down into a mine without a union is an idiot.

Dear old Reagan, in breaking the air traffic controllers union, did a great disservice to Americans. May he have Altzheimer's for eternity.

While it is legitimate to critique unions and union leadership, union leaders are no more corrupt than politicians or businessmen, it is down right ignorant to dismiss the essential adversarial role they play.

Working without union representation is like defending yourself in court.

[maddogbitesback]

Whether he had Alzheimer'sor not didn't matter. It was a philosophy that Smerica embraced. Everybody is blaming Murray. Blame yourselves. Act now so the miners won't have to go down with or without a union. Think of the diamonds everybody spends a fortune on. Then read how they are hauled out of the earth. You will never buy another diamond.

[minervoice]

Maddog:

You don't get it. Many, if not most, of the miners WANT to go down and mine coal. Those are by far the best jobs in the coalfields. Neither you nor I am at fault for them getting injured and killed -- crazy, anti-union operators like Murray and do-nothing safety agencies like MSHA are. Get real, MDBB.

[yellowdogSC]

joe,

You mean everyone "with children to feed and no education" is an idiot?

[hootie1fan]

Talk about the fox guarding the chicken coup and then blaming the chickens who get slaughtered.

[Ani]

Bob Murray carries on his face the haunted look of the damned. The family members of the six buried miners, plus the three brave would-be rescuers who died in their efforts, will spend the rest of their lives trying to forgive this man. I wish them well in that quest.

That said, I believe EVERY mine should have union representation - if nothing more than to be certain that greedy men like Mr. Murray can't line their pockets with disastrous mining practices. Our unions are being systematically dismantled by Big Money corporations, and it's killing our middle class. The nine souls lost in that mine are evidence of what happens when unions are kept out and greed is brought in.