Acting Against Their Own Interests: Appalachian Coal Miners

In Monday's New York Times, an excellent opinion piece lays out the "civil war" in Appalachia over coal and specifically mountaintop removal.

The guts of the issue is here:

Appalachia is engaged in a civil war of sorts over coal, with miners and their families pitted against environmental activists. The central issue is mountaintop removal, a radical form of strip mining that has left over 2,000 miles of streams buried and over 500 mountains destroyed. According to several recent studies, people living near surface mining sites have a 50 percent greater risk of fatal cancer and a 42 percent greater risk of birth defects than the general population.

Despite the evidence, the coal industry and its allies in Washington have persuaded the majority of their constituents to ignore such environmental consequences, recasting mountaintop removal as an economic boon for the region, a powerful job creator in a time of national employment distress.

Of course, since mountaintop removal is heavily mechanized, the coal industry is the real job killer -- and, until recently, miners would have been suspicious of any claim to the contrary. For decades the companies had fought the miners' efforts to unionize, resulting in violent strikes.

What we have is a bunch of economically vulnerable people who are buying into the company line because they have been convinced that they have no choice. The article goes on to detail how those who dissent against that company line have faced death threats and actual violence: arson, vandalism, and worse.

One activist, Maria Gunnoe, saw "Wanted" posters with her picture put up all over her hometown. Last month, when she testified before Congress and presented a photograph of a five year old girl bathing in dirty, brown water, she found herself facing child pornography accusations from Republicans. That's how the corporations and their allies deal with dissent.

The coal industry essentially has its employees between a rock and a hard place. They tell their employees that they are operating on behalf of the employees' interests, that they want to protect their jobs. In reality, they want to protect their bottom line, and they will do whatever they can, even if it means breaking the law and endangering the miners, to make their money.

For example, although it didn't specifically involve mountaintop removal, we all should remember the explosion that killed 29 of the 31 miners working at the Upper Big Branch mining site where it occurred on April 5, 2010.

Here's a reminder about how much that company, Massey Energy, cared about the safety of its workers, from the Washington Post:

The West Virginia mine where at least 25 workers died Monday in an explosion was written up more than 50 times last month for safety violations. Twelve of the citations involved problems with ventilating the mine and preventing a buildup of deadly methane.

I wish I had some easy answers about how to convince miners that the coal companies aren't their best friends. Increasing union membership would certainly help, for starters. For anyone reading this, the first step is to get informed.

 

 

 

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Comments

[ChristLibModGaWoman]

03:05 AM on 08/12/2012

Thank you for pointing out ONE of the other sides of this issue. I feel bad for the protestors and families who are facing this but their anger is in the wrong direction. I actually read a comment on one article that said "Unions got better working enironments not politicians". Union's exist because of our federal government. And if the Unions were fighting against the employers alone they would not get half of what they want. Unions are lobbyists. They can be found in every state and federal district lobbying the government for help with safety issues, work enviornment etc. How many years have they gone unheard? And the very President that finally set some regulations to ensure the safety of miners is now under attack because someone at the top of the corporate ladder knows how easy it will be to defer the blame. It's sad that so many people are uninformed. And it's usually the ones that are being affected that fall for the propaganda.

[Ian Reifowitz]

05:39 PM on 07/12/2012

You've made some strong points here, and I think you're right. Titles are a tricky thing. Thanks for commenting.

[Kevin Lord]

12:51 AM on 07/12/2012

I believe that to be a misleading headline and your article seems way too brief to convey your point properly. Appalachia needs help in the way of green and/or sustainable industries and investment immediately. They have been hung out to dry by Coal companies and our government and the Coal companies should pay to re-Green and heal the region. I don't see the Dirty @$#!&@'s doing that any time soon, or the Dirty politicians who support the devastation of their own regions getting kicked out of office, so how can America help her citizens out? Help find some investment for the people in self sustaining jobs and industries.

Wake up and stand up for Appalachia before the MTR Machines of destruction show up at your favorite mountain. (~);?)~

[ChristLibModGaWoman]

03:14 AM on 08/12/2012

The Obama administration has already placed over $14 million dollars into different research centers around the nation looking for new technology that will decrease the toxic side effects of coal mining and change the carbon into gases that can be used for energy. The state governments have reserves that have been funded by the federal government as well to increase the welfare and assistance programs for this specific event. The Governor of Ky. stated in a press release that they have known for years that this was inevitable. I know it's a sad thing to have to depend on but since it is election time all the better for the people of Appalachia. Hopefully this will bring about some much needed attention to the people who live and work their and the need for alternate work in those areas.