Coal mining industry anti-union policies, mining safety, and environmental health practices are being more closely scrutinized. The major explosion that killed 29 workers this past April 5th in the Massey Coal Mine in Western Virginia, USA had not been unionized. Despite the non-union policies of the mine, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) sent a skilled rescue team to the scene to offer assistance if needed reports Labor Radio.org, 2010, “Everyone in the coalfield are brothers and sisters at times like these.”
Violates several statutes
Bobby Kennedy Jr., former prosecutor has debated Massey CEO recently and has been speaking out against coal industry violations for many years. On an April 17, 2010 Ring of Fire Radio podcast, Kennedy claims “the Massey Upper Big Branch Coal Mine had over 3000 violations since 1995. But that’s just one statute, the Mine, Safety &Health Act. By Massey CEO’s own admissions, there have been over 70,000 documented violations of the Clean Water Act between 2000 and 2006.”
Kennedy continues, “We know that between 2008 and 2009 the EPA gave [Massey] a record penalty of 20 million dollars and said, ‘that should handle it.’ Within just the last 12 months, [Massey] has been charged with an additional 12,500 violations of just one statute. Considering violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act and all of the other violations of the National Labor Resource Board, this is a company is a chronic law breaker.”
Anti-Union Policies
Don Blankenship succeeded in union busting with the support of the Massey family states Kennedy: Today’s company is about 1.8 percent unionized, reports Peter Galuszka (April 6, 2010), Massey’s Dark Side, in the weekly Richmond newspaper, Style.
In a Labor Radio.org interview of Ellen Smith editor Mine Safety and Health News says “The union miners are much more brave, they’re much more likely to exercise their rights to complain about safety issues, they’re much more willing to shut things down when things aren’t working. They don’t have the fear about being fired. They have the union behind them.”
“Here is the reason why violations occur more so in a non-union mine,” furthers Kennedy. “In a non-union mine, the workers are hired and they are told ‘you have got to produce let’s say 7,000 tons of coal per day per shift. For every worker on that shift, - if you can produce your 7000 tons in six hours, then you can go home to your family. But if it takes you twenty-six hours, by God you stay here until you’ve got that quota met.’”
The conclusion is the following states Kennedy, “The worker in the mine is now under pressure to produce that quota and he is going to take short cuts. If there is a methane gas alert system buzzer that continues to go off, he is going to disable it, and if he is doing long wall mining and there is a support structure that he ought to put in but it will probably hold if he doesn’t, then he is going to probably ignore it so that he can get home and leave that for the guy on the next shift.”
Pass The Fair Elections Now Act
Kennedy addresses Ring of Fire Radio moderator David Bender’s question regarding what do we do to fix this. “It’s a distraction to make this about Blankenship, this is that entire industry in that state. It has subverted democracy, it has corrupted the public officials. They have broken the unions.” Bender retorts, “If it is not about Blankenship, what is it about?”
Kennedy resolves "What needs to happen is the same solution to every other environmental problem in this country, which is campaign financing reform. We need to re-construct democracy in America.” The coal industry has given over a billion dollars to politicians.” Money contributions to politicians has influenced outcomes of court cases, and regulators and other officials not responding as they should.
Bender agrees, "Senators Durbin, Specter, and Congressmen Larson, and Jones are to introduce bills to reform financing of congressional elections could come to a vote in the House this June. This would cut to the heart to change this system and has a chance of passing the House of Representatives.” See this legislation here: The Fair Elections Now Act
References:
Galuszka, Peter (April 6, 2010). Massey’s Dark Side, Richmond Weekly Newspaper, Style.
Kennedy, R. F. Jr. and Mike Papantonio with David Bender Ring of Fire Radio.com podcast April 14, 2010.
Karen Hansen - Biography Karen is currently an Earth and Environmental Sciences instructor at a private college. In the past she has worked on ...
