This week’s disaster at Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 25 miners, with four still unaccounted for, means 45 coal miners have died at Massey operations since 2000.

Mine Workers President ([1] UMWA) Cecil Roberts says the “grim statistics that are associated with Massey and the mines under its control,” cannot be ignored.

Every year, like clockwork, at least one person has been killed since 2000 on the property of Massey or one of its subsidiaries….No other coal operator even comes close to that fatality rate during that time frame. That demands a serious and immediate investigation by [Mine Safety and Health Administration] MSHA and by Congress.

 

The safety violations at the nonunion mine—more than 450 last year and just last month another 57, including two on the day of the explosion—have been well-chronicled since the deadly blast. Click [2] here, [3] here and [4] here.

But just today, the [5] Charleston Gazette revealed the MSHA inspectors issued 60 orders last year and so far this year to close part or all of the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.

Tony Oppegard, a former MSHA staffer and longtime mine safety lawyer in Kentucky, told the Gazette:

That’s way off the charts. I’ve never heard of that amount of withdrawal orders in that short of a period of time.

Under federal law, MSHA cannot shut down an entire mine without a court injunction, but the withdrawal orders allow MSHA to force mine owners to remove workers from an area until the specific hazard is removed.

The latest information on the Massey mine’s abysmal safety record comes from a document MSHA prepared last week for Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.). But it does not specify the exact violations or when and if they were corrected. President Obama today tasked federal mine safety officials to report next week on their initial assessment of the cause of the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in more than a quarter century and what actions could prevent future tragedies.

Meanwhile, Massey CEO Donald Blankenship—with a long history of anti-union actions to go along with the coal conglomerate’s safety record—is coming under long-needed media spotlight. According to an [6] ABC News profile:

One miner who worked in Massey mines most of his 25-year career said working for CEO Don Blankenship was “like living under a hammer. It’s all about the bottom line, we all know that.” The miner, who would only agree to speak with an ABC News reporter if his name was not used, said Blankenship believes in “stretching the men to the limit and they want every ounce out of the men that they can get.”

While Massey operates 44 underground and surface mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, Blankenship has particularly close connections to the Upper Big Branch Mine. This from ABC, in an interview with author Michael Shnayerson, whose 2008 book, Coal River, looks at Blankenship and the Massey empire:

“Don was and is a complete micromanager. He knew everything that was going on at Upper Big Branch. A lot of the fault of the explosion would have to be laid at his feet.”

Shnayerson described how Blankenship had a special red phone installed at Upper Big Branch so he could reach managers whenever he needed to. “It was like the line to the Kremlin, only it went to Don.”

He also describes Blankenship’s yearlong battle to bust the union after Massey took control of the mine.

“Don made it his own personal campaign. He began flying in every week in his helicopter. He gave pep talks. He took a whole bunch of [Upper Big Branch miners and their families] on trips to Dollywood, where they went to concerts. He went with them and bonded with them. New cars started turning up in their driveways,” Shnayerson said.

But as soon as the union was gone, Shnayerson said Blankenship shifted gears. Work hours increased from eight hours to 12 hours. Bonuses were cut. If they got injured, their jobs were at risk.

In a post on [3] Daily Kos, the National Nurses United (NNU), writing under the byline National Nurse Movement, points out there is a “major part of the story that is missing from most of the media coverage.”

An examination of a series of mine disasters in recent years would find a common thread—accidents happen far more often in non-union mines.

Those nonunion mines include Sago, where 12 died; Crandall Canyon, where 9 miners and rescue workers were killed; Darby, that claimed two lives; and now Massey’s Upper Big Branch, where 25 coal miners are dead.

The column cites Dr. Charles McCollester, an industrial and labor relations professor, who commented after the 2006 Sago disaster.

A union presence at the Sago mine might well have prevented the disaster….Critically, workers in a union mine are not afraid to speak. In a non-union operation, asking questions or challenging company mining practices or safety procedures can lead to termination. The company’s fear of knowledgeable, independent inspectors was illustrated in their attempt to bar the entry of UMWA at Sago.

It is not just coal mines where union representation can make the difference between life and death, writes the National Nurse Movement.

It goes beyond worker safety, to also mean safer conditions for the public.

Nurses have long known that union representation empowers them to advocate for safer patient care conditions and improved workplace standards for themselves.

For those who accommodate or acquiesce to the anti-union rhetoric so pervasive in corporate America, the halls of Congress and state legislatures, and all too often the public airwaves, there is a price. It is more dangerous workplaces, whether a mine or a hospital, and a greater threat to worker and public safety.

There are many efforts under way to assist the families of those killed at Upper Big Branch. Click [7] here for more information, courtesy of Huffington Post, on how you can help.