First, I would like to make a couple things clear. My family put in close to a century of service with a little company called Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) in Pennsylvania. The name is testament to truth in advertising in business, as the company has primarily made safety equipment for workers since its creation. My father worked for the company for over thirty years, and because of his wretched English skills, I ended up knowing quite a bit about his work because he would often ask me to proof read his reports. Otherwise, I was fully aware of the questionable practices of the Massey Energy Company when it comes to safety for its workers because of my father – even my mother knew about them, and she quit working at MSA in 1971.
That does not make me an expert on safety in mines, or the Massey Energy Company, but it definitely has a profound effect on my attitudes about the situation and the company. My husband, a WVU graduate, asked me jokingly whether or not I thought that this administration would actually “do” anything about the situation of coal companies failing miserably at maintaining reasonably safe work environments for their workers. He knew my answer was no. Obama asked for a report by the end of next week, and in all honesty, I don’t expect that he will spend more than a few minutes reading through it, and probably will not revisit the situation once the full investigation into the cave-in is released.
As it is, the language surrounding the incident is laughable. There are not “alleged” problems with methane release in the Massey mines – you have moderate to severe problems with your ventilation plans in your entire mine system if you end up with methane explosions anywhere near mine workers in this day and age. There is no excuse for it, because the technology has been there for years to prevent this sort of event. It is not an accident either, because it is the direct result of Massey Energy Company considering the generally low Federal fines for failing to maintain any degree of safety in their operations a necessary business expense. It is cheaper to pay the fines than it is to fix the problems, and the corporation considers their workers completely expendable. Human life is meaningless to them, and fines do nothing to stop their poor management practices.
And I know there are conservatives out there that would attempt to say that I am wrong to suggest that the Federal government needs to revisit this situation, and consider much more severe penalties for companies like Massey. Protecting the corporate pursuit of the almighty dollar does not include protecting corporations that blatantly flaunt disdain for implementing meaningful and effective safety protocols and procedures for their workers. It is unethical to run a business with utter disregard for the value of workers’ lives, and equally unethical to fail to at least point out that such practices are deserving of severe penalties from the government and society.
Perhaps the Obama Administration will manage to actually do something. It’s doubtful, and sadly, would probably be met with objections from politicians in the GOP. Call it another of the reasons why I am often ambivalent about stating my party affiliation in mixed company. The hypocrisy that a bundle of cells rates higher for protection than actual human beings with many people within the GOP is particularly ugly. We need to stop blindly supporting big business, and stand up against grossly inappropriate business practices like we have seen from Massey Energy Company. Enough is enough.
Tags: Barack Obama, Coal mining, Massey Corporation, West Virgina
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