Coal Boss Don Blankenship Cast as Cavalier About Worker Safety in Lawsuits

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

As more details continue to surface about the checkered safety record of the Massey Energy coal mine where 25 workers perished Monday, the lavish lifestyle and allegedly cavalier attitude of the company's controversial chief executive, as described in lawsuits and corporate documents, are now coming under intensifying scrutiny.

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 … they want every ounce out of the men that they can get."

The public record describing Blankenship's bottom-line approach is long, much of it laid out in a series of investor lawsuits filed against Blankenship and his company, and in SEC documents submitted by a Wall Street investment house that made a failed bid to take control of Massey Energy four years ago. In these records, Blankenship was repeatedly criticized for both his approach to safety, and for what one investor called his "extravagant" package of pay and perks.

In just one year – 2005 -- Blankenship was paid $33.7 million in compensation, according to a 2008 lawsuit. He flies to resorts on a company-owned Challenger 601 luxury jet. And he lives in a house owned by Massey Energy that by contract becomes his property if he leaves.

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The safety complaints were also the subject of increasing unease from investors, who worried Blankenship's management style was putting the future of Massey Energy at risk. In June 2007, two board members resigned from Massey's board of directors. Daniel S. Loeb and Todd Q. Swanson submitted a resignation letter saying they were stepping down in part because of Blankenship's "poor risk management" and the company's "confrontational handling" of regulatory matters.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/mine-owner-don-blankenship-cast-cavalier-worker-safety/story?id=10314692

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What a POS! I hope the Justice Department are investigating this POS to see if any charges can be filed. Or this bastard needs to dealt some coal field justice.

Not surprising there's a mutual f*'ing incestuous relationship between & Repuke judges & lawmakers. Thanks Reagan and Bushes and all you other Repukes for destroying unions. :sarcasm:

[OnlinePoker]

1. If he knowingly ignored safety violations...

...then I would think they could nail him on involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide charges. I'd really like to see this ass on a perp walk.

[doc03]

5. He could shoot a coal miner dead in his office and

not get nailed in WV. All miners would come to his defence afraid they would lose their jobs and he owns most of the politicians.

[DirtyDawg]

2. Somebody please convince...

...the SOB that it would be great theater if he did an 'Undercover Boss' - or whatever it's called - in order to show that he's a genuinely caring - not that he cares if he's seen as caring - benevolent, boss. Then make sure that the miners know what he's up to and what he looks like. That'll pretty much bring an end to the prick. Somehow I doubt if he'll ever be heard from again.

[gratuitous]

3. It would be a real short episode, that's for sure

But I'd wade through all the commercial filler for the satisfying denouement as all the miners come out of the ground, and nobody can seem to rememeber where "Don, the new guy" is.

[happygoluckytoyou]

4. IN A RELATED STORY blankenshit refuses to go into mine..."do i look like an f'in canary?"

[Brickbat]

6. Miners, organize! This is the asshole you're dealing with!

[RamboLiberal]

7. He bought the ones he needed off with trips to Dollywood & new vehicles

From OP article:

Shnayerson said that loyalty has been rewarding for some, who have worked long careers with the firm, but not for others. When Blankenship first took control of the mine, he spent more than a year trying to woo the miners to abandon their allegiance to the labor union that had represented them.

"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 them 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.

[HillWilliam]

8. And that's exactly how it works

Pricks like that buy off a few who will step on a few more to keep everyone quiet and "in their place". Pretty soon, everyone is so job-scared that the mob-boss has total control.

Perp-walk? No, I'm with the poster up-thread. I'd rather see him play undercover boss and lose his way underground. At least then, if there's a hell, he won't have quite as far to go, the sorry sumbitch.

[Tutonic]

9. Is this the same Don Blankenship that succeeded in getting

Coal Industry insiders appointed to the "watchdog" agency during the Bush era? Hell is too good of a place for George W. Bush.

[abqmufc]

10. In the words of Uncle Tupelo (originally by Sarah Ogan Gunning).....

"they take our very lifeblood
they take our children's lives
take fathers away from children
take husbands away from wives
coalminers, won't you organize
wherever you may be
and make this a land of freedom
for workers, like you and me

I am a coalminer
and I'm sure I wish you well
LET'S SINK THIS CAPITALIST SYSTEM
TO THE DARKEST PITS OF HELL"

Come All You Coal Miners (Sarah Ogan Gunning)

Sarah Garland Gunning (later Sarah Ogan Gunning) was the tenth of 11 children in a Kentucky mining family, at a time when miners were paid less than a dollar and a half for a ten-hour day and worked in appalling conditions. Her father, Jim Garland, was blacklisted as he represented the miners in their fight for better wages, forcing him to use aliases in order go work in the mines. In 1931, a group of Northerners called the Dreiser Committee came to Kentucky to investigate atrocities committed against the miners, and brought their plight to national attention.

Sarah Garland and her sister, Molly (later known as Aunt Molly Jackson) wrote and sang songs in support of the struggle at labor rallies. They were taken to New York by members of the Dreiser Committee to help raise money for the miners' cause. Sarah, who was suffering from brown lung disease met folk singers like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, who went on to record her songs. After successful treatment for tuberculosis treatment she retired from performing, but returned in the '60s to perform at several major folk festivals. Her half brother, Jim Garland, wrote I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister, which I have already uploaded to YouTube.

This song, written in 1937, is typical of her work. It has been recorded by Uncle Tupelo, who sings it from the perspective of a coal miner, rather than a coal miner's wife as in the original version, and also by Mike Seeger.
http://raymondfolk.wetpaint.com/page/Coal+Mining+Songs

[Turbineguy]

11. It's the free market.

If you die, it's because you are slower than the market.

[aquart]

12. "Cavalier" is too debonair. How about "indifferent"?

How about "actively against"?

[derby378]

13. If you look up "villain" in the dictionary, you'll find Don's picture

Either his or George W. Bush's. Either way.