ANONYMOUS SOURCE: Miners concerned about safety where collapse occurred; complaints meant job loss

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: Source: Miners concerned about safety where collapse occurred


A truck delivers fencing Friday to be used in the effort to find six men trapped in a Utah coal mine.

HUNTINGTON, Utah (CNN) -- Some of the miners at Utah's Crandall Canyon mine -- including one of the men trapped by Monday's cave-in -- apparently were concerned about working in the area of the collapse, a source told CNN. The source, who requested anonymity, said the six trapped miners were working in an area called 7 Belt -- the deepest part of the mine. The floors in that part of the mine had been "heaving," or buckling up, from intense pressure in recent weeks, said the source, who has intimate knowledge of the conditions in the mine. Supervisors at the mine knew of the problem, he said.

Several miners --reportedly including Manuel Sanchez, who is among the trapped men -- were becoming apprehensive, the source said. A member of Sanchez's family told a Utah newspaper that he had expressed concern about safety in one part of the mine. The mine's operator said he was not aware of the safety concerns.

"I've never heard that," Bob Murray, president and CEO of Murray Energy, told CNN's Ted Rowlands when asked why someone would have been worried about that section of the mine. "I have no idea. It's probably a rumor, and I'm not going to respond to rumors."...

Asked why they did not complain about their safety concerns, several miners said complaining means the loss of a job. Murray denied that. "If you're getting that from the community, then those miners must work for another mining company. I don't operate that way," he said. Not so, said Paul Riddle, who used to work in one of Murray's mines. "Always profits before safety, that's my opinion, my feeling, my experience," he said.

Miners who work for Murray are sometimes forced to push the envelope when it comes to safety, he said, and are afraid to speak up for fear of being fired. "I'm not the only one," he said. "There are many, many people that feel this way and are afraid to speak up."...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/10/mine.utah/index.html

[AlCzervik]

1. i try not to hate but....i hate Murray so much.

[Hissyspit]

14. The fact that he's an evil, lying, self-serving motherfucker might have something to do with it.

He took advantage of the loosening up of mine safety rules under the Bush administration, attacked Pelosi when he testified, and now his mine collapsed.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

2. Didn't see this coming

:sarcasm:



:banghead:

[Subdivisions]

3. What a fucked up world. sheesh. n/t

[malaise]

10. This has been coming from day one

The first thing Murray tried to do was pass on the blame. First it was the bogus earthquake; then if they were dead it was his god's will.

It has nothing to do with his shoddy work conditions. How can it - he's a Rethug contributor, a Cheney insider, a real Hatchet man. :puke:

[givemebackmycountry]

4. I see this coming....

Bob Murray is a right wing asshole, and he's gonna get served up BIG time on CNN or MSNBC.
He's been talking shit for most of this week, and it's going to bite him in the ass.
His sweater wearing ass, is going to get skewered if these guys turn up dead.
Sadly, I think that's just what's going to happen.

Bob Murray.
WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!

And a asshole to boot.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I said it before and I'll say it again: Issue an arrest warrant for Murray the Coal Guy

Republican fat cat motherfucker that he is.

A member of Cheney's energy task force. Thats' all the credentials one needs to go the Motherfucker Hall of Fame.

[hootinholler]

15. The Motherfucker Hall of Fame...

Where's that at?

Made me laugh anyway.

-Hoot

[Robson]

6. As the elitist CNBC neo-capitalist pundits say......

....the only obligation of a corporate CEO is to himself, and maybe to the shareholders. Screw the employees, the community, and the country.

[LiberalAndProud]

7. Non-union labor. 2+2=4.

"Always profits before safety, that's my opinion, my feeling, my experience,"

[Botany]

He lives in Pepper Pike OH

One of the richest areas going and has operations out west so he
does not have to work w/ U.M.W. miners. Bottom feeding liar who
is trying to cover his ass.

Sadly it looks real bad for the miners 5 days and they only had 1/2 gallon
of water each. I really hope I am wrong.

[Trillo]

8. Wow, those penalties are something.

quite an incentive! /sarcasm

[Stargazer99]

9. When is it going to dawn on the masses?LEGALIZED MURDER

all for profit! Why is it so damn hard for Joe Six Pac to put it together?

[AnnieBW]

11. Mine owners are the scum of the Earth

Or, maybe below the Earth. There's a guy who literally OWNS all of southern WVA whose specialty is mountaintop removal. He's truly scum. One of his mines has the catch pond positioned above an elementary school. When people in the community protested, here's what happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv4Yz2PEsJ0

Thanks to my Tech Writing instructor, Ross Ballard, for this tidbit of information.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. A taser, a coffin, a pre-dug grave, a bulldozer, a mine owner...

What...huh? Oh, I forgot what I was talking about.

[valerief]

13. OUr New World Order. Thanks PNAC people for fear, suffering, and prolefeed. nt

[tbyg52]

16. complaining means the loss of a job - yep

Same reason many of us cannot protest many things.

"They" have got us by the economic short ones. That's why unions are so important (among many reasons).