WV mine is non-union

[RandySF]

I don't know if what I am watching is a re-run form earlier, but Larry King was just talking to an attorney who is an expert in mine safety. The attorney said that the mine in which so many died tonight was non-union and therefore there was no safety committee to protect workers. I hope so many folks in WV and KY who don't like joining those pesky unions hear this.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

1. not just non-union, but run by the most anti-union evil SOB ever

Here's some background on Massey CEO Don Blankenship
http://www.wvablue.com/diary/4920/corporate-america-declares-war-on-labor-day

Incidentally, he's trying to buy a congressional seat in WV this fall - and his hand-picked candidate has Palin's backing

[EFerrari]

2. It's much more likely that those pesky mine owners break anyone who tries to organize.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

6. it's exactly like that - In fact, it's how the current CEO got the job

by busting unions in the 1980s and winning the hearts of the company

local filmmakers caught the whole thing back then:
http://appalshop.org/film/minewar/stream.html

[EFerrari]

8. I was just about to post thanking you for the information.

:hi:

[Withywindle]

3. Sadly, I'm not surprised.

The UMW used to be one of the most progressive and militant unions in the US. That was a long time ago, though. Most of the original fighters have passed away by now, and their grandchildren have been recruited to work for hourly wages....'cause there ain't much of anything else in WV.

They've been brainwashed to think that even a short-term minimum wage job is better than nothing.

(Newsflash: there was a very good reason WV was so sparsely populated until the late-19th/early-20th century. It's because so little of the land is arable.)

[Petrushka]

4. 25 dead --- rescue operations suspended

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/06/west.virginia.mine.explosion/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

[Skittles]

10. .

:cry:

[Hannah Bell]

5. Reportedly Massey's policy is to run the most profitable, easiest to cream

operations itself & hire contractors to run the more difficult operations - ensuring even worse conditions.

Both = non-union, something they're notorious for.

[malaise]

13. 498 safety violations last year

over 100 this year already with over 50 last month. Who enforces these regulations?

[Petrushka]

7. WAS non-union ???? IS non-union! (eom)

[Skittles]

9. it's not just "non-union" - that company is a union buster

[Withywindle]

11. Yup.

They've always found basic OSHA employee safety standards Oh TOO ONERNOUS. *hand to forehead*


If your company isn't willing to look out for the well-being of your employees, than your company deserves to die. But we're in the neo-Gilded Age, so workers are expendable.

[theHandpuppet]

14. Thank you

People who blame the miners are just plain ignorant. Do a little research on Massey Energy and Blankenship, their CEO, the get back to us.

[Sherman A1]

12. Not surprising at all

and sad for the families affected by this.

[PVnRT]

15. They also have a history of safety violations, according to federal officials

That was the blurb I caught on the local news this morning in Lexington.