“It’s an important
day for many, many families in the central Appalachian coal fields. For the
first time in my memory, the CEO of a major coal producer is being held
criminally accountable for the atrocious conduct that occurred on his watch.”
Just when it seems
that it’s all about money. Just when it
appears that the almighty dollar is more important than people, their health
and safety, even their lives.
Indeed, the dollar
was all-important to Don Blankenship and his company that ran the Upper Big
Branch, the coal mine in West Virginia where an explosion more than four year
ago killed 29 miners. As Bruce Stanley,
a lawyer who has battled Blankenship in court for years on behalf of the
dead miners’ families, indicates in his statement, this became evident to
federal officials who indicted him earlier this month on charges that he
covered up deadly safety violations.
According to the
indictment, Blankenship, who headed the Massey Energy Company for years and
retired shortly after the accident, committed and caused hundreds of safety
violations “in order to produce more coal, avoid the cost of following safety
laws and make more money.” He concocted
an elaborate warning system of coded messages to alert mine foremen of
impending safety inspections and, after the disaster, lied to the Securities
and Exchange Commission and others about mine safety practices.
In one memo
referred to in the indictment, Blankenship ordered a manager to “run some
coal,” adding, “We’ll worry about ventilation or other issues at an appropriate
time. Now is not the time.“
When was the
“appropriate time” to “worry about” safety? When he got caught not doing
so?
Blankenship sent
two hand-written notes to a manager accusing him of “insufficient attention to
cost-cutting.”
“You have a kid to
feed. Do your job,” one note said. When the manager failed to raise production
as high as Blankenship demanded, Blankenship sent him another note saying, “I
could Khruschev you. Do you understand?“
It’s about time
someone like this gets “Khruscheved.” For too long, being slapped with
violation fines has just been another cost of business. For too long, these companies, like Massey in
West Virginia, have dominated politics and beaten back attempts at tougher safety
and environmental regulations. If he is
convicted on all charges, he’ll face 31 years in prison. In a 2013 blog post,
Blankenship, a powerful political force in the state and a reliable Republican
campaign donor, wrote, “If they put me behind bars…it will be political.”
Maybe this won’t be
the only shake-down for the almighty dollar.
As also reported recently in the Los Angeles Times, sweatshop conditions
have been documented by officials in the garment district in L.A. There are
scenes right out of Dickens, down to shaky elevators with flickering lights, as
well as workers getting pennies for pieces, well below minimum wage.
