[DainBramage]

The union is not the answer. These men were most likely

making more per hour there because they were not unionized.

[Hildy]

These men were most likely making more per hour there because they were not unionized.

Well, that's nice. They'll be able to have really nice funerals.

[HamiltonJay]

making more per hour there because they were not unionized.

All the good it did em 6' under. I am no union sympathizer, but if you are breathing and ever dealth with the government agencies responsible for safety enforcement, you know damned well there aren't enough of em to enforce the rules.

Mines and other heavy industry are definately a place where the Union still has a purpose and a need. Yes they have gotten the safety laws on the books, but enforcement of them and a complaint path for issues through the Union definately is better than to some understaffed agency beaurocrats.

[ottersnot]

I've worked in drift mines before. To be honest I was a surveyor not a miner, and I'm not an expert. THe mines were in Ohio. The company seemed to be fairly safe, but small cave-ins were a matter of business.

I did notice behaviour by companies that led me to believe that regular inspections (in Ohio remember) were a sham.

This is what I typically observed during an inspection. THe inspectors show up at the site and were escorted into the office for coffee. Meanwhile, those inside the mine would hustle to hang the appropriate curtains that are intended to improve air flow and vent dangerous gases from the mine. The curtains can be a pain in the arse though and were often left open (until the inspectors arrived).

The inspectors are then (eventually) taken into the mine where they are look around for awhile, maybe a half hour or so?, I didn't keep close track but it seemed quick.

It just smacked of a sham to me. To be honest I don't know if it is, but it appeared that way when I saw the foreman hurridley instructing the miners to hang the curtains appropriately. I have the greatest respect for the miners. They were good, hard working individuals working in a very dangerous, unhealthy environment. IMHO they deserve whatever they can force management to pay. I think the lowest paid workers were making about 12 dollars an hour in 1987 when I worked there. Seemed fair to me, or probably a little low.

I probably blame the state to some degree, but the blame also rests on the company. They should know what is safe and what is not (once again, just my opinion from my brief experience of about a year).

God bless them all.