Posted on 01/06/2006 8:02:48 AM PST by Jaxter
Ex-miner recalls Sago: 'It was a hellhole'
By Robin Acton
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 6, 2006
SAGO, W.Va. - When you work in West Virginia's nonunion coal mines, one of the first things you learn is to keep your mouth shut.
You don't talk about the knee-deep water or the mud or rocks falling onto your helmet. You sure don't complain about old equipment, or tell people that you're worried about safety.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
No need to read further. I know from that where this article is going.
"You don't talk about the knee-deep water or the mud or rocks falling onto your helmet. You sure don't complain about old equipment, or tell people that you're worried about safety."
Nor do you DARE reveal that you've been forced at gunpoint(probably by Bush) to do this job.
/sarc
I watched an interview yesterday with another miner who said he had absolutely no worries working in that mine. Said the company was very good at working to keep it safe.
And the assumption (I didn't read the article) is that union mines are nearly indistinguishable from Club Med?
True. Unfortunately, most people won't hear on the news that just 2 months ago, this mine was owned by a unionized company...when most of the safety violations were cited. Anker Coal recently sold the mine to International Coal.
Ping!
I heard some nutjob official on the radio claiming that it was Bush's fault.
That was a mixed bag of reporting - various opinions, I thought it was interesting.
As for the UMWA - like all unions, didn't they have an eventual negative impact on the very jobs/industry they were trying to protect/help?
Nobody forced them to go to work in the mines. Maybe if they had prepared themselves a little better with skills other than digging in a mine, they would not be in such situations.
Reeks of the logical fallacy of false accent. ("The captain was sober today.") Life in a non-union mine might well be a hellhole, but then again, life in a union mine might be just as bad.
For those who want to know the truth, here's the relevant parts of the Mine Health and Safety Act (CFR 30).
Keep in mind...they hadn't even pulled all the bodies out of the mine before this sh*t was hitting the airwaves!
A commentator said that it was Bush's fault the other night on Hannity and Colmes. Sean called him on his agenda and Alan, predictably, stated that he saw no agenda. My Dem husband, a good patriot, keeps saying that Colmes is going to turn him into a Republican yet!
Actually if you read the entire article there's more miners that don't bad mouth the company than this one jerk. I was a miner in Ohio in the 70's and 80's and coal mines were riddled with communists. The Sago mine never had a fatal accident. That to me says a lot. There is no coal mine in this country, union or not, that you couldn't walk into and find a hundred violations.
We saw that. From what I've heard, since the ICG took over ownership of this mine, they were beginning to improve safety.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is not your typical knee-jerk liberal paper.
I have found it to lean conservatively on a number of issues.
While it is true that no one forces these guys to work in a coal mine, it's often the only job in town.
Truth be told, if this mine did have as serious safety issues as is claimed, it is something that should have been rectified.
No job is 100% safe from the possibility of injury or death but all reasonable measures should be taken to ensure employee safety. In this case, it sounds like that did not happen.
When you work in West Virginia's nonunion coal mines
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There are little or no union coal mines left because the unions have bankrupted all the companies, along with the steel companies, airlines and now out auto industry.
http://www.neoperspectives.com/unions.htm
I don't agree with you. We need mining. This is a way of life among generations of patriotic Americans who want to do it. We have a responsibility to provide safe conditions. Having said that, the US has done a wonderful job securing safer conditions in mines. And there's probably always more that can be done. It should be. This company sounds like it's getting a hack job by the media.
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