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This post from Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers and by Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America, is well worth reading in its entirety:
But in the midst of the Great Recession caused by Wall Street recklessness, America has repeatedly delayed renewal of unemployment benefits and now is terminating federal health insurance support for the furloughed middle class.
Middle class workers are the ones who die in coal mines and on oil rigs.
Afterwards, CEOs say anything to save the bottom line - the one that will determine their bonuses.
Discussing the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, Massey CEO Don Blankenship told stock analysts in a conference call late in April:
"Some of the implications have been that we don't focus on safety or we put dollars in front of safety and nothing could be further from the truth."
Though the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued 1,342 safety violation notices to Upper Big Branch over the past five years, Blankenship explained that's just life in the coal business:
"Violations are unfortunately a normal part of the mining process."
Despite the fact Blankenship claims safety violations are a "normal part of the mining process" he is now trying to shift blame on to federal regulators.
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