Massey Miner: ‘I Felt Like I Was Working for the Gestapo’

[kpete]

Source: Washington Independent

Massey Miner: ‘I Felt Like I Was Working for the Gestapo’
Workers, Families Tell Congress of Massey Safety Violations


Stanley "Goose" Stewart, right, testifies alongside relatives of victims of the Upper Big Branch explosion before the House Education and Labor Committee in Beckley, W.Va., on Monday. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/ZUMApress.com)


A coal miner working at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine when it exploded last month, killing 29 colleagues, described the operation this week as “a ticking time bomb,” where the management valued production over safety and workers didn’t protest for fear of being fired.

“The ventilation system they had didn’t work,” said Stanley “Goose” Stewart, a 15-year veteran of the UBB mine who was 300 feet underground when the blast occurred. “With no air moving it gave me the feeling that area was a ticking time bomb.”

There was plenty of warning that the conditions in the UBB mine were dangerous, Stewart told House lawmakers. The mine had experienced “at least two fireballs” prior to the April 5 blast, he said, suggesting not only that the vent systems were faulty, but that there were also problems with the mine’s methane sensors.

.....................

“I felt like I was working for the Gestapo at times,” he said. “We did some things right, but were forced to do some things wrong.”

Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/85650/massey-miner-i-felt-like-i-was-working-for-the-gestapo

[stray cat]

1. Given how people love to claim someone is like Hitler

or we live in a police state - a person stating this doesn't mean much to me anymore.

[Posteritatis]

5. When your boss would prefer you die than complain about safety measures it's at least a little apt

Still an exaggeration, but not quite as far off into hyperbole-land as most such claims get these days.

[roguevalley]

9. given that people were coerced into working in hell, they have the

right to claim hitler as a metaphor. given that massey has the compassion of a nazi, I am on the miner's side.

being told you will be fired if you complain and working in a region with zero employment opportunities, that is coercion.

[ProudDad]

19. You'll just wait till they come for you, eh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came

[Brickbat]

2. I find it really sad that these kinds of interviews come out after the tragedy, not before.

And frankly, it rubs me the wrong way.

[Kolesar]

6. This is before the next tragedy

"technically"

[Blue_Tires]

12. +1

especially when the usual tried-and-true rhetoric comes out of the mining community whenever serious reform or legislation is discussed

see: The town hall meetings in '09 over the strip mining ban

[Abacus]

17. They often do come before, but without much audience.

It seems to take a calamity for people to listen.

[Hubert Flottz]

3. Without the UMWA the miners may as well be working for the

Huns.

[shanti]

4. all for the almighty dollar

disgusting! :mad:

[Kingofalldems]

7. K and R for the truth

[JDPriestly]

8. What is OSHA doing these days?

[vanbean]

10. Mines are covered by MSHA, OSHA covers manufacturing and construction.

MSHA is much stricter than OSHA, and can levy much harsher fines. They can also prosecute salaried personel if they are responsible for safety violations or if they hide facts of information concerning violations.

[JDPriestly]

15. Thanks. I used to deal with OSHA regs in my work, didn't know about

MSHA.

[senseandsensibility]

11. Kick for the miners

eom

[Omaha Steve]

13. When the company gets tough...

ORGANIZE a union!

K&R!

[I Have A Dream]

14. K & R. nt

[unkachuck]

16. K&R...."I felt like I was working for the Gestapo at times"....n/t

[Petrushka]

18. K & R --- Thanks for the link!

:kick: