Massey under fire
With the nation's attention focused on the unfolding oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, activists are taking steps to ensure another recent fossil fuel tragedy is not forgotten.
As many as 5,000 members of the United Mine Workers of America are expected to take part in a march and rally today outside Massey Energy's annual shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Richmond, Va.
They want to draw attention to the company's troubled safety record -- including the deaths of 29 miners last month at the company's non-unionized Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. In all, 52 workers have been killed at Massey facilities over the past decade.
The union members are also demanding that Massey CEO Don Blankenship be held accountable and that the three board members up for re-election be ousted. UMWA President Cecil Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Kane will present their case to the board as holders of shareholder proxies.
The AFL-CIO will cover the protest at its AFL-CIO Now blog and via Twitter using the hashtag #firemassey.
Last week, the UMWA along with relatives of the Massey mine disaster's victims filed a legal challenge against the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's refusal to publicly release interviews with witnesses to the disaster.
In addition, the pro-labor group American Rights at Work is collecting signatures on a petition calling on the Massey board to fire Blankenship for ignoring safety regulations and intimidating workers, among other things.
"There are consequences for playing fast and loose with workers' lives," the petition states.
Among the consequences Massey is already facing is a 38% decline in the price of its stock since the deadly April blast. Analysts blame the drop on the Department of Justice's investigation of Performance Coal Co. -- the Massey subsidiary that owns Upper Big Branch -- for willful criminal activity. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the company for possible bribery of state and federal inspectors.
Two years ago, Massey paid the largest civil penalty ever for water pollution violations at its coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky following an investigation by the DOJ and Environmental Protection Agency.
Meanwhile, two environmental activists associated with the group Climate Ground Zero were arrested yesterday while blockading the driveway to Massey's regional headquarters in Boone County, W.Va. The protest took place under a banner that said, "Massey, Profits Before People & Mountains, Fight Back!"
In an open letter to Massey shareholders, protesters EmmaKate Martin and Benjamin Bryant cited the company's workplace safety record, as well as its involvement in mountaintop removal mining and risky coal sludge storage practices, for their action.
"Massey must be stopped -- that is why we are putting our bodies on the line today," they wrote.
Charged with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, obstructing an officer and littering, Martin and Bryant have had their bail set at a staggering $100,000 each by a Boone County magistrate.
Climate Ground Zero's legal team is reportedly looking into the legality of the unusually high bail, with some activists charging that it's being used as a punitive tactic and to intimidate others from engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience.
As many as 5,000 members of the United Mine Workers of America are expected to take part in a march and rally today outside Massey Energy's annual shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Richmond, Va.
They want to draw attention to the company's troubled safety record -- including the deaths of 29 miners last month at the company's non-unionized Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. In all, 52 workers have been killed at Massey facilities over the past decade.
The union members are also demanding that Massey CEO Don Blankenship be held accountable and that the three board members up for re-election be ousted. UMWA President Cecil Roberts and Secretary-Treasurer Daniel Kane will present their case to the board as holders of shareholder proxies.
The AFL-CIO will cover the protest at its AFL-CIO Now blog and via Twitter using the hashtag #firemassey.
Last week, the UMWA along with relatives of the Massey mine disaster's victims filed a legal challenge against the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's refusal to publicly release interviews with witnesses to the disaster.
In addition, the pro-labor group American Rights at Work is collecting signatures on a petition calling on the Massey board to fire Blankenship for ignoring safety regulations and intimidating workers, among other things.
"There are consequences for playing fast and loose with workers' lives," the petition states.
Among the consequences Massey is already facing is a 38% decline in the price of its stock since the deadly April blast. Analysts blame the drop on the Department of Justice's investigation of Performance Coal Co. -- the Massey subsidiary that owns Upper Big Branch -- for willful criminal activity. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the company for possible bribery of state and federal inspectors.
Two years ago, Massey paid the largest civil penalty ever for water pollution violations at its coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky following an investigation by the DOJ and Environmental Protection Agency.
Meanwhile, two environmental activists associated with the group Climate Ground Zero were arrested yesterday while blockading the driveway to Massey's regional headquarters in Boone County, W.Va. The protest took place under a banner that said, "Massey, Profits Before People & Mountains, Fight Back!"
In an open letter to Massey shareholders, protesters EmmaKate Martin and Benjamin Bryant cited the company's workplace safety record, as well as its involvement in mountaintop removal mining and risky coal sludge storage practices, for their action.
"Massey must be stopped -- that is why we are putting our bodies on the line today," they wrote.
Charged with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, obstructing an officer and littering, Martin and Bryant have had their bail set at a staggering $100,000 each by a Boone County magistrate.
Climate Ground Zero's legal team is reportedly looking into the legality of the unusually high bail, with some activists charging that it's being used as a punitive tactic and to intimidate others from engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience.
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Sue Sturgis
Sue is the editorial director of Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies.