Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) blamed corporate greed and “the 1 percent” for the explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia on April 5, 2010.



“Instead of being held accountable for decisions that caused 29 deaths, Massey Energy executives got a massive $195 million payout when they sold off their company, according to the United Mine Workers report,” Miller said in a speech Wednesday on the House floor.



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“Even though Don Blankenship was forced to resign following the Upper Big Branch tragedy, he pocketed $86 million in a golden parachute when 29 of the miners under his jurisdiction and responsibility were killed,” he continued. “If you wonder why people are talking about the 1 percent and the 99 percent. The 99 percent in the mine had their lives put in danger every day. They went to work for Massey. And every day they questioned it, they were threatened with their job loss.”





Miller cited a repot from the United Mine Workers of America that said Massey’s failure to eliminate explosive coal dust turned what Miller said was an otherwise manageable fire into a catastrophic explosion.



“This float coal dust played the most significant role in the disaster at [the mine]. It permitted the explosion to gain force and travel a great distance, causing vast destruction,” the UMWA report read.



Miller said the mine was cited for 645 violations in the 15 months prior to the explosion and faced $1.2 million in potential fines, but chose to appeal the fines rather than address the issues.



He also said company management only responded to 65 of the 560 requests miners made about the accumulation of explosive coal dust in the month prior to the explosion.



“It is clear that Massey Energy management actively disregarded their workers’ health and safety,” he continued. “Unfortunately, the knowing violation of a mandatory health and safety standard is only a misdemeanor, no matter how many miners are killed."

"This kind of conduct needs to be made a felony, but efforts to increase sanctions have been stifled by the mining industry’s lobby. ... What about the families of the breadwinners of the 99 percent? They lost their husband, they lost their father, and they lost their brother,” Miller said.

Miller said the company’s behavior was a factor in fomenting the social unrest between the middle and upper classes that led to the Occupy Wall Street protests.



“But the 1 percent, the 1 percent walked away with $195 million for overseeing one of the most dangerous mining operations in the history of the country,” he said. “Now we understand the disparity, why people are occupying Wall Street, while people are occupying home towns all over the country.”



“But we also know these miners had to simply go to work,” he continued. “This was a job that was available to them, but they were rode rough shot over by Massey. These families are simply left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and may receive scraps later on in some final determination. It's a familiar story in an era where Wall Street executives have big payouts after wrecking the economy. But Massey energy executives resulted in the destruction of 29 lives, 29 families. This makes Massey's payout even more disgusting.”

