Tell Alpha Natural Resources: Massey Execs Responsible for Mine Disaster Shouldn't Keep Their Jobs

Massey Energy Company, the company responsible for the Upper Big Branch mine disaster that killed 29 miners, has recently been acquired by Alpha Natural Resources. "As we go forward," said Alpha's CEO, "Alpha will maintain its focus on execution on all fronts—safety, environmental stewardship, operational excellence." But in the merger, Alpha plans to keep several Massey executives who were directly responsible for a corporate culture that disdained safety laws and regulations. According to a recent report this corporate lead directly to the disaster in Upper Big Branch mine. These Massey executives should be fired for their negligence, not getting new jobs at Alpha.

The recently released report of the independent investigation into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster tells a tale of lax safety, shoddy equipment, and managers and corporate officers who simply didn't care about the lax safety and shoddy equipment. The ventilation shafts were jury rigged, much of the equipment's safety mechanisms didn't work, and cumbstible coal dust was allowed to accumulate in dangerously high levels. This all lead to the explosion, and not, as Massey officials later claimed, an unforeseeable release of natural gas.

Massey higher-ups like Shane Harvey, who shaped this unforgivable culture that lead to 29 deaths, shouldn't be given new jobs at Alpha. A failure of this magnitude in nearly any other industry would see executives fired. Ask Alpha not to give jobs to Massey executives that brought about such a tragedy. 

Why People Are Signing

Recent Signatures