Vol. 71/No. 34      September 17, 2007

Since the August 6 mine collapse that trapped miners Kerry Allred, Luis Hernández, Brandon Phillips, Carlos Payán, Manuel Sanchez and Don Erickson, seven boreholes drilled from the mountain top have not found any sign of the six men.

On August 16, two bosses and one MSHA official were killed after another collapse occurred during the rescue effort. Five miners and another MSHA inspector were also hurt.

Some relatives of the missing miners have insisted that the search continue. Chris Allred, cousin of Kerry Allred, told the Salt Lake Tribune that she wished the search had not been called off.

Teams of mine officials and politicians from the state and federal government are carrying out separate investigations. A central question in the mine’s collapse is the request by Murray Energy Corp., the owners of Crandall Canyon, to implement a mining plan to remove not only pillars, but the large panels of coal called “barrier pillars” that support the weight of the mountain above and separate one work section from another. The plan was approved by MSHA.

“Everybody knows you don’t mess with barriers,” a miner, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Washington Post.

“Why was the mining plan at Crandall Canyon submitted by Murray Energy when the previous owners of that mine declined to mine the same way, saying there was a problem with ‘protection of personnel?’ Why did MSHA approve it?” said an August 28 UMWA press release.

The union filed papers with MSHA August 24 saying that all six families of the trapped miners have designated the UMWA as their representative, and therefore the union should be allowed to take part in safety investigations. MSHA rejected the union’s petition, excluding them from any MSHA investigations. “MSHA requires that miners sign these papers, but the miners in question were unable because they are trapped inside the mine,” union spokesman Phil Smith said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The UMWA maintains that federal law allows union participation in safety investigations if two or more miners or their families ask the union to represent them.

“This action means that there will be no independent voice at the table in MSHA’s investigation,” said Cecil Roberts, UMWA president.

An investigative panel put together by the governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, will hold open hearings in Price and Huntington, Utah. The panel includes local politicians, UMWA safety director Dennis O’Dell, and a representative from the Utah Mining Association, which describes itself as an organization that “helps to promote and protect the mining industry.”

On August 26, Murray Energy announced that it would lay off about 170 miners and close its Tower and West Ridge mines because of safety problems. The majority of laid-off miners rejected Murray’s offer to relocate to his other mines in Illinois and Ohio. Only about a dozen miners boarded the charter bus heading to the Midwest August 28, reported the Salt Lake Tribune.

Omar Reyes of Huntington, who worked at the West Ridge mine, got off the bus and told the Tribune, “I don’t want to go. That’s it.” Another miner did the same.

A dozen former Murray miners attended a job workshop August 30 at the local Department of Workforce Service office in Price.

“I think I’m done. I’m done working for Bob Murray and his company,” Dustin Montoya told the Deseret Morning News. “They kind of try to make you feel better, but they don’t really do anything for you,” he said, referring to the workshop session.  
 
 
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