After she visited Patriot Coal’s Federal No. 2 Mine in Monongalia County, W.Va., last year, Obama Labor Secretary Hilda Solis couldn’t say enough about the operation, its great labor-management relations and its model safety record.
Solis (or one of her aides) wrote a nearly 600-word newspaper commentary in which the secretary concluded she was “in awe” of the mine:
It was evident that management and labor can work together to ensure that workers are safe, earn a good wage, and can be proud that their work is contributing to meeting our nation’s diverse energy needs. It also reinforced my commitment to ensure that all American workers have the right to be safe and secure on the job and they return home to their family every night.
But now that Federal No. 2 is the subject of a broad criminal investigation targeting management officials who allegedly falsified safety records, Secretary Solis doesn’t have quite so much to say.
I’ve been asking for some comment from Solis, and this is so far the best I could get, relayed to me via e-mail by Amy Louviere, press spokeswoman for the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration:
I remain a firm believer in the benefits that come with labor-management cooperation, especially in the context of workplace safety.
As with any investigation, until we hear the results of the inquiry into alleged falsification of records, it would be neither wise nor fair to comment on Federal No. 2’s current safety record. But let me be clear, mine operators will be held accountable for any conditions that threaten the safety and well-being of their workforce.
And MSHA chief Joe Main — never one to be short on words — doesn’t have too much to say about the Federal No. 2 situation, either.
I’ve repeatedly asked for an interview with Joe, but so far MSHA hasn’t scheduled anything.
I did get a response back from Amy to one question I asked via e-mail of Joe Main. My question was, “Given that at least one foreman at Federal No. 2 has admitted to state investigators that he faked safety records concerning methane concentrations behind seals at this mine, does Assist. Sec. Main believe that this operation is a model of safety practices?” The answer:
As MSHA’s Assistant Secretary, my primary duty is to enforce the principles of the Mine Act. Mine operators that deliberately attempt to falsify records or in any way endanger miners will be held responsible.
For the record, Federal No. 2’s injury rate last year was 28 percent worse than the national average, according to MSHA records.
Also, another bit of news on this, MSHA spokeswoman Suzy Bohnert confirmed that the Federal No. 2 mine was also evacuated on Jan. 29 following a reading that showed explosive levels of methane in a sealed area. Previously, MSHA had only identified two evacuations, on Feb. 12 and Feb. 18.
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Ken,
In light of the ongoing investigation @ Federal #2 – I feel that both Secretary Solis & Mr. Main’s remarks are obviously guarded but appropriate. You seem genuinely disappointed that folks aren’t piling on here. Your remarks here & on the initial posting breaking this story seem to indicate that.
Again – this is an ongoing investigation. What do you expect them to say?
Vnxq809
Vnxq809,
Far too often, government officials hide behind saying “it’s an ongoing investigation” and that gets them off the hook from having to tell the public anything.
Federal and West Virginia FOIA laws do not protect nearly that much information as government officials would have us believe.
In this case, it would be refreshing if Secretary Solis and Assistant Secretary Main would be as open as West Virginia mine safety director Ron Wooten, who explained the facts as he knew them to me a week ago about this situation. It might also be refreshing if Solis and Main admitted that perhaps the DOL’s praise of this operation was a bit over the top, given what is now known about the mine’s monitoring of methane behind its seals.
Ken.
This is a UMWA mine — for sure, they are very on-top of what’s going on.
This is a criminal investigation, not just a mine safety investigation.
The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides for limited exceptions for such situations.
As usual, most things are not as perfect as they are presented.
The operation (operator) should not be blamed for the actions of one. It does not matter whether it is a represented or non-represented operation an individual made a decision to circumvent the law, not the company. Punish the foreman, not the company
i concur with V809 that making hasty statements without all the facts makes no sense. who knows whether the foreman acted under duress or on his own? the reason federal may have a higher accident rate, just speculating here, is that some mines encourage people who have on the job injuries NOT to report it. they let them sit in the bathhouse and do nothing rather than report it.
the reason they got the praise at federal is because they have all the cutting edge safety stuff. the real story behind all that is that no matter how much safety equipment you have accidents happen. mining is a dangerous job. people who take safety seriously keep more accidents from becoming tragedies.
The operator is definitely to blame. Patriot Fed 2 promoted an environment that the bottom line is at the top of the list. Believe me, the atmosphere of worshipping the almighty dollar at Patriot has been a significant force since the split from Peabody. The foreman are working in a constant state panic of due to threats of layoff and/or dismissal.
And, edmo, one newly hired foreman, with little experience is not going to manufacture false safety reports without his mentors’ guidance. (Let me guess, you are a ‘company’ guy.)
One thing is for certain in this whole mess – it is never a good thing for industry regulators to be in awe of the companies they are supposed to be regulating.
coalminer’s wife….maybe he was just lazy and did not want to travel his course….but it is always good to blame the operator. 90% of the operators, salary, and hourly personnel are truly dedicated to safe production. As with any company and labor force there is that 10% that need to be out.
edmo – Did you read this article (yes, it is the gazette) “Methane test issue started more than a year ago, mine foreman says”. Sheds a little more light on the situation.
edmo,
Under the Mine Act, it is the responsibility of the mine operator — the company — to ensure that proper methane tests are taken. And under that law, if someone the company hires to do that doesn’t, the fault legally is that of the operator. It’s a strict liability statute.
Ken.
In addition, here’s the link to the story mentioned by coal miners’ wife:
http://wvgazette.com/News/BeyondSago/201003010521
A Patriot Coal foreman told state and federal investigators he was ordered more than a year ago not to keep records of explosive methane levels he discovered inside sealed portions of the company’s Federal No. 2 Mine in Monongalia County.
Ken.
Ken: Do you know if the state and federal investigators did explore further into what the Patriot Coal Foreman told them more than a year ago? The UMWA surely knew about this situation, and they to could have investagated further about this dangerous practice. Thank you if further information could be furnished. Keep up the good work Ken.
[...] As we’ve reported, Federal No. 2 is the subject of federal criminal investigation that is looking into alleged falsification of methane tests by mine managers. [...]