Massey miner fired for complaining about safety

Source: NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127529659

A former Massey Energy coal miner has filed a federal whistle-blower complaint, claiming he was fired after complaining about unsafe conditions at two Massey mines in West Virginia, NPR News has learned. One of the coal mines is Upper Big Branch, where an explosion killed 29 workers April 5.

Ricky Lee Campbell's complaint says he repeatedly told his supervisors about failing brakes on the coal shuttle cars he drove at the Slip Ridge Cedar Grove mine.

The 24-year-old from Beckley, W.Va., also spoke to a newspaper about unsafe conditions at Upper Big Branch, where he worked until shortly before the accident. And he provided information in the federal investigation of the blast.

Campbell spoke to the newspaper on April 7. A week later, he was given a five-day suspension "subject to discharge" and then fired April 23. He then filed the whistle-blower complaint with the Labor Department, contending that his persistent safety concerns, his media interview and his role in the federal probe prompted his termination.

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Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127529659

you'll get canned

you and your friends will get killed

I try to keep a positive outlook on life, but this murderous bastard Blankenship must be taken down. Now.
I apologize if my header is offensive to anyone. Except if you are a murderous non Union cocksucker. Then you can die in some crappy jail cell somewhere.
Anyway, now that the rant is (sort of) out of the way, I hope Mr. Campbell gets a ton of money from Blankenship.

if there is a single politician, judge or regulatory agent in or from the coal kingdom of West Virginia who doesn't have a firm lip-lock on King Coal's ass. The kid hasn't much of a chance.

I wouldn't rule the latter out.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A West Virginia coal miner has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit saying he was fired by Massey Energy after he described unsafe conditions inside the Upper Big Branch coal mine in the days following an explosion that killed 29 men.

Ricky Campbell said he was fired by Massey after he gave an interview to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette videographer. In that video, he spoke about dangerous conditions at Upper Big Branch, where he once worked.

He now says the company retaliated against him for cooperating with an ongoing federal investigation into the blast as well as for his publicized remarks.

...


"This mine is one of the worst I've ever been in," Mr. Campbell said. "You see a lot of crazy stuff every night. This place it was real bad and I had a real bad feeling something was going to happen. I actually told my family somebody is going to be killed up here."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10158/1063843-100.stm