‘We Wanted to Know When We’d See Our Loved Ones Again’

by Mike Hall, Oct 3, 2007

Several family members of the six coal miners and three rescue workers killed at the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah told the House Education and Labor Committee today how the disaster has devastated their families and called for a through investigation into the failures of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the actions of mine co-owner Robert Murray.

Below are excerpts from their testimony. Click on the video to watch the full testimonies and here for more coverage of the hearings. Click here to view the entire hearing at the committee’s website.

Steve Allred, brother of miner Kerry Allred:

This lack of responsibility by the companies and lack of oversight by MSHA, coupled with no protection by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), has led to my family being devastated. Our lives are changed forever. [The mine was nonunion mine, and Allred, who spent nearly three deacdes as a UMWA miner, went on to explain the strong safety protections at UMWA mines.]

Mike Marasco, son-in-law of miner Kerry Allred:

The manner in which Murray and MSHA dealt with us families for the first two weeks after the collapse was unbelievable. They just told us what we wanted to hear, and not the facts. All we heard was “earthquake, earthquake.” We did not want to hear about earthquakes, but wanted to know when we were going to see our loved ones again. Murray more than once yelled at us when we asked questions.

Cesar Sanchez, brother of miner Manuel Sanchez:

As a family, we have many questions. We want to know how the mine owner got a permit to do this kind of mining, we want to know how MSHA put a rubber stamp on the mining plans submitted by the mine owner. We want to know how often this mine got inspected by MSHA, especially because there was more than one complaint made by miners….The company ignored these complaints.

Sheila Phillips, mother of miner Brandon Phillips:

It’s just hard to have hope, and have your heart broke every day, and have your grandson grow up without a dad….I just miss him…I would like to know where my son is in that hole, so I can leave a marker on that mountain.

Wendy Black, wife of miner Dale “Bird” Black:

I want to know, if there are rules and regulations made to protect the miners, then who is to be held accountable to make sure these are being followed? Please at least have one person with enough backbone to say, “No more.” MSHA has one job–mine safety and health administration. It would have taken just one MSHA official or one official from the company doing his job to have saved my husband’s life. Which one of them wasn’t doing his job?

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