A coalition of NGOs dedicated to corporate and government accountability, has called for the immediate arrest of Don Blankenship, Massey Energy CEO and a director of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for the homicide of 29 miners in West Virginia last week. The group, StopTheChamber.com, in a statement released today, said that they have been warning for months about the devastating effect of U.S. Chamber of Commerce policies on the well being of Americans. They have called for a complete criminal investigation to determine what policies and practices led to the miners’ deaths.
StopTheChamber.com, said that the Chamber has spent hundreds of millions to fight any regulation its dues paying members and regulation of pollution caused by those members and has called too for the immediate arrest of U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue.
“This was not an accident, but rather the result of deliberate and intentional decisions and actions of Don Blankenship, a director of the United States Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Blankenship and Chamber CEO Tom Donohue must be held accountable for these deaths,” said attorney and StopThe Chamber.com spokesman Kevin Zeese. “What is it going to take for Congress and the President to stop coddling criminals, masquerading as legitimate businessmen, who cause the death of our loved ones?”
According to the statement, Blankenship, along with the Chamber that supports him, has thumbed his nose at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, ignoring or appealing every violation, including many that resulted in coal mine evacuations and hundreds of other serious violations.
StopTheChamber.com also called on Congress to immediately issue a standing order to their staff to stop all communication and contact with U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbyists.
Blankenship, at an anti-union rally on Labor Day last year, attacked the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) charging that it “seeks power over coal miners.” He also berated both “Washington politicians” and local elected officials who work to ensure mine safety, indicating that they have “no idea how to improve mine safety” and called their efforts “as silly as global warming.”
See Video here:
Read the Whole Statement Release Here.
