When will we begin to hold corporations accountable?
Remember April 5, 2010 when an explosion in the Upper Big Branch Coal Mine near Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners? In the aftermath of that explosion, various inquiries and news stories reported that the Massey Energy Co. which operated the mine had a woeful record of adhering to safety regulations. It was evident even to casual observers like myself that their number one priority was making money any way they could regardless of the danger to their employees. Now an independent probe, which released its report today, has pretty much confirmed what we long suspected . Massey didn't give a fig about the safety of its workers. It was only concerned with corporate profits. Haven't we heard this story before? Over and over again? Here in Texas, one of the prime offenders has been BP which has repeatedly had fatal "accidents" at its refineries and has repeatedly been cited for violations and fined. And yet it seems to have no effect on their corporate culture....