Vol. 80/No. 32      August 29, 2016

 

Bosses’ profit drive caused 1984 Utah mine disaster

 
Below are excerpts from the Jan. 11, 1985, Militant reporting on the Wilberg mine disaster. The authors were both coal miners who participated in the union rescue and relief effort. Cecelia Moriarity worked at the mine and was a member of United Mine Workers of America Local 2176 and of the Lady Coal Miners of Utah. She was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for governor of Utah in 1984.

BY JOE GEISER
AND CECELIA MORIARITY

PRICE, Utah — Nineteen members of UMWA Local 2176, and eight company executives and foremen, were killed by a fire that started Dec. 19, 1984, at the Wilberg mine outside Orangeville, Utah. The mine is located in the main coal-producing region in the southeastern part of the state.

The bodies of the 26 men and one woman remain inside the mine despite attempts to rescue them. On Dec. 23 rescue teams were evacuated from the mine on the order of federal mine inspectors as explosive gases reached a dangerous level. On Dec. 29 the mine portals were sealed in an effort to bring under control the fire that has raged since Dec. 19.

The dead miners were all working in a section of the mine where a longwall, the most modern and mechanized machine for producing coal, was in use. The company was attempting to achieve a 24-hour world production record at the time of the fire.

UMWA members, widows, and other community residents here are in general agreement with UMWA International Pres. Richard Trumka, who said, “When a coal operator becomes so concerned with setting short-term coal-production records, safety is made an afterthought and miners are needlessly killed.”

Few miners or other community residents here believe the company’s story that the fire was an unpredictable “accident.” They blame Emery Mining Corp. for recklessly endangering lives and disregarding safety in its drive to boost coal production and profits.

Emery Mining has tried to cover up its responsibility for the disaster, claiming the fire probably started as a result of a mechanical failure.

However, at a press conference Dec. 28 at UMWA Local 2176 headquarters, UMWA members Alex Tidwell and Clinton Price said the fire broke out near an electrical cable in the fresh-air tunnel leading to the longwall section.

In the Wilberg mine, the power system is equipped with safety circuits that should shut off power if cables are overloaded, damaged or catch fire. But once the fire started, and the cable exploded, the power stayed on, the two unionists reported. They said the company “may have jumped the cable, a common practice.”

The two men said the phone nearest the fire was not working so they were unable to immediately call for help. As the fire spread to the conveyor belt motor, an automatic foam system that should have been activated to put out the fire failed to work. “It just bubbled,” they said.

Earlier last fall, Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors had found caved-in coal and rock blocking an escape route. Instead of ordering Emery to clean up the cave-in, MSHA issued the company a variance, which is a permit to keep operating despite a safety violation. The union cannot appeal a variance.

Because the cave-in was never removed, there were only two — instead of the normal three — exits available to miners in the area. The fire broke out on one escape route and quickly burned through to a second exit, blocking both. The third escapeway was blocked by the cave-in. The miners on the longwall were thus trapped.

Such safety violations are only part of the assault on miners’ health and safety that has been carried out by the company in recent years. The Wilberg mine has had one of the highest accident rates in the country. Safety jobs have been eliminated through layoffs, and a speedup “bonus” plan has been introduced that further endangers the workers.

In spite of all the obstacles created by the company, miners did everything they could to try to save their trapped co-workers, beginning the day the fire started. UMWA members on the shift when the fire broke out, as well as those who arrived soon after for the midnight shift, volunteered to carry out whatever tasks were necessary to aid the specially trained rescue teams that were brought in. Many miners worked long stretches, sleeping at the mine or returning after short breaks.

Miners’ morale remained high, until everyone learned that the rescue teams had located 25 bodies and that no hope remained for the other two.

Community solidarity

People in the coal mining communities of Carbon and Emery rallied to meet the needs of the fire-fighting and rescue teams. Local community organizations were flooded with offers of help.

While solidarity like this was pouring in from workers around the world, Emery Mining showed nothing but callous disregard for the victims and their families.

It was the UMWA and its supporters that took over the relief efforts for the families. UMWA Local 2176 set up an information center in Orangeville with the help of the UMWA district and volunteers. The Lady Coal Miners of Utah joined the efforts.

On Dec. 26, a memorial service for the 27 people killed in the fire was held in Castle Dale, Utah, sponsored by the Mormon church. It was attended by almost 2,000 people, including miners and bosses. Miners were urged by those on the platform to put the Wilberg disaster behind them. One of the featured speakers was Gordon Hinckley, a high official of the Mormon church who also sits on the board of Emery’s parent company, Utah Power & Light. Hinckley called the mine fire an accident, comparing it to hurricanes, volcano eruptions and earthquakes.

After the service was over, one miner said, “This was no accident. This was manmade.”

Related articles:
On the Picket Line
Join Mine Workers protest Sept. 8!
 
 
 
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