The New York Times
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD APRIL 7,
2016
阿帕拉契礦坑，關於煤礦開採的新聞很少：六年前西維吉尼亞的上大支礦場爆炸，造成29名礦工死亡，違反聯邦礦山安全法，主其事的Masses能源公司的前執行長Donald
Blankenship，星期三因此被判徒刑一年。這個判決最重要的觀念是，煤礦產業的大企業『煤礦大王』的判例，為社會帶來公正，煤礦公司負責人入獄，能夠震撼礦區的人；長久以來，礦工抱怨他們面臨危險與非法的工作條件，業者卻都沒有懲罰。
It was the rarest of news in the coal
mining hollows of Appalachia: A once powerful executive, Donald
Blankenship, was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for
conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws at the Upper Big Branch mine in
West Virginia, where 29 workers died in an explosion six years ago. The very
idea that a dominant baron of the industry called King Coal could be brought to
justice and put behind bars shook the region, where miners have long complained
that they face dangerous and illegal working conditions that routinely result
in no punishment.
Blankenship先生是Masses能源公司的前執行長，起訴書沒有指控Blankenship先生引起礦坑爆炸，但是他的管理模式，只重視利潤，因此惡名昭彰，這一點在災後調查報告中已經指出，這使得出聯邦法院產生一個信念，必須判他輕罪，查爾斯頓法院在十二月判決就是如此。當Blankenship尋求緩刑，維持判決無罪，法官Irene
Berger判處最高刑期一年，附帶說明「你參與一個很危險的陰謀，將公司的利益放在你勞工的安全之上。」
Mr. Blankenship, who served as chief
executive of the Massey Energy Company, was not accused of causing the
explosion, but his management methods, so notoriously focused on profitability,
came under investigation after the disaster and led to his federal conviction
on a misdemeanor charge in December in a Charleston courthouse. While
Mr. Blankenship sought probation and maintained his innocence at sentencing,
Judge Irene Berger delivered the maximum one-year sentence, citing “your
part in a dangerous conspiracy” aimed at “putting profitability of the company
ahead of the safety of your employees.”
上大支礦場的礦災，是近期美國最糟的災難。上大支礦場的礦災導因於積聚在礦坑的易燃煤灰和天然氣，雖然工人先前一直向管理階層抱怨易燃的煤灰和天然氣積聚在礦坑，但是管理階層都忽視。調查員也揭發上大支礦場數千次違規紀錄。29名罹難者的驗屍報告說明一個不同的故事，報告顯示有71%的礦場勞工，因為無可救藥的煤塵，罹患黑肺—超過工業平均值3.2%。
The mine disaster, America’s worst in
modern times, was traced to flammable coal dust and gas that accumulated
despite workers’ complaints to management. The mine’s
history of thousands of violations
was laid bare by investigators, with Mr. Blankenship maintaining that health
and safety were uppermost concerns at the mine. Autopsies on the 29 victims
told a different story of a hard work routine, with 71 percent showing signs of
the incurable coal dust affliction called black lung — far above the industry
average of 3.2 percent.
檢察官起訴的罪名包括詐欺安全性與發佈錯誤的聲明，這能夠讓前執行長坐牢數十年，但是對於檢察官的重罪起訴，法院判礦業公司主管無罪釋放。許多低階的管理者被以重罪起訴，是因為他們掩蓋危險的情況。
在災難過後，立刻出現各種關於制定更嚴格的聯邦採礦法規與安全刑罰的建議，包括提高共謀違規的刑罰為重罪，讓犯罪者必須服更長的刑期。
但是，這些建議在共和黨主導的國會消失殆盡，加劇上大支礦場的悲劇。
The mining executive was acquitted on
felony charges, which involved accusations of securities fraud and making false
statements and could have brought him decades in prison. Several of his
lower-ranking supervisors were convicted earlier on felony charges for covering
up hazardous conditions. Immediately after the disaster, there were assorted
proposals for tougher federal mine and safety penalties, including upgrading
the conspiracy violation to a felony with a longer sentence. But these have
gone nowhere in the Republican Congress, compounding the tragedy of Upper Big
Branch.
Masses能源公司的前執行長Blankenship，要求下屬每三十分鐘提出一份生產力報告。爆炸案後，他退休，獲得1200萬美金的豐厚退休金。「這是金錢遊戲」，在一份揭露的調查報告中，特別註明，他說出這番話。
Mr. Blankenship was a hard-driving
executive who demanded productivity reports every 30 minutes. He retired after
the explosion with a $12 million golden parachute. “This game is about money,”
he was heard emphasizing in one recorded comment uncovered in the
investigation.
法官Berger提醒被定罪的煤礦大亨，這世界還有比金錢更重要的事：「你，Blankenship先生，在上大支礦場創造一個不符合規定的文化，你的下屬接受，並且，事實上，你們為了達到利潤與生產目標，鼓勵不安全的勞動條件。」
Judge Berger reminded the convicted coal
baron that there was more than money at stake: “You, Mr. Blankenship, created a
culture of noncompliance at Upper Big Branch where your subordinates accepted
and, in fact, encouraged unsafe working conditions in order to reach
profitability and production targets.”
