[Marxism] corporate takeover artist Wilbur Ross killed the 12 miners

["acpollack2@xxxxxxxx" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxx>]

At some point someone should work this up into an article, but the main
point for today's purposes is clear enough: Wilbur Ross is a 
billionaire who specializes in taking over bankrupt companies, shorn of
pensions, health benefits, unions, etc., reselling them for huge 
profits, and moving on to another industry. In the process safety 
spending is gutted, and of course OSHA does nothing about it. Thus 
yesterday's murders. Below one of several references I've 
compiled.

--------------------
[my intro to WSJ article below]
The media reporting on the West Virginia mine murders has been quoting 
CEO Hatfield, but the owner is corporate takeover artist Wilbur Ross 
(various sources below). Ross had earlier bought LTV, and then 
Bethlehem Steel, after Frank Miller had bankrupted it (Miller is now 
bankrupting Delphi and Ross has expressed interest in buying it). Ross 
waits until the bankrupt firms shed their pensions before swooping in. 
He later sold his steel companies at a huge profit to Mittal.
Ross has also been involved in buying sick textile firms. Garment worker union 
head Bruce Raynor and steelworker union head Leo Gerard were full of laudatory 
quotes for this vulture when he "saved" their companies.

---------------------------
    
January 4, 2006 
Coal-Mine Blast Prompts Anxiety Over Safety Record

By PAUL GLADER and KRIS MAHER 
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 4, 2006; Page A3

The explosion is raising questions about the mining operation's safety record, 
which includes an unusual number of worker injuries last year.

Federal and state safety records show the mine's owner, ICG, had an injury rate 
in 2005 at the Sago mine that was three times the national average for 
comparable-size mines, though not all injuries recorded were serious. New York 
billionaire and bankruptcy specialist Wilbur Ross began a purchase of the mine 
in March and completed it in the fall, folding it into other assets in the 
newly created ICG, which owns nearly a dozen mines in three states, including 
the Sago mine in Tallmansville.

The death rate in U.S. coal mines has been declining in recent years, and up to 
now, no fatalities had occurred at the Tallmansville mine in 10 years. However, 
analysts note that a greater proportion of U.S. coal is being mined in Western 
states, where open-pit mining is more common and less prone to cause worker 
injuries.

Of the mining operation's safety record, Mr. Hatfield said, "much of the bad 
history was beyond our reach and ability to control." In November, ICG paid 
$173.25 million in stock for a 57% controlling share of Anker Coal Group Inc.

Many on Wall Street admire Mr. Ross for smart moves in recent years turning 
around bankrupt steelmakers for huge profits and for his early entry into the 
coal business. "Coal is the right segment to be in," Mr. Ross said at the time. 
"We're more intrigued that coal is a particularly domestic resource. The U.S. 
has" more British thermal units, a measure of heat energy, "than the whole Arab 
world has of oil."

 
U.S. Department of Labor records show that the Sago mine here had increased 
production with 145 employees in 2005, up from 65 in 2004 and an idled status 
in 2002 and 2003. Sago's owners had $24,155 in penalties levied against them 
for 205 citations in 2005 at the Sago mine, up from $9,500 in penalties on 68 
citations in 2004.

Anker officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2003, 
leading some analysts to suggest that there would be a catch-up period. "That 
mine was, at one point, under bankruptcy," said David Khani, a coal analyst 
with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. in Alexandria, Va. "Anytime mines 
are under bankruptcy, you have to wonder whether they were maintained properly."

Mr. Ross, chairman of ICG, was traveling yesterday, and when asked about the 
mine explosion, he responded in an email that said, "Since our efforts are so 
focused on rescue efforts and since they are so technical, Ben Hatfield is our 
sole spokesman and is limiting his communications to regularly scheduled press 
briefings."

Coal experts point out that the cause of the explosion isn't certain, 
speculating that lightning, coal dust or a roof collapse could all potentially 
ignite the explosive gas that accumulates naturally in coal mines. "If [the 
mine] wasn't maintained properly, [ICG] could be liable," Mr. Khani said.

Write to Paul Glader at paul.glader@xxxxxxxx and Kris Maher at 
kris.maher@xxxxxxxx

  URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113627143524036333.html




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