Robert E. Murray

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Robert E. Murray (born 1940) is an American CEO of Murray Energy, a mining corporation based in Cleveland, Ohio. He is one of the largest independent operators of coal mines in the United States.[1] He came to national attention in August 2007 when six miners were trapped at the Crandall Canyon Mine, of which Murray is part-owner.

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[edit] Personal details

Murray is a fourth-generation coal miner. His father was paralyzed in a mining accident when Murray was nine years old, and as a miner himself, Murray has experienced two accidents on the job. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio with his wife Brenda Lou Moore. They have three grown children.[2][3]

Murray says that following his father's accident, he lied about his age so that he could go to work in a coal mine at the age of 16 and provide for the family. He says that he suffered through several mining accidents, including on one occasion being hit in the head with an 18-foot beam made of steel.[4] He says he has one scar running from his head down his back from a separate accident, and at one time he was trapped in a dark mine for 12 hours before being rescued.[4]

[edit] Early career

Murray studied mining engineering at Ohio State University, at which time he was hired by the North American Coal Corporation. He served in a variety of capacities at NACC, winning the election for Vice President-Operations in 1969. From 1974 to 1983, Murray was President of NACC's Western Division and presided over four of its subsidiaries in North Dakota.[5] In 1974, a harsh strike took place at the Indian Head Mine in Zap, which North American was attempting to close.[6] In 1983, he became President and CEO of North American.[5]

In 1987, Murray was told by "someone to whom [he] didn't even report" that he was "done" at NACC. He later called the firing "the best thing ever to happen" to his career.[7]

According to an article in the Journal of the United Mine Workers, shortly after being fired by North American, Murray claims he was visited by a talking squirrel[dubious – discuss], who instructed him to begin operating his own mines.[8] An article in the Deseret Morning News called the UMW piece "satirical."[9]

[edit] Murray Energy

Murray started his company "with a mortgaged home"[2] and made it into the nation's 12th-largest coal mining company.[6] One of Murray Energy's first acquisitions was the Powhatan No. 6 mine in Alledonia, Ohio. Mine employees indicated a good working relationship with Murray in the early years of its operation. In 1996, Murray began asking for wage freezes and used contract language that -- as one union representative put it to a union journal -- "kicked these miners in the teeth" by not giving fellow union workers from nearby North American mines first dibs to jobs at his mine, saying that the workers came with too many pension and health obligations for him to keep his mine open. A similar pattern of contract negotiations occurred when Murray Energy bought the Maple Creek mine from U.S. Steel in 1996.[8] By 2007, only one of the six Murray Energy mines once represented by the UMW was still unionized.[10]

Today Murray Energy operates 19 mines in five states, employing over 3,000 workers.[2]

[edit] Mining safety

Murray Energy's mines have been cited by the Mine Safety and Health Administration for thousands of safety violations and fined millions of dollars.[11] Since 2005, Murray Energy's Galatia mine in Saline County, Illinois has incurred over 2,700 citations and $2.4 million in proposed fines. However, a spokesman for the United Mining Workers organization said of Murray's record, "[G]enerally speaking, it's not particularly better or particularly worse than any other mine operator in the country."[4]

In April 2001, a foreman at the Powhatan No. 6 mine (owned by Murray's Ohio Valley Coal Company) caught his arm in a conveyor belt, which removed it from his body. Due in part to a lack of first aid, he bled to death. The company was fined $15,000.[12] MSHA concluded that the miner was at fault for the accident in their fatal injury report - "Based on evidence revealed during the accident investigation (deceased name omitted) failed to comply with the cited regulation, when he attempted to repair or perform maintenance on the belt take-up unit, while the belt and take-up unit were still in operation and not blocked against motion.[13]

The Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah has received 64 violations and $12,000 in fines, which is a relatively good safety record and on par with similar-sized mines throughout the country.[3][14][10] Murray says that the safety violations were trivial and included violations such as not having enough toilet paper in the restroom.[3] Although retreat mining is believed by some observers to be a cause of the mine's 2007 collapse, Murray insists the process was not responsible.[15]

Murray has also been criticized for allowing television crews, reporters and family members into the Crandall Canyon mine during rescue operations.[16]

[edit] Political activity

In addition to serving on the board of directors of the National Mining Association, Murray actively lobbies for pro-industry legislation through his company's Political Action Committee. In 2001, he testified on behalf of the NMA before a House Ways and Means subcommittee in favor of proposed tax cuts.

Since 2005, the Murray Energy PAC has donated over $150,000 to Republican candidates, including donations totaling $30,000 to Senate candidates such as George Allen, Sam Brownback, and Katherine Harris.[17] The Ohio Valley Coal PAC, another group affiliated with Murray Energy, donated $10,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 Presidential campaign.[17]

In the wake of 2006's Sago Mine disaster, lawmakers in West Virginia and Ohio proposed legislation requiring mine workers to wear emergency tracking devices. Murray lobbied against the laws, calling them "extremely misguided."[10] He said that politicians were rushing to pass laws and thus "playing politics with the safety of my employees." He said that rather than create "knee-jerk" state laws after the disaster, such as in the case of West Virginia, which passed the law in less than one day after it was proposed, the federal government should host a panel which would study the industry and make recommendations for safety measures.[1] He claimed that the federal government should be involved for uniform standards and because tension between unions and companies created difficulty in reaching private agreement on safety standards. Murray maintained that the personal tracking devices to be mandated in the state laws, called PEDs, did not work under certain common mining conditions (such as below 600 feet in depth), and better devices needed to be developed in order to effectively guard miners in case of accident. He said, "The will is there. Unfortunately, the technology isn't."[1] Murray said that he supported federal mandates for drug testing and fire prevention.[1] Murray said in 2006, "I worked in the mines for 10 years. No pound of coal is worth a man getting hurt over.... The day I think I'm more important than the person that mines the coal, that's the day I should retire. But I don't intend to."[1]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Global warming

Murray, a businessman by profession, has been an outspoken critic of the Scientific opinion on climate change. In June 2007, he told the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that "the science of global warming is suspect." He also wrote in a May 2007 MarketWatch editorial: "The actual environmental risk associated with carbon emissions is highly speculative."[10]

In a 2007 speech to the New York Coal Trade Association, he called Al Gore "the shaman of global gloom and doom" and added "he is more dangerous than his global warming."[9]

Murray said during the speech:

"Some wealthy elitists in our country, who cannot tell fact from fiction, can afford an Olympian detachment from the impacts of draconian climate change policy. For them, the jobs and dreams destroyed as a result will be nothing more than statistics and the cares of other people. These consequences are abstractions to them, but they are not to me, as I can name many of the thousands of the American citizens whose lives will be destroyed by these elitists' ill-conceived ‘global goofiness' campaigns."[18]

Murray is a particular opponent of proposed global warming legislation in Congress, saying:

"We produce a product that is essential to the standard of living of every American because our coal produces 52% of the energy in America today, and it is the lowest cost energy, costing 1/3rd to 1/4th the cost of energy from natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy resources. And without coal to manufacture electricity our products will not compete in the global marketplace against foreign countries because our manufacturers depend on coal, low cost electricity and people on fixed incomes will not be able to pay their electric bills. Every one of those global warming bills that have been introduced into Congress today eliminates the coal industry and will increase your electric rates, four to five fold."[19]

[edit] Earthquake claims

Murray claims that the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse was triggered by a 3.9-magnitude earthquake, while government seismologists say the mine collapse was the cause of a coal mine bump.[20]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bennett, David (Jan. 30, 2007). " Mining for answers; Politician, coal industry leader seek separate safety solutions in response to West Virginia tragedies.". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Tizon, Thomas Alex (Aug. 9, 2007). "Mine's part-owner sings praises of the work as he reports on collapse that has trapped six". The Detroit News. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Gehrke, Robert (Aug. 8, 2007). "Murray's meltdown: Angry, rambling briefing draws rebukes". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c "Mine Owner Known As Combative". Associated Press. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Bob Murray Bio. The Ohio Valley Coal Company. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Donovan, Lauren (Aug. 9, 2007). "Utah mine owner operated in North Dakota mines". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  7. ^ About Us - OVCC. The Ohio Valley Coal Company. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Promises Made, Promises Broken: Exposing the Real Robert Murray". United Mine Workers Journal. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Heated defense of mining not odd for owner Murray". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c d Goldman, Russell (Aug. 8, 2007). "Mine Owner Faces Old Foes After Collapse". ABC News. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  11. ^ Milicia, Joe (Aug. 9, 2007). "Mine Owner's Companies Fined Millions". Forbes. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  12. ^ Saulny, Susan and Caroyln Marshall (Aug. 24, 2007). "Mine Owner Has History of Run-Ins on Work Issues". New York Times. Retrieved on 24 August 2007
  13. ^ United States Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration (Aug. 9, 2001). "Fatal Powered Haulage Accident". United States Department of Labor. Retrieved on 25 August 2007.
  14. ^ "Murray's Illinois mine has 2,787 violations since 2005". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  15. ^ Arrillaga, Pauline (Aug. 9, 2007). "Utah mine owner candid, combative". The Seattle Times. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  16. ^ Smith, Ellen (August 10, 2007). "MSHA: High Negligence and Reckless Disregard". Mine Safety and Health News. Retrieved on 24 August 2007.
  17. ^ a b "Mine Collapse: Spotlight On Murray Energy" (Aug. 8, 2007). CBS News. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
  18. ^ "A CEO With A Spine. New York Sun. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  19. ^ "Founder of Mine Company Slams Press For Misleading Reporting. Webloggin. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  20. ^ "Owner of Utah mine is a famously combative figure. Boston Herald. Retrieved on August 10, 2007

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Murray, Robert E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American mining businessman
DATE OF BIRTH 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH