Massey Energy must be called to account

The PG's article on whether union mines are safer than non-union ones ("Are Union Mines Safer?" April 18) allows Upper Big Branch owner Massey Energy to get away with fatal fabrication. The article says Massey "maintains that its numbers of safety violations and efforts to challenge them are in line with those found elsewhere in the industry."

The PG reported on April 6 that "Nationwide, an average of 2 percent of safety violations are unwarrantable failures. Slightly more than 10 percent of Upper Big Branch mine's violations last year were unwarrantable failures" ("A History of Violations at Upper Big Branch").

The public would be best served if Massey were asked to account for the discrepancy between its statement and the facts.

MANLEY WITTEN

Squirrel Hill