Jun 7 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Dennis B. Roddy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



A West Virginia coal miner has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit saying he was fired by Massey Energy after he described unsafe conditions inside the Upper Big Branch coal mine in the days following an explosion that killed 29 men.

Ricky Campbell said he was fired by Massey after he gave an interview to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette videographer. In that video, he spoke about dangerous conditions at Upper Big Branch, where he once worked.

He now says the company retaliated against him for cooperating with an ongoing federal investigation into the blast as well as for his publicized remarks.

Mr. Campbell's complaints were reported this week by National Public Radio news, which said it obtained documents related to his federal whistleblower appeal.

 At the time of the Upper Big Branch disaster, Mr. Campbell had been transferred weeks earlier to Slip Ridge Coal, another Massey operated mine.

"This mine is one of the worst I've ever been in," Mr. Campbell said. "You see a lot of crazy stuff every night. This place it was real bad and I had a real bad feeling something was going to happen. I actually told my family somebody is going to be killed up here."

Mr. Campbell spoke to Post-Gazette videographer Andrew Rush on April 7 outside the Upper Big Branch mine. NPR reported that he was given a five-day suspension by Massey "subject to discharge" and then fired April 23.

Mr. Campbell's attorney, Jonathan W. Price, declined to comment other than to say "We have faith in the adjudicative process."

In his complain, he accuses the company of retaliating against him both for his public remarks about Upper Big Branch and for his role in the federal probe.

NPR reported that a preliminary investigation by the Department of Labor found "reasonable cause to believe that Mr. Campbell's dismissal was motivated by his exercise of protected activities."

Among other things, Mr. Campbell said he repeatedly warned supervisors at Slip Run about bad brakes on miner transport vehicles.

Dennis B. Roddy: droddy@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1965.

(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services  To subscribe or visit go to:  www.mcclatchy.com/