Have another Court Hearing in two weeks on the 21st. Since I was in the Hospital for a week they want to recertify my Underground Certification. These MSHA jerks are real idiots. They need to find and keep working on Mine Safety instead of my Health. They already tried once to force me onto SSI Disability and the Judge ruled against them. I do not want to quit working at their choosing!! I will retire at MY CHOOSING!!! Well I figure my WIFE will tell me when!!! I will listen to her NOT THEM!!! Like I told my wife, Many people WANT to get on SSI Disability and if they are truly disabled that should be their choice. NOT a Pencil Pushing Desk Jockey!!!

Likely I and everyone else sympathizes with you. But with no background to help us understand your frustration, I can’t be sure…..

Agree with you Randall on your terms only

I have worked underground for 28 years. I am Shot Fire Certified which means that I am Trained to set, Handle and Discharge explosives. The extended use of explosives and the Concussions when they are set off left me in the Hospital about 4 years ago. The Plaque in my body was jolted loose and packed into my heart. I went through an emergency Surgery in Morgantown where they put two Pig Valves in my heart. Then I had two strokes on the Table so I had to learn to walk and talk again. I have been recertified Underground which was amazing. The only stipulation I have on my Mining Certification is that I am no longer allowed Underground when the actual Blasting Occurs. I am still certified to go in and show them where to put the charges and how deep the holes are and how many. I am also still certified for Mine Rescue. My Physicals have been updated to YEARLY instead of 5 years. I want to stay until my 30 year mark and that will DOUBLE my Pension and also give me 100% company Paid Health Insurance. And Believe me, our Insurance is unbelievable!! They pay 100% of EVERYTHING!!! I was in the Hospital for something totally separate. I had two Kidney stones that had to be removed. The idiot Doctor did not even try to shatter or dissolve them. He said they were too big to pass so he put me under and went up inside of me with some kind of long thing and got them and pulled them out. BUT what happened was the kidney stones or his tool tore some holes in the tube between the Kidney and Bladder and then in the wall of the Bladder. It tore a big enough hole that Urine started getting into the Blood Stream and gave me a severe Staff infection. I did not know this until I went to the Emergency room with some complaints The surgery they did on me last week was to repair the holes. They claimed they WELDED them shut with lasers. They had to do this BEFORE they could address the Staff infection because the Urine Leaking into the Blood was causing the infection and they had to stop that first. I have been cleared to get back to work and as you can see this has NOTHING to do with my Heart Surgery. Actually if it was not for the Staff Infection in my blood I would have been home the same day or the day after the Surgery. I want to finish my 30 years and still need just a little over 15 months. One Month of that would be Vacation time anyway.

Sounds like they want to get rid of you before that 30 year mark to save them dollars doesn't surprise me any excuse they can make but remember he best joke a large corporation talks is we are all on the same team but it always boils down to to teams the ones that punch the clock and the ones that don't . I've always said you want to know if your job is important see if they replace you when your on vacation... Jon

The sad thing is that it is AGAIN the new Administration and their attacks on Coal Miners that want to take my Job. The last time it was under the Odummy and now President Hair Sniffer. Both times it will be my Company's attorneys that stopped it. The thing is that you have to have certain Math and Science Degrees to test for your Shot Fire Certification. The last I heard there were only 8 of us in this state. When I tried to retire at my 25 year mark they offered me a large package to stay. Also Mine Rescue teams ALL have to have at least one Shot Blast Certified member. I am the only one. Also they have a man taking the college classes now and I also work with him underground to train him. I keep reminding my company that at 30 I WILL retire. My Wife wants to spend the rest of her days with our Grandkids and wants to quit listening for that Siren that goes off when the mine gets FUBAR!!

That's just what I suspected, Randall. You are too experienced, not easily replaceable, and know too much. Any outside influence who is undermining a company knows to take out the indispensable ones , then the rest collapses.

With no certified legal SFC, there is no more production. I feel there is more to their agenda than just saving money. To continue to make money, they need a SFC on site , and they would take out other less essential workers.

As Mark Levin says, they use the Constitution to break the Constitution. In this case, they use legal mining laws to break them.

It is the MSHA Demonrat Federals that want my certification removed. The same ones that wanted to stop Mining and make us work at McDonalds for a living. It was never like this until Odummy. Then we had a brief reprieve under Trump and now President Hair Sniffer wants us all gone. So far even the Judges are conservative in this Department.I just want out on my say not theirs. That is probably why they let me pick the man to train to take my Job when I leave.

Sorry Randall wasn’t thinking of government bs they haven’t attacked my business since probition

Just retire and spend time with your wife and grandkids, you won't regret it.