As Don Blankenship prepares to give up control of Massey Energy after the nation's worst mining disaster in four decades, angry shareholders who have been agitating for the coal executive's ouster aren't sure whether to celebrate or lament.
That's because corporate filings are revealing the staggering cost of his departure -- a golden parachute that will provide Blankenship with $2.7 million upon retirement, a free house for life, millions more in deferred compensation, and a "salary continuation retirement benefit" of $18,241-a-month that will continue for 10 years after his departure at the end of the year.
"The fact of the matter is, the company absolutely needs him to leave. You want to say, anything's worth it because the company has no future with him," said Per W. Olstad, a lawyer with CtW Investment Group, a shareholder group that has pushed for Blankenship to step down. "But it's an egregious payout. It's way beyond what he's earned. Given how destructive his mismanagement has been, he simply does not deserve it."
I'm sure most of you remember Blankenship. In case you don't:
Twenty-nine miners died in the April explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, and critics have claimed that Blankenship's bottom-line management style contributed to safety risks. In SEC documents submitted by investors who made a failed bid to take control of Massey in 2006, Blankenship was repeatedly criticized for his approach to safety. In June 2007, two Massey board members resigned, saying they were stepping down in part because of Blankenship's "poor risk management" and the company's "confrontational handling" of regulatory matters.
Or maybe you remember this Tea Party event:
He's just a good ole extremely wealthy plutocrat. I'm sure those tax cuts are going to get him out there creating jobs forthwith.
In case his successor is worried that Blankenship killed the golden goose, he needn't worry:
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives just blocked efforts by Democratic leaders to resurrect a major mine safety reform bill before the end of the year and the GOP takeover of the House in 2011.
House Labor Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., had sought to suspend House rules and bring the pass the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act. to the floor for a vote.
The vote was 214 to 193, with 26 members not voting, well short of the two-thirds needed for the rules suspension.
According to the official roll call vote, only one Republican voted to bring up the bill. West Virginia Democrat Nick Rahall voted in favor, while Republican Shelley Moore Capito voted against. Democrat Alan Mollohan, who lost his re-election bid, did not vote.
So all is right in oligarchy. We can sleep well tonight.