Contesting the Meaning and Boundaries of “Safety” as CSR in the Mining Industry

This chapter explores the boundaries and meanings assigned to “safe production” as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) value in the context of “safe production” in the northern Minnesota taconite mining industry. Drawing on data from a multi-year ethnography and corporate websites, this chapter uncovers taconite miners’ expectations and experiences with safety as a form of CSR and how their interpretations are aligned or misaligned with corporate safety discourse and practice. Further, the chapter traces how Iron Company expanded the boundaries of CSR as safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the voices of miners, this chapter shows how an exogenous shock (COVID-19) alters what CSR means and leads to different interpretations of where corporate responsibility begins and ends.