Despite the fact he lost his job Saturday, Winward supported Murray's decision to put safety first. He said Murray's been that way since he bought the mine last year, buying new equipment and "little odds and ends" to make Tower a safer place to work.

"I felt safer in the mine than I did out on the street in front of it," Winward said.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s recent creation of the Utah Mine Safety Commission may have pressed the issue of safety upon Murray, said Randall Hunt, a miner who was transferred from the Tower Mine to West Ridge on Sunday.

Huntsman's commission will meet for the first time today by phone. The goal is to discuss the scope of the commission's work, among other issues. The 11 a.m. meeting will be centered at the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining in Salt Lake City, but no public comment will be accepted.

"There is no way the governor and his committee are going to make this mine any safer than it already is," Hunt said. "The governor already pushed too far with it."

The governor's spokeswoman said Sunday that all Huntsman wants is a safe place for all Utahns to work.

"The most important message I think here is workplace safety for all Utahns, now and in the future," said spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley. "We're certainly hopeful that this is a temporary situation and necessary actions will be made to make the mines safe, and that the other miners will be able to return to work."

Huntsman and Murray have traded jabs recently. On Friday, Murray sent Huntsman a letter blaming him for putting hundreds of mining jobs in Carbon and Emery counties at risk.

Murray's letter was written in response to recent comments Huntsman made about the rescue effort.

"If it takes every dollar this guy has in his bank account, he needs to bring closure to this darn thing. We've got families of six good people who are currently sitting in that mine," Huntsman said last week.

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Contributing: The Associated Press

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com; wleonard@desnews.com