On Tuesday, massive layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) were expected to result in 873 staff cuts from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), according to CBS News.
This agency conducts research and makes recommendations to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.
The NIOSH layoffs — along with other recent Trump administration actions — prompted the United Mine Workers of America Union, whose workers face issues like black lung disease, to question whether there’s now a “war” on coal miners.
“The announced significant downsizing of offices in Morgantown, W.Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are particularly devastating to the coal industry, which relies on the research done there to improve its safety practices,” said union international president Cecil Roberts.
Union spokesperson Erin Bates noted that the Morgantown office controls the respiratory disease division.
“Without those resources, it’s going to be extremely hard to monitor and control the effects of silica dust levels in the mine,” she said. Exposure to silica dust can cause severe lung disease.
The reported NIOSH layoffs come as part of larger firings at HHS as the agency seeks to restructure. Reached for comment, an HHS spokesperson directed The Hill toward its larger restructuring plans, which said it was firing 10,000 employees and placing NIOSH within a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America.
Read more at TheHill.com.
