20-05-2025
RFK, Capito and Moore didn't save NIOSH employees' jobs — a lawyer and coal miner did
U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger ordered 'full restoration' of services at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, pictured here on Jan. 28, 2012, is located in Morgantown, (Getty Images)
Last week, a federal judge ordered 'full restoration' of services at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program. However, after the ruling, credit for getting those people back to work at NIOSH started going to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — the man who eliminated the positions in the first place.
In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger said the federal Department of Health and Human Services could not legally end services with the surveillance program, and that doing so would 'cost lives.'
In April, more than 200 jobs were eliminated at NIOSH as part of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, which aimed to reduce staffing at DHHS from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. This affected the entire NIOSH facility in Morgantown, leaving no one in the United States who performs the same services for occupational safety and health, said Cathy Tinney-Zara, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3040.
'We do the research to make everyone's job safer,' she said.
West Virginia U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was the only member of the state's Congressional delegation who spoke up against the job cuts. She requested a meeting with Kennedy, to ask him to bring back the NIOSH employees.
Capito posted on X on the day of Berger's ruling that, 'The health and safety of our WV workers, including our miners, is of the utmost importance and I will always advocate for their wellbeing.'
Despite that comment, she's not backing the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act that was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Bobby Scott, who both represent Virginia. She's not speaking out about delaying the Mine Safety and Health Administration rule that would have limited how much dangerous silica dust coal miners are exposed to while they work. She hasn't supported federal legislation to increase monthly black lung benefits stipends for thousands of West Virginia coal miners and their families to keep up with rises in inflation.
On the same day as Berger's ruling, job cuts were reversed for a Pittsburgh lab that certifies virtually all U.S. government-approved respirators in the country. When Pennsylvania Capitol-Star reporter Ian Karbal reached out to DHHS about the reversal, a spokesperson pointed to employees at the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program getting back to work.
They gave the credit, however, to Kennedy and, of course, the Trump administration.
'The Trump Administration remains committed to supporting coal miners, who play a vital role in America's energy sector. Under Secretary [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]'s leadership, NIOSH's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program will continue to meet the needs of our nation's miners,' a spokesperson for DHHS wrote.
West Virginia U.S. Rep. Riley Moore — who eventually began to care about the job cuts in Morgantown — credited himself and Kennedy for good news.
'This is a great win for West Virginia, and I can't thank the Secretary enough for working closely with my office to make this happen,' Moore posted on X. 'The work NIOSH does is critically important for our coal miners and their safety.'
But that's not what happened.
The NIOSH employees only got their jobs back because Berger ruled it was illegal to end the program. And she heard from NIOSH employees and the case's lead plaintiff, a coal miner named Harry Wiley, who presented 'overwhelming evidence' that the work had been stopped — not just paused — without any plans or efforts in place to ensure it continued as mandated by Congress.
Mine safety and health lawyer Sam Brown Petsonk worked with Mountain State Justice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates to file Wiley v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., et al.
Petsonk found Wiley, a coal miner who was diagnosed with black lung in November, to testify and lead the case. Wiley asked to use Part 90, which allows workers diagnosed with black lung to transfer to a less dusty part of a mine without facing retribution from a mine operator. To qualify, miners must have their black lung testing results certified by NIOSH. But those employees were all placed on administrative leave on April 1, leaving no one to approve his application or offer him free screenings to verify his claims.
'As the testimony before the Court made clear, that dust exposure will cause [Wiley's] disease to progress until it becomes debilitating. Does [Kennedy] genuinely believe that a miner diagnosed with black lung is not being injured when the program designed to confirm his condition and provide him with workplace protections to prevent its progression is rendered inaccessible?' Berger wrote. 'This Court does not share such a belief.'
Wiley risked the possibility of facing unofficial social reprimands from the coal mine he works at. He should feel insulted that people are thanking Kennedy — Kennedy didn't make the decision to put NIOSH employees back to work, Berger did.
Our elected and appointed officials with one lone exception sat back while the government attempted to rob coal miners of the congressionally mandated rights their predecessors fought for. And those miners fight every day to survive an incurable disease without their help.
When you see campaign ads featuring coal miners start to circulate on TV next election, remember where this credit really belongs. Remember who actually fought for our coal miners.
Capito and Moore should be thanking Berger, Petsonk and Wiley for getting some NIOSH employees back to work. And they should be working to get the rest of the employees back on the job permanently as well. The mining research team in Pennsylvania is still on 'temporary' administrative leave. This isn't the end of the fight.
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