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Epoch Times
30-04-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
Federal Firefighter Safety Workers Reinstated for Now
Employees working in coal mining and firefighter safety who had been slated for termination have been asked to return to work, according to a U.S. senator and a union that represents them. The workers are employed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As part of an HHS overhaul, hundreds of NIOSH employees were placed on administrative leave and set to be fired, union officials say. Employees who work for the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program and the Fire Fighters' Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program are being reinstated temporarily, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3430 The exact number of affected workers is unclear. The workers are still on the list to be fired as part of mass terminations scheduled for June 2, the union said. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( who has been in conversations with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about reversing some of the cuts, also said she understood the reinstatements to be temporary. Related Stories 4/23/2025 4/4/2025 'I am encouraged that some NIOSH functions for coal miner and firefighter safety are slated to resume with some select staff returning to work this week. But my understanding is that this is temporary, so my focus will continue to be on working with HHS on permanently restoring these functions and personnel in the most efficient and effective manner,' Capito HHS did not respond to a request for comment. Kennedy A West Virginia coal miner who sued the government in federal court over the cuts The government has not yet responded to the legal action. A judge ordered the government to respond by May 2 and to appear in court on May 7. Kennedy
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Some NIOSH workers return temporarily amid cuts impacting coal miner health screenings in WV
Some employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, pictured here on Jan. 28, 2012 in Morgantown, will return temporarily, according to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. (Getty Images) At least some workers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health are getting back to work this week after federal cuts in early April took them off the job, according to a statement released Tuesday by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Those returning to work include some employees from the Coal Worker Health Surveillance Program and the Fire Fighters' Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. The total number of individuals who were granted reemployment has not been released. And those who are returning to work will, at this time, only be doing so temporarily. A Reduction In Force for the 'vital' federal agency is still slated to go into effect in June and will impact these workers, according to a statement from the local chapter of the American Federation of Governmental Employees, a labor union representing the employees. Cathy Tinney-Zara, president of AFGE Local 3430 in Morgantown, said in a news release that the union is 'encouraged' by the decision to call crucial workers back to work. 'This action, though temporary, allows these dedicated professionals to return to their critical roles in advancing worker safety and health across the country,' Tinney-Zara said. 'Their return means renewed momentum for life-saving research, outreach and interventions that protect workers in high-risk industries and help prevent illness, injury, and death on the job.' Notably, Tinney-Zara continued, it seems only workers in the CWHSP and the FFFIPP — programs that are 'currently in the media spotlight' — were included in the calls to return to work. That leaves numerous other programs and initiatives undertaken by NIOSH still inoperable after cuts from the new federal Department of Government Efficiency hit the agency in early April. 'These are undoubtedly vital initiatives, but they are only a portion of the comprehensive, nationwide worker protection mission NIOSH fulfills,' Tinney-Zara said. 'From construction sites to health care facilities, from transportation hubs to agricultural fields, NIOSH's work touches nearly every corner of the American labor force.' The directive offering some people their jobs back came after Capito, earlier this month, wrote a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to reconsider the cuts that cost at least 200 people their jobs — and, in turn, ended the programs they worked for — in the Morgantown NIOSH facility. On Tuesday, Capito said in a statement that she was 'encouraged that some NIOSH functions for coal miner and firefighter safety are slated to resume with some select staff returning to work this week.' 'But my understanding is that this is temporary so my focus will continue to be on working with [the federal Department of Health and Human Services] on permanently restoring these functions and personnel in the most efficient and effective manner,' Capito continued. In her letter to Kennedy on April 21, Capito emphasized how critical Morgantown's NIOSH facility and the workers within it were to combatting deadly black lung disease and protecting miners who are now being pushed, through initiatives by the Trump Administration, to mine more coal than any time in recent memory. 'The NIOSH Mining Program works to eliminate mining fatalities and injuries. Research in rock dust has resulted in safety changes to prevent explosions in underground mines …' Capito wrote. 'NIOSH's [CWHSP] studies respiratory disease and provides black lung screenings to coal miners. It is my understanding that the RIF impacted every employee in these important programs.' With work by the CWHSP halted since April 1, coal miners in central Appalachia have been without access to critical health services and surveillance, including free screenings for black lung and a program that allows them, once diagnosed with black lung, to request relocating to a different, less dusty portion of a mine in order to mitigate the worst developments of the deadly disease. Anyone requesting to relocate in a mine — a labor right afforded to miners through the Part 90 program — must have their black lung testing results evaluated and marked eligible by a NIOSH worker in order to be approved. But with DOGE's cuts, those workers didn't exist anymore. The reduction in services for coal miners comes as a surge of black lung disease is hitting the workforce. It also hits as implementation of a federal rule that would limit miners' exposure to dangerous silica dust for the first time ever has been delayed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of coal miners in central Appalachia are suffering from black lung — the highest rate detected in more than 25 years. One in 20 of the region's coal miners are living with the most severe form of the condition. And the resurgence of black lung is hitting coal miners at younger ages than ever before. This is due to miners, because of a lack of easily accessible coal, being forced to dig through more silica-rich sandstone than their predecessors in order to reach what little coal remains. When the silica dust rule was slated to go into effect this month, the former secretary for the federal Department of Labor estimated that it could potentially save thousands of lives. Now, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the federal Mine Health and Safety Administration — the agency that would be in charge of enacting and enforcing the silica rule — is being temporarily headed by an attorney who worked with industry groups that lobbied against implementation of exposure limits for silica, which advocates and coal mining veterans have colored as being life saving if ever implemented. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Union says NIOSH employees expected to return to work are still on termination list
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3430 celebrated Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's ( announcement that some NIOSH (FULL) employees are expected to return to work at the Morgantown facility this week, but it's only a temporary solution. According to a press release from Local 3430, the 'several' employees that are expected to return to work this week are related to programs like the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) and the Fire Fighters' Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP). Although these are 'vital initiatives,' the union said they are 'only a portion' of what NIOSH does. Additionally, the union said that those employees that are expected to return to work are still on the Reduction in Force (RIF) list that is scheduled for termination on June 2. UPS to cut 20K jobs, close some facilities as it reduces amount of Amazon shipments At the beginning of the month, approximately 200 Morgantown NIOSH employees were laid off as part of federal cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), removing the workforce behind the federal government's resources and research for worker safety. 'At its core, NIOSH makes government more effective and efficient by improving the health andsafety of America's workforce. Its science-based research, practical interventions, and collaborative partnerships not only save lives but also generate significant economic benefits,' the Local 3430 release said. Sen. Capito said Tuesday that she is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find a more permanent solution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
