Federal Government Averts Mass Layoffs to Safeguard Vital Program for Local Workers: ‘Cautious Optimism Reigns’

The Trump administration decided to reverse the layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services on April 29, following concerns that these cuts would jeopardize a program designed to screen coal miners for black lung disease.

On June 2nd, however, the numerous employees will face termination once more.

the Washington Post

Reported. Black lung is “an fatal and untreatable condition resulting from breathing in poisonous coal dust.”

This step leaves the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program uncertain. The program is managed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We must include this feature to ensure the safety and well-being of our coal miners,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia, which ranks as the nation’s second-largest coal-producing state, stated to the Post.

According to The Post, coal miners reached out to Capito to inquire about potential federal benefits from NIOSH.

The initiative began in 1969 and provides coal workers with complimentary and private chest X-rays, as reported by the Post. Should an employee be identified with black lung disease, they have the option to transfer to a less hazardous section within the mine without experiencing a reduction in wages and can seek approved medical care and medication.

Cathy Tinney-Zara, who serves as the president of a union representing NIOSH workers in Morgantown, West Virginia, stated, “This reinstatement doesn’t cover all affected employees.” She further explained, “It seems the priority for recalling staff focuses mainly on programs receiving significant media attention—specifically mentioning the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program.”

Hundreds of coal miners filed a lawsuit saying the administration violated the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act by firing the workers, per the Post. It asks for the NIOSH employees to be immediately reinstated.

Although coal mines are being

phased out


across the globe

as countries transition to cleaner energy sources, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders to expand the industry. A

global think tank said

it “makes no sense, economic or otherwise.”

And even if every coal plant in America were shuttered today, federally mandated health care for miners, including the black lung screening program, would have to continue well into the future.

Clean energy sources

For instance, solar and wind power are more cost-effective than filthy coal, natural gas, and petroleum, and they do not emit the harmful greenhouse gases responsible for increasing global temperatures and contributing to health issues and biodiversity decline.

more intense and common extreme climatic events

. Coal plants also

affect crop yields

and

pollute vital water sources

.

My layoff notification indicates that as of June 2nd, I will lose my job—this has not altered,” stated Noemi Hall, a NIOSH employee, to the Post. “While I aim to remain hopeful, I am aware that numerous commitments have been unfulfilled.

Scott Laney mentioned he would “need to abandon this honorable struggle to preserve the program and seek employment elsewhere,” describing it as an overwhelmingly challenging task.

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Federal government reverses mass layoffs in effort to preserve vital program for local workers: ‘I want to be cautiously optimistic’

first appeared on

The Cool Down

.