On May 13, following federal judge orders, 100 workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) facility in Morgantown WV, a key research center for black lung disease and mine safety, received letters of notification that their jobs — previously cut by the Trump administration — had been permanently reinstated.
These reinstatements are a result of the consistent mobilization and pressure from labor unions and workers across the United States, not simply the decision of a benevolent judge. This victory, albeit small, not only shows the vulnerability of the right-wing agenda, but demonstrates the desperate need to expand, not eliminate, protections for West Virginia’s workers who hold the second-deadliest workplace fatality rate in the country.
Black lung: a class based disease
One-in-five coal miners in central Appalachia suffer from pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung, an incurable, degenerative lung disease that results from long-term exposure to coal dust. For decades, NIOSH has provided free black lung screenings for workers, offering opportunities for early detection. Once a worker shows signs of black lung, they may elect to be relocated to a dust-free environment, such as an office, with no cut in pay. This relocation program is known as Part 90, and up until May 13, was set to be eliminated as part of Trump’s plan to cut 10,000 jobs from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of which NIOSH is a federal agency.
United Mine Workers of America president, Cecil E. Roberts, referred to last month’s cuts as not only an attack on jobs but “an attack on the very foundation of worker safety in the United States of America.”
Roberts continued, “The United Mine Workers of America will not stand by silently while decades of progress are gutted overnight. This isn’t just detrimental — it’s catastrophic. It’s detrimental to coal miners. Detrimental to American workers. Detrimental to American families.”
Trump’s false working class rhetoric
Last month, in conjunction with cuts to health and safety personnel, Trump signed four executive orders aiming to reinvigorate the coal industry. While Trump’s “pro-coal” rhetoric is welcomed by many poor, working class West Virginians who, for decades, have been impacted by job loss and deindustrialization at the hands of both ruling class parties, his cuts to NIOSH make his true intentions clear: sacrifice the health and safety of the working class in order to increase profits for the coal companies
Today, West Virginia is viewed as a “red” state, with Trump winning 70% of the votes in 2024, the fourth consecutive presidential election in which a Republican has won all 55 counties. However, the history of West Virginia is one of class struggle.
From the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921 to the Teachers’ Strike in 2018 to the recent waves of protest against Trump’s right-wing agenda, West Virginia has a rich history of radical labor uprisings, demonstrating that despite the liberal notion of being a “backward” state, the billionaire agenda is deeply unpopular – even in Appalachia.
As workers across the United States continue to fight back against attacks on fundamental rights, fought for and won over decades of struggle, it is imperative to not only aim to defend, but also to expand, labor rights and protections for all workers of all nationalities and industries.
