US miners’ union head calls House Republican effort to block silica dust rule an ‘attack’ on workers

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The head of the national mine workers’ union is condemning an effort by House Republicans to block enforcement of a long-awaited federal rule directed at curbing workers’ exposure to deadly rock dust. United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts called the move “a direct attack on the health and safety of coal miners.” A budget provision approved by a U.S. House subcommittee Thursday would prohibit the Department of Labor from using funding to enforce a silica dust rule operators must be in compliance with next year. He called it “morally reprehensible” and that the action “undermines the principles of fairness and justice that our country stands for.”