"We have lost too many miners to ever forget that the most important resource to come out of a mine is the miner, not the coal."
- Cecil E. Roberts,
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
President Donald J. Trump seems to care a lot about the coal industry… just not the health of its workers.
The administration is seeking public comments with an eye toward rolling back vital safety regulations that the president feels limit the industry's production and profits.
The Obama-era mining regulations were put in place three years ago to reduce miners' exposure to coal dust that causes black lung. Between 1968 and 2014, more than 76,000 coal miners nationwide died from black lung.
Mining deaths surged in 2017, but instead of working to save lives, the Trump administration seems intent on rolling back hard-won mine safety standards.
This proposal is still in early development. And -- if enough of us speak out -- we can still protect American miners from the coal dust that causes black lung disease.
Help save the lives of coal miners. Urge the US Mine Safety and Health Administration to maintain black lung protections for America's coal miners.
