The war against the war against mining continues as the Trump Labor Department attempts to save the mining industry from yet another draconian regulation guaranteed to kill thousands of jobs.
What was this onerous regulation? A requirement for non-coal miners (“metal/non-metal) that “an examination of the working place be conducted before miners begin working in that place, that operators notify miners in the affected areas of any conditions found that may adversely affect their safety or health, that operators promptly initiate corrective action, and that a record be made of the examination.” In other words that mines must be safe before miners go in.
The Administration quietly published a notice in today’s Federal Register, proposing to extend the May 23 “effective date” for 60 days “to assure that mine operators and miners affected by the examinations final rule have the training and compliance assistance they need prior to the rule’s effective date.” The agency will be accepting comments on this proposal until April 26, 2017.
Former Labor Department official Sharon Block (with an assist from Ken Ward) notes on Twitter that the administration announced the delay of this regulation exactly 70 years after the tragic 1947 Centralia mine disaster that killed 111 miners.
On this day in 2017, Trump Admin announces delay of MSHA exam rule requiring that mines are safe before the shift starts and miners go in. t.co/ZgatJTxyQf
— Sharon Block (@sharblock) March 25, 2017
And just for good measure, former NYTimes Labor Reporter Steven Greenhouse also reminds us that March 25 is the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.
@Kenwardjr Today is also the 106th anniversary of the Triangle shirtwaist fire in which 146 garment workers died. t.co/jgKP5yWAW3
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) March 25, 2017