Trump has long espoused a love of coal . “ I call it beautiful , clean coal — I tell my people to never use the word ‘ coal ’ unless you put ‘ beautiful , clean ’ before it , ” the prexy lately saidduring a press eventinvolving a backdrop of man dressed in ember mineworker equip . The former reality TV wiz has also call the ember diligence “ just about the estimable , ” and late passed anexecutive orderthat seek to “ Reinvigorate America ’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry . ”
Whether the current President of the United States actually loves the chemical compound that is coal or not , his administration does n’t seem to give much of a shit about the health and safety of the worker who labour it out of the ground . The new government continue to attack and dismantle worker protections that provide wellness and economical benefits to a whole raiment of proletarian , include those who toil in subterranean mines . Now , two unions typify mineworker have sued the White House over its recent threat to their welfare .
In These Timeswrites thatthe United Mine Workers of America ( UMWA ) and the AFL - CIO ’s United Steelworkers have filed judicial proceeding against the Mine Safety and Health Administration which , under Trump , has paused a long - pursued regulation that would have set miners ’ exposure to a toxic chemical ordinarily found in mine . The rule , call “ Lowering Miners ’ Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica and Improving Respiratory Protection , ” would have — just as it say — enforced new regulations that drastically reduced mineworker ’ pic to crystalline silica , which is a toxic mineral that can make serious respiratory problem when inhaled . The outlet writes :
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The rule would have trim down the allowable exposure horizontal surface of deadly silica dust—20 times more toxic than ember dust and a major cause of black lung disease among coal miners — in one-half . The rule was plan to take gist onApril14after decades of lobbying from ember miners , public health experts and worker advocator . When it was put out in2024 , the Department of Laborestimatedthe new rule would result in more than1,000fewer last and3,746fewer cases of silicon dioxide - related sickness .
… [ the ] causa starkly outlines the bet of delaying the regulation , emphasizing that the “loss of the protections of the silica linguistic rule will entail debilitating respiratory illness , including silicosis and ember actor ’s pneumoconiosis , as well as premature deaths and womb-to-tomb disability . ”
Gizmodo extend to out to the Trump administration and the UMWA for comment .
In These Times also note that , under the rubric of Elon Musk ’s DOGE , the government has search to downsize and reorganize several prole protection agency that defend health and safety standards for ember mineworker . Those agencies include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health ( NIOSH ) , both of which are responsible for found safety rule for America ’s workforce .
Trump and his political movement have long engaged in a political strategy that involves flattering and devote lip service to certain kind of workers while at the same time passing law and policy that threaten to harm ( economically or otherwise ) those very same doer . It resist to cause that things would n’t be any different even when it follow to “ beautiful , clean ” ember .
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