NPR’s Howard Berkes and Benny Becker of Ohio Valley Resource invite us to listen to the voice of seven coal miners—all who have severe lung disease because of their work.
Teachers continue their fight for living wages and fair working conditions; new study sheds light on the working environments of miners with black lung disease; more than 200 delivery drivers sue Amazon for unpaid wages; and McDonald’s workers vote to strike next week over sexual harassment.
A new Kentucky law will likely make it harder for miners to access black lung benefits; hundreds of organizations and individuals petition OSHA to develop a heat exposure standard; one of the world’s largest asbestos sellers starts stamping its products with Donald Trump’s face; and a new study finds corporate tax cuts don’t boost worker wages.
For years the coal industry has been sowing doubt about an air sampling device that is mandated in a regulation to address black lung disease. Last week a National Academies’ panel put to rest industry assertions about the accuracy of the device.
Coal miners are concerned that a program that assists individuals who are disabled by black lung disease is in debt. The problem will explode if Congress fails to act before the end of the year.
The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund faces the risk of insolvency; Trump signs executive order making it easier to fire civil servants; farmworker advocates call on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program; and thousands of activists call on Amazon to eliminate forced arbitration for contractors.
Nashville’s housing boom brings new high in construction worker deaths; EPA drops chemical safety rules proposed after the West, Texas, fertilizer explosion; new research identifies nearly 5,000 cases of severe black lung disease; and Tesla reports missing worker injuries after journalists expose unsafe working conditions at its California plant.
A new law in Kentucky will make it even more difficult for coal miners with black lung disease to be reimbursed for their medical care costs and lost wages. Findings from radiologists–the specialists in interpreting xrays—will no longer be considered a relevant piece of evidence to support a coal miner’s case.
President Trump boasted yesterday at a photo op of his plans to cut the “red tape of regulations.” His regulatory agenda ignores his crush on coal miners by threatening current rules to prevent black lung disease.
Uber’s new insurance plan won’t do much to protect its injured workers; investigation finds 1,000 additional black lung cases in Appalachia; Washington state welcomes a new paid family leave law; and St. Louis workers face a pay cut after state legislators overturn the city’s minimum wage hike.