Deluzio & PA Congressional Delegation Members Call for Reinstatement of Mine Safety Workers at NIOSH Facility in Western PA
CARNEGIE, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) led seven members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation on a letter demanding that the Department of Health and Human Services reverse the firing of workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (PMRD). The mass firings endanger miner health and safety, and lawmakers from across the Commonwealth are calling on the Trump Administration to roll back the reckless purge of these essential federal workers before their scheduled termination date on July 2, 2025.
“PMRD is part of a coordinated federal ecosystem focused on a core mission: keeping miners alive, healthy, and protected on the job,” write the Members of Congress in their letter to Secretary Kennedy. “That mission cannot be achieved if any part of the system is dismantled... Its proven track record of advancing mine safety and productivity is essential to ensuring a robust American coal mining industry and protecting the livelihoods of thousands of families who depend on that industry. Just as it was essential to bring back the workers at CWHSP [the Coal Worker Health Surveillance Program] and NPPTL [the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory], it is equally urgent to return the PMRD [Pittsburgh Mining Research Division] workforce to their posts.”
The signatories of the letter are: Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12), Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-03), Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06). The full letter is available here and is copied at the bottom.
“On behalf of the NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division employees, I want to thank Congressman Deluzio, Congresswoman Lee and the PA Congressional delegation for supporting the dedicated federal workers who commit every day to the unique effort of protecting America's miners from injury, illness and death that is required by the 2006 Mine Act,” said Lilas Soukup, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1916.
BACKGROUND
On April 1, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services initiated a Reduction in Force (RIF) at NIOSH, placing upwards of 90% of the agency’s staff on administrative leave and effectively halting multiple miner health and safety programs.
Days later on April 4th, 2025, Congressman Deluzio and over 100 of his fellow lawmakers signed a letter calling on the Administration to reverse the firings.
On May 13th, 2025, a federal judge ordered that the RIF be reversed for workers at NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division. However, PMRD workers were not covered by that court order, and are still currently scheduled to be terminated on July 2, 2025.
Congressman Deluzio and his team have been in contact with employees of the mining research team and helped share their story to raise public awareness. One of them anonymously shared: “If we are no longer able to fulfill our duties, the health of workers in the stone, sand, gravel, and coal mining industries will be negatively impacted. Our entire staff is scheduled to be terminated on July 2nd, and there's been zero guidance on who to transfer our knowledge and training to so that this life-saving work can keep going.”
LETTER TEXT
June 27, 2025
The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Kennedy,
We write in strong opposition to the RIF notice of dozens of workers within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (PMRD), whose purpose, is “to eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses across all mining sectors.”[1] We urge you to fully and immediately rescind the RIF notice with a termination date of July 2, 2025 of these workers to ensure their important work to ensure miners’ safety can continue without further disruption.
As you are aware, on April 1, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services initiated a reduction in force (RIF) at NIOSH, placing upwards of 90 percent of the agency’s staff on administrative leave and effectively halting multiple coal miner health and safety programs. Following a lawsuit by coal miners, on May 13, 2025, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering your department to reverse the RIFs affecting the Respiratory Health Division within NIOSH, such as the Coal Worker Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), and to immediately resume all legally mandated work under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. As U.S. District Judge Irene Berger wrote in her decision, “Losing the services of these experienced and dedicated employees is an aspect of the irreparable harm to the miners and the public that cannot and should not be ignored.”[2]
Despite also being essential to safeguarding worker health and safety, PMRD, a part of NIOSH’s Mining Program, was not covered by the court’s injunction. Accordingly, these workers remain on administrative leave and PMRD’s work remains paused. PMRD’s workers conduct cutting-edge research to minimize the dangers miners face, such as studies into preventing mine explosions, reducing toxic dust exposure, improving ventilation, and testing the structural stability of underground environments, among other areas. They operate the only federally maintained experimental coal mines in the country, along with advanced labs that simulate real-world mining conditions.
Together, with CWHSP, which screens coal miners for black lung disease, and NPPTL, which tests and certifies the respirators that protect workers in hazardous environments, PMRD is part of a coordinated federal ecosystem focused on a core mission: keeping miners alive, healthy, and protected on the job. That mission cannot be achieved if any part of the system is dismantled. PMRD is neither duplicative nor expendable. Its proven track record of advancing mine safety and productivity is essential to ensuring a robust American coal mining industry and protecting the livelihoods of thousands of families who depend on that industry. Just as it was essential to bring back the workers at CWHSP and NPPTL, it is equally urgent to return the PMRD workforce to their posts.
Again, we urge you to fully and immediately reinstate PMRD workers.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/divisions-offices/pittsburgh-mining.html
[2] Wiley v. Kennedy Jr., No. 2:25-cv-00227, at 27 (S.D.W. Va. May 13, 2025) (injunction order)
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