Uniontown, PA
April 16, 2024
Brother Cecil, you have really paved the path to today. You have been sounding the alarm about occupational illnesses like silicosis, like black lung, for decades, and I am very proud to be here with you today.
Of course, I'm also grateful to the Building Trades, as well as to a couple of friends who are here. I just want to mention them, Darrin Kelly, President of the Central Labor Council in Pittsburgh, and I also want to acknowledge our Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President, Angela Ferritto. So, thank you both so much for being here.
[Applause]
I'll start by acknowledging union leaders and the important role that they have played because it gives me the chance to say something that I say all the time, which is that unions make America stronger. And the role of unions not only makes things better for union members, but also for non-union working people, who are going to get the protections of this rule as well.
So thank you all for all of that. And thank you on behalf of President Biden, who believes this deep in his heart as well.
Senators Casey and Fetterman have also been really great partners in this work, especially Senator Casey. We talked about him a little bit this morning also. He has been leading this fight on behalf of the Commonwealth for decades too.
And there's so many advocates from across the mining community who are here today. I got to speak to some of them. But Gary, Lynda, Debbie, Arvin, Billy, John, and Sam, thank you for your work. We do not get to this point without advocacy over a long period of time. For many people, who take risks to raise their voices, so thank you very, very much.
Today, we're making it clear that no job should be a death sentence, that every single worker should come home healthy and safe at the end of the day and at the end of a career.
The stories that we will hear today from folks like Gary represent just a small fraction of miners who have had their lives upended by silica dust. In Central Appalachia, an estimated one in five long-tenured coal miners have black lung disease. That's one in five who struggle to get through a phone call, to play with their grandkids without losing their breaths. That's one in five whose life expectancy is cut down by an average of 12 years. That's one in five who are forced to carry an irreversible disease.
And the trends are going in the wrong direction. Doctors are diagnosing and treating more miners with black lung and other respiratory diseases than ever before, including at younger and younger ages.
For too long, we've accepted this as just the normal course of things for miners. They've had to work without the same protections from silica dust that people in other industries get, even though we've known about the harms of silica dust since Frances Perkins was the Secretary of Labor!
No more. Not on our watch.
[Applause]
President Biden put this rule on his regulatory agenda from the very beginning. And that's what it looks like to have the most pro-worker, pro-union President in American history. This new rule is going to reduce exposure to toxic silica dust and reduce entirely preventable diseases.
I couldn't be prouder of our team's work on this, starting with our Assistant Secretary Chris Williamson, who we will hear from in a moment, and the entire MSHA team, many of whom are here today. We talked just a little while ago about how important it is to have enforcement on the ground and MSHA responding when we hear about complaints, when you need us. And the MSHA team has stepped up in this moment too, and I just really want to acknowledge the long nights and long months—and really years—that led to this moment.
Our final rule brings the permissible exposure limit for miners in line with the limit for workers in other industries. It also includes safeguards for miners' health like engineering controls and monitoring to prevent overexposure. The final rule requires that metal and nonmetal mines also provide periodic health exams at no cost to the miners or their families—modeled after the longstanding program that is currently available to coal miners. And we're also strengthening respiratory protection standards against all airborne hazards—not just silica dust.
Since I came to the Department of Labor, I have asked my team to unleash their full power for the good of American workers, to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to conduct—not just to do inspections and issue citations—but to make workers truly healthy and safe. And to make sure workers are truly heard.
And today is a product of that.
We estimate that this final rule is going to save more than a thousand lives and prevent severe illness for thousands more. This means more moms and dads, more sons and daughters, more grandparents who can play with their kids, who come home healthy and safe—not just at the end of each day, but the end of a career, and including those right here in Uniontown. I know that for the families in this room, especially those who have lost loved ones to illnesses caused by their jobs, that this final rule is a long time coming. I just want to acknowledge that point too. I'm honored to be here with you all as we take this long-overdue step forward.
I just want to say one last thing. This rule—as exciting and important as it is—it's just one part of what we are doing to unleash the full power of the Department of Labor to protect America's miners. So much of our work doesn't make the news, but it is making a difference in communities across America, like this one.
So first, we have built MSHA back up. We've hired 270 inspectors after the devasting cuts of the last administration. And those inspectors are on the job now to enforce the mine act—because the law is only as good as it is enforced—and to conduct investigations to keep miners healthy and safe. And we'll enforce this standard.
In addition to our regular inspections across the country, we are conducting monthly impact inspections in higher-risk mines to identify and eliminate hazards that can cost miners their lives. So often people respond when a tragedy occurs; we are on the job to prevent those tragedies from happening in the first place.
We're also educating miners and mine operators about how to prevent accidents through proper training and precautionary measures, including our Take Time Save Lives campaign. While any miner death is one too many, this year we are seeing that fatalities are down dramatically, so we are going to continue doing what we know works and to double down on those efforts.
We created a Miner Safety and Health App also, so every day, miners can get real-time information on their phones. We use that to send out targeted safety and health alerts directly to miners.
And just last month, we launched a new Health Resource Locator Tool that makes it easier for miners to access the health care that they need.
This administration is deeply committed to this community, to miners, to health and safety, and also to preventing things that are going to cost miners their health and safety.
We see you. We hear you. We thank you for all the work that you do. And we have your back—not just today, but every day.
Thank you.