U.S. Senate and House leaders late this morning unveiled proposed new mine safety legislation in response to the deaths of 29 miners at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.
Sponsors of the proposal explained their goals this way:
Despite progress over the last several decades, mining remains one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. On April 5, 2010, a massive explosion ripped through Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, killing 29 miners and injuring others. This disaster has prompted a public outcry about this and other mines’ safety records and the systemic barriers that prevented recurring safety problems from being addressed.
Leading members of the House and Senate released an outline of legislative concepts to address the serious concerns raised. These reforms would give operators incentives to comply with the law, empower workers to speak up about safety concerns, and ensure that MSHA has the tools it needs to hold unsafe mines accountable to improve their safety.
There’s a summary available and a “discussion draft” also has been made public. Here’s the description of the legislation’s major provisions:
– Making Mines with Serious and Repeated Violations Safe – Criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions would be revamped to ensure that the nation’s most dangerous mine operations improve safety dramatically.
– Ensuring Irresponsible Operators are Held Accountable – Maximum criminal and civil penalties would be increased and operators would be required to pay penalties in a timely manner.
– Giving MSHA Better Enforcement Tools – MSHA would be given the authority to subpoena documents and testimony. The agency could seek a court order to close a mine when there is a continuing threat to the health and safety of miners. MSHA could require more training of miners in unsafe mines. Increased rock dusting would be required to prevent coal dust explosions.
– Protecting Miners Who Speak out on Unsafe Conditions – Miners would be granted the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions. Protections for workers who speak out about unsafe conditions would be strengthened, and miners would not lose pay for safety-related closures. In addition, miners would receive protections so they can speak freely during investigations.
– Increasing MSHA’s Accountability – The legislative outline provides for an independent investigation of the most serious accidents. It would require that mine personnel are well-qualified, and ensure that inspections are comprehensive and well-targeted. Additionally, it requires pre-shift reviews of mine conditions and communication to ensure that appropriate safety information is transmitted.
– Guaranteeing Basic Protections in All Other Workplaces – To ensure that all workplaces have basic protections, whistleblower protections would be strengthened, criminal and civil penalties would be increased, and hazard abatement would be sped up. In addition, victims of accidents and their family members would be provided greater rights during investigations and enforcement actions.
Senate Labor Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said;
In mines around the country and in other workplaces as well, worker safety has not been a priority. Bad actors have put profits ahead of people. As a consequence, workers have lost vital protections, suffered significant injuries and, in too many cases, lost their lives. We are determined to put sharper teeth in our workplace safety laws and to step up federal enforcement. We look forward to working with members on both sides of the aisle to find bipartisan solutions for workers. These policy ideals start that dialogue.
House Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said:
The Upper Big Branch tragedy highlighted significant problems in our nation’s miner safety laws and need substantial reform. Mine operators who callously and repeatedly put their workers in danger must be held accountable. It is clear that current law does not provide sufficient protections to miners who go underground every day. Today, we take the first step to ensure that the health and safety of workers are put ahead of production and profit.
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Words – these sound nice, but without enforcement they are just blots of ink on a page. But I suppose Congress has to make it look like they are doing something.
George Miller through the years has backed up his words with every action he could do that was feasible under the political climate. The fact that we still get answers of “it depends on if it adds to the deficit” before public officials sign onto the Protecting America’s Worker’s Act proves that despite american outcry NOTHING has changed in the political climate .