WASHINGTON — Some 100 members of the National Black Lung Association — coal miners, wives, widows and other family members and friends — rallied here Oct. 14, along with members of the United Mine Workers of America. They’re demanding the enforcement of new safety guidelines. After years of pressure from the NBLA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration in April 2024 said the amount of silica dust miners can be exposed to would be cut in half. But implementing the rule was postponed.
“We’re tired of seeing 28 year olds with complicated black lung. A 35 year old died last week. These people are not going to see their children grow up. This rule has to be enforced,” Vonda Robinson, vice president of the National Black Lung Association, told the rally.
Some participants leaned on canes or sat in walkers. Others held up pictures of relatives who had died — victims of the resurgence of a disease that was virtually eradicated in the mines when the union was stronger. Some said that they have been fighting for certification to get medical benefits for 20 or 30 years.
“Congress, you aren’t doing nothing for us,” Gary Hairston, president of the NBLA, told participants. “You have us stand beside you when you run for election. We need you all to stand up for us coal miners.”
“We have a job to do,” Hairston told the Militant. “Educate each other because when the unions come together there is nothing we can’t do.” UMWA President Cecil Roberts, UMWA Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson and pulmonologist Dr. Leonard Go also spoke. Participants came from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.