New Mine Safety Chief: The Change We Needed

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/10/22/new-mine-safety-chief-the-change-we-needed/

by Seth Michaels, Oct 22, 2009

Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Joe Main—by unanimous consent—as the new leader of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Main is a longtime advocate for safety and health in the mining industry. He worked 22 years as director of Occupational Health and Safety for the Mine Workers (UMWA). That’s a huge change from the Bush-era head of MSHA, coal-industry lobbyist Richard Stickler, who came under fire for failure to enforce mining safety laws.

Cecil Roberts, president of the UMWA, said Main would be a strong advocate for miners and praised President Barack Obama and the Senate for a great choice:

We sincerely believe that Joe’s long experience as an advocate for miners’ health and safety on the job will bring a refreshing change to an agency that for too long has favored production over strong enforcement of workplace safety and health in America’s mines.

Nothing can replace careful attention to strong safety and health practices in the workplace by both miners and management every day on the job to ensure that miners’ lives and limbs are not put at risk. But with such strong and outspoken advocates of workplace health and safety as Joe Main, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and President Obama on the side of working miners, we believe that those operators who in the past have chosen to put increased production ahead of miners’ health and safety will no longer be allowed to get away with it.

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Another vital position filled after only NINE MONTHS -- thanks, obstructionist GOP!

This is nearly as bad as their chicanery in delaying confirmation of the new head of the FCC until June.