(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The Trump Administration attacked the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on April 1st, cutting more than 90% of the agency’s workforce, including me.

NIOSH is the backbone of Worker safety.

It’s the small agency you’ve never heard of that has probably saved your life.

The agency conducts vital research - testing respirators, certifying protective equipment, investigating health hazards, and providing crucial data to Workers and Unions.

This is not just a budget cut - it is a direct, calculated assault on the Working Class.

This week we observed Workers' Memorial Day and remember the Workers who die every year from workplace injuries and illnesses.

At a time when thousands of Workers across the country are losing their lives due to their jobs each year, the government has chosen to gut the very agency responsible for protecting us.

For just $2.20 per Worker per year, NIOSH ensures that we don’t have to choose between a paycheck and our health.

That’s one of the best deals the Working Class ever got from the Federal Government.

Yet, they’re calling us wasteful.

What they are really attacking is the foundation of Worker protections.

Without NIOSH, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) loses the research needed to develop new Occupational Health Regulations.

Without our expertise, Unions lose access to critical hazard evaluations.

And without us, the bosses get a free pass to keep Workers in unsafe conditions.

This gutting of NIOSH isn’t just a loss for Federal Employees - it’s a blow to every Worker in the country.

It harms research on cancer prevention for Firefighters, on preventing workplace violence, on the development of exposure limits for new chemicals used in industry.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Health and Safety Is on the Chopping Block and We’re Fighting Like Hell | Labor Notes