(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Unions across Nursing, Education, Mining and Manufacturing Industries, along with a manufacturer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), are suing the Trump Administration to reverse the illegal dismantling of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The Trump Administration and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s reckless cuts to NIOSH - made under the direction of Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) - have shut down vital programs and will result in the firing of more than 85% of the Staff by July.

The chaos of dismantling, temporarily recalling and piecemeal reinstatements of Staff has wreaked havoc on workers’ lives, discontinuing services and programs altogether and creating total disruption in the benefits and protections that Workers and the public depend on. 

Public Citizen Litigation Group and the National AFL-CIO’s Office of the General Counsel filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Unions, Workplace Safety Experts and a PPE manufacturer.

The plaintiffs include the National AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), Dentec Safety Specialists Inc., the International Association of Machinists (IAM), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), the National Nurses United (NNU), the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the United Steelworkers (USW).

As the complaint explains, the cutbacks directly threaten the lives of Workers whose safety and health depend on NIOSH, detailing cuts to its vital, Congressionally-mandated work that all depend on the expertise throughout the whole of the agency, including: Certifying respirators and testing other PPE and technologies used by Workers across industries, including in Health Care, Mining, Manufacturing, Firefighting and Construction, and preventing counterfeits from entering the market; Conducting critical mine safety research and providing medical screenings for Coal Miners; Investigating workplaces to identify and mitigate exposure to toxins and potential health hazards; Funding the formal training for future Industrial Hygienists, Epidemiologists, Physicians and other Occupational Safety and Health Professionals through universities and field-based internships; and Providing scientific and technical support to enable medical compensation for Nuclear Weapons Workers and September 11th First Responders. 

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Labor and Workplace Health and Safety Groups Sue to Restore Programs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) | AFL-CIO