More job losses have rocked the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, with employees reportedly informed late Friday evening that their positions were being eliminated.
According to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), the notices came at the end of the workday, around 6:30 p.m. on Friday. UMWA President Cecil Roberts was quick to issue a strongly worded response on Saturday, criticizing both the timing and the nature of the layoffs.
“What happened at NIOSH last night is nothing short of shameful,” Roberts stated. “Telling hardworking, dedicated employees that they no longer have a job at 6:30 on a Friday night — after the workday is done and with no forewarning — is cowardly, heartless, and utterly unacceptable.”
While the exact number of jobs cut in this latest round remains unclear, the action follows last month’s announcement that several hundred workers would be laid off as part of restructuring efforts tied to the Department of Government Efficiency and initiatives supported by Elon Musk.
This latest wave of cuts adds to growing concerns about the future of NIOSH’s critical research work, especially within its Respiratory Disease Division. That division has long played a key role in the battle against black lung disease and other occupational respiratory illnesses affecting miners and industrial workers across the country.
“Let me be clear: this is not just an attack on jobs,” Roberts continued. “This is an attack on the very foundation of worker safety in the United States of America. The dismantling of the Respiratory Disease Division at NIOSH is not just a bureaucratic shuffle. It is the elimination of our nation’s leading defense against black lung disease and other respiratory illnesses that afflict miners and workers across this country.”
The union has confirmed that impacted employees were notified their positions would officially be terminated on July 2.
The news has sent shockwaves through the Morgantown community, where NIOSH has long been a cornerstone employer and a national leader in occupational health research. Many in the scientific and labor communities fear that the layoffs signal a troubling shift away from worker health protections at the federal level.
As criticism mounts, local leaders and labor advocates are calling for transparency and accountability in the handling of these workforce reductions, as well as a renewed commitment to preserving public health infrastructure that serves some of the nation’s most vulnerable workers.
