The Trump administration is laying off at least two-thirds of workers at the federal agency responsible for researching and helping prevent work-related illnesses and injuries.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs more than 1,300 workers. Roughly 873 of them are reportedly being laid off under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s restructuring plan.
At the NIOSH Research Laboratory in Spokane, roughly 75 workers will be laid off and the lab will close, said American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1916 chief steward Seth Finley. Around half of those workers are represented by Local 1916.
Workers received notice of their impending layoffs April 2. In most cases, the layoffs will take effect June 30 for union-represented employees.
“We all deserve to go home safe and healthy at the end of the day, and it’s not going to help the American worker if NIOSH isn’t in the picture anymore,” Finley said.
NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but it was created in 1970 by the same law that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Spokane NIOSH office includes the Spokane Mining Research Division, which studies injuries and illnesses for workers in mining. It’s also the headquarters of the NIOSH Western States Division. The Western States Division researches and makes recommendations for the health and safety of workers in oil and gas extraction, wildland firefighting, and maritime industries like commercial fishing and shipyards.
NIOSH isn’t regulatory; the institute doesn’t shut down businesses that have health and safety violations, but instead makes recommendations and provides education when an employer asks for assistance.
NIOSH also authorizes personal protective equipment like respirators.
Wayne Creasap, director of the Ironworkers Union’s health and safety department, said NIOSH tests and researches lots of products. “Losing them right now has a tremendous negative impact — not just on the construction industry, but all industries are going to suffer as a result of that,” Creasap said.
Though most NIOSH workers will remain on the job until June 30, their work has already been hamstrung.
The first couple of weeks under a new presidential administration always have some bumps, Finley said, so workers are encouraged to use that time to get organized and clean up their labs. But a communications freeze issued in January by the acting head of HHS slowed NIOSH work by prohibiting public communications. Workers’ government credit cards were frozen, preventing them from paying for materials or other expenses. Managers were placed on administrative leave on April 2.
In the Spokane Mining Research Division, researchers have been developing systems to monitor mine stability, in order to avoid landslides or ground collapses resulting in injuries or deaths. Other researchers in the division are studying noise and radon exposure in mines.
Finley, an engineering tech in the mining division, said NIOSH employs engineers, geophysicists, technicians, industrial hygienists, epidemiologists, and machinists.
“They’re passionate about their jobs and the research that they do, and know that it’s important. They take it very seriously,” Finley said.
