West Virginia Voted for Trump 70-28, Now Coal Miners are Losing Black Lung Screenings

West Virginia voted for Trump 69.97% to Harris getting 28.10%, and now their coal miners are losing black lung screenings after Trump slashed the budget for the worker safety agency NIOSH.

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West Virginia voted for Trump 69.97% to Harris getting 28.10%, and now their coal miners are losing black lung screenings after Trump slashed the budget for the worker safety agency NIOSH.

This might be called a lesson regarding what exactly Republicans mean when they refer to cutting “waste, fraud and abuse.”

Republicans see the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as waste, fraud and abuse. So President Trump mandated the slashing of their budget, which led to the elimination of black lung screenings for coal miners and the termination of many NIOSH staff members, according to an article by CBS.

But it’s also bigger than coal miners.

"I'm really worried and fearful about what the impacts are going to be on the rest of us," Catherine Blackwood, who is described as a PhD scientist at the NIOSH facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, told CBS.

"Every single person faces different hazards at their work every day. And without NIOSH, I think that we are all in danger," Blackwood said.

CBS noted that the “budget for NIOSH was about $363 million in 2023, the same year that job injuries and illnesses cost Americans around $176 billion… Without NIOSH, officials say that number could be higher.”

"I don't think it's hyperbole to say that eviscerating NIOSH, as they have, will cause people to die," Blackwood said.

Other Critical NIOSH Cuts

NIOSH’s budget is only about $2.20 per worker annually ($338 Million), according to Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health.

Fighting the budget slashing, AIHA (the association for scientists and professionals committed to preserving and ensuring occupational and environmental health and safety) put out a press release pointing out other critical NIOSH programs that Trump eliminated:

“Other critical NIOSH programs have been eliminated, such as the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, which was created when Congress passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2018. NIOSH describes the NFR as “the largest effort ever undertaken to understand and reduce risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters.” The registration section of the NFR website became unavailable following reduction-in-force notices to agency staff.”

They point out the return on investment for the annual budget of $363 million:

“For those who don’t think the cost of NIOSH’s $363 million annual budget is worth the investment in preventing workplace illnesses and injuries, this study estimated just three NIOSH case studies (with a cost of $5.1 million) have resulted in an annual economic value of $338 million to over $1.2 billion,” said AIHA President Nicole Greeson. “NIOSH provides a significant return on investment.”

West Virginia Still Supports Trump by 68%

Even having their lives endangered by Trump hasn’t put a damper in West Virginians support for the Republican president, who support Trump by 68% according to recent polling.

On the one hand, they voted for this but on the other hand, there are also people who didn’t vote for this who will be be negatively impacted.

And it’s likely a LOT of people who voted for it without understanding what they were voting for.

Trump’s Version of Beautiful Coal Country Means Death?

Is this what the Trump White House meant by boosting America's "beautiful clean coal industry”? Trump said that by "slashing unnecessary regulations," we would achieve affordable and reliable energy.

But of course, “slashing unnecessary regulations” translates to allowing big corporations to poison their workers and the people who live around their plants, etc.

Regulations get such a bad rap because it’s easy to point and complain about red tape slowing things down. But we saw under President Biden a nimble, quick, and prepared government machine that meant it was able to respond to crises with competence and deftness.

Workers are expendable to many elites. That’s why unions are so important, and why the Civil Rights movement that Republicans keep bashing is so critical for workers. For example, the Civil Rights movement fought for equal opportunities in hiring, better working conditions and fair wages for all.

The lesson we keep learning is that we are all in this together. It’s the People Versus the Corporations, the Oligarchs, the Billionaires and their enablers.

Tragic Consequences

Most coal miners won’t find out they have black lung until it’s too late.

Do they know that Donald Trump does not value their lives as much as he does a military parade for his birthday, which Defense Officials say could cost as much as $45 million?

President Trump was asked on “Meet the Press” about the $45 million cost, which he reponded to by calling it “peanuts.”

$45 million is peanuts. But we don’t have the money for black lung screenings.

$45 million is peanuts for a party, but $2.20 per worker annually to protect workers is too expensive.

Hey DOGE, we found the waste, fraud and abuse. Oh, that’s right. DOGE doesn’t care about actual waste, fraud and abuse unless they can blame a Democrat or DEI for it.

What do you think about what is happening in West Virginia? Share your thoughts in the comments below.