MSHA Closed Three Massey Mines in Last Month

Just hours before Senate lawmakers met this afternoon for a hearing on mine safety — a hearing inspired by the deadly blast at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, W.Va. — the Labor Department revealed that, in response to a series of More…

Solis Spreads Blame for Mine Blast, Vows Reg Reforms

Speaking at a labor conference in Washington today, Hilda Solis went after Massey Energy for the company’s role in the explosion that killed 29 miners in Montcoal, W.Va., earlier this month. But the Labor secretary also laid some of the blame for that tragedy on federal regulators and policymakers for More…

Solis Goes After Massey for Pattern of Safety Violations

This morning, it was President Obama blaming Massey Energy (among others) for not doing more to prevent last week’s deadly mining blast in West Virginia. This afternoon, it was Hilda Solis.

In an interview with MSNBC, the Labor secretary said that while all mining companies have experienced safety More…

A Note on Washington’s Failure to Modernize Mining Safety Standards

The Charleston Gazette runs a story today providing further suggestion that a failed 2008 mining safety bill might have helped prevent last week’s deadly mining explosion in southern West Virginia. Here’s the thing: Despite the evolution of coal mining and the embrace of powerful More…

Does the Federal Government Have the Tools to Shut Down Problem Mines?

The short answer is yes — the Mining Health and Safety Administration (a branch of the Labor Department) has the power to close mines and hike penalties if officials can identify a “pattern of violations.” Yet, as new MSHA data show (reported here and here), the More…

Report: ICE at Odds With Labor

A new report released Tuesday by three labor and employment advocacy organizations claims that the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, combined with lax enforcement of labor laws, undermined federal labor standards, leaving not only illegal immigrants but many legal workers at risk of abusive employment practices.

According to More…

Unemployed Ranks Swell by 598,000 in January

From the Department of Labor today comes more news that this recession will be around for a while: In January alone, 598,000 more Americans lost their jobs, raising the country’s unemployment rate from 7.2 percent to 7.6 percent — the highest tally in 16 years. Since December 2007, 3.6 More…