Miners and supporters will rally to demand safeguards from black lung disease on Oct. 14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2025

CONTACTS:
Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy, chelsea [at] appvoices.org, (614) 205-6424

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Oct. 14, coal miners, members of the Black Lung Association and their supporters will rally in front of the Department of Labor’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., in opposition to the department’s delayed enforcement of silica dust protections for miners 

Silica dust exposure is a significant factor in the rise in black lung disease. In April 2024, after decades of research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Mine Safety and Health Administration finalized a rule to protect coal and other miners from silica dust. The rule was supposed to go into effect in April 2025. But instead MSHA blocked the rule, blaming mass layoffs at NIOSH conducted by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The mining industry also took the rule to court, where the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals put an indefinite pause of the rule after the administration failed to oppose the industry’s request. The next court update is scheduled for mid-October, a full six months after the rule’s planned enforcement date.

Every day of delayed enforcement increases miners’ exposure to silica and their risk of black lung disease. On Oct. 14, miners, their families, and their supporters will gather in front of the Department of Labor to demand the administration fight to preserve the silica rule and to call for an end to the delays.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, at 11 a.m.

Where: Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 

The event is hosted by the National Black Lung Association, with support from the United Mine Workers of America, Fayette County Black Lung Association, Kanawha County Black Lung Association, Wyoming County Black Lung Association, Virginia Black Lung Association Chapter 1, Virginia Black Lung Association Chapter 2, the Alliance for Appalachia, Appalachian Voices, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Center for Coalfield Justice and the BlueGreen Alliance.

Members from the Black Lung Associations and UMWA will be available for media interviews at the event.