mining

The miners have survived more than 600 days on the picket line, thanks to widespread support and anger at their employer, Warrior Met Coal. Even now, neither side seems ready to budge.

Federal labor officials fined the United Mine Workers of America union $13.3 million for, among other things, property damage at the picket lines.

As the strike in Alabama drags on, coal miners say it’s not just about the money. They’re also fighting for their dignity.

NPR and the Center for Public Integrity reported this week that black lung, the deadly disease that strikes coal miners, is a growing problem again. NPR's Howard Berkes tells host Scott Simon that weak regulation and industry deception thwarted efforts to control the coal mine dust that causes black lung.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Labor Department are putting together a team of agency experts and lawyers to consider statutory and regulatory weaknesses detailed by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity this week.