As the MSHA closes one mine for safety, Republicans

move to block the fight against black lung.

(LeRoy Woodson/Environmental Protection Agency)

Leading off, it's good news that no one was killed or trapped in Wednesday night's mine accident in Idaho, but when you consider that seven people were injured in that accident after two people had died in separate accidents at that mine this year, the Mine Safety and Health Administration's decision to close the mine while it investigates is a welcome one. Clearly, the earlier accidents and related citations had not been cause enough for the mine's owners to clean up their act:

In April, a roof collapse in a tunnel more than a mile underground trapped Larry Marek. Crews recovered his body nine days later. Last month, Brandon Gray was buried in rubble after trying to dislodge a jammed rock bin. He died from his injuries two days later. Shortly after Gray died, Mine Safety and Health Administration regulators criticized Hecla for safety failures that led to Marek's death. The mine received four citations and faces nearly $1 million in penalties, the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., reported.

The Lucky Friday is a silver mine, but it's nonetheless telling that the same day as yet another mining accident, news broke that House Republicans are trying to block implementation of the End Black Lung campaign, an effort by the MSHA to save the lives of coal miners.

And more:

Colt firearms has announced that it's opening a factory in Florida. Steve Cooper writes that this is "the first time that Colt has considered any U.S. operations outside of Connecticut." The timing is interesting, too, since the Connecticut workers' contract is just a few months from expiring.

Raven Brooks rounds up four employment laws passed this year that improve the situation for workers in California. We covered two of them at least in passing, but it's good to see them together. Jerry Brown vetoed a couple of things that would have helped workers help themselves, but he also signed some important pro-worker bills.

Steelworkers President Leo Gerard: Americans are greater together.

Nurses at three New York hospitals may strike. They've been made to pay increasing shares of their health care costs even as top management gets huge bonuses and the hospitals hire consultants while nurse-to-patient ratios suffer.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is supporting a right to work free rider bill in his state.