NIOSH Workers Impacted By Government Cuts Rally In Morgantown

Close to 100 scientists, workers and community members stood with flags and handmade signs on the busy corner in front of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) offices in Morgantown Wednesday.

Cathy Tinney-Zara is the president of the local union that represents NIOSH workers. She said the rally is intended to maintain public awareness about the cuts, and remind everyone that their work in keeping workers safe is going away.

“We’re the only agency in the country that does this,” Tinney-Zara said. “Our RIF notice made some comment about being duplicative, which is not true. We are the only agency that does this.”

On Tuesday Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., formally requested that U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restore NIOSH. 

Tinney-Zara said a formal grievance has been filed against the reduction in force order, but no response has been forthcoming. She hinted at other actions as well.

“We’re working on things,” Tinney-Zara said.

Sherri Friend is a biologist who has spent her career studying microscopic particles and how they affect everything from workers’ lungs to material strength. 

“We want to go back to work,” she said. “We want to do our science, because that’s what we’re here for, and that’s what we love.”

Sherri said there are still samples at her workstation waiting to be analyzed for researchers across the country.

“The manuscripts are in progress,” she said. “When they go out and they make a difference, and they attend conferences to present their findings, that could save someone’s life.”

Louis Friend is Sherri’s husband, a member of the United Mine Workers of America who works at the Department of Energy just down the road from the NIOSH offices. Louis said he’s benefited directly from the work they do.

“NIOSH, (it) is just absolutely irreplaceable to have them for the working man,” he said. “They’ve always relied on the scientists here at NIOSH to perform studies and duties that will enhance their work environment. Nobody wants to go to work and at the end of the day, come home and your body be so beat up you can’t play with your kids, you can’t play with your grandkids, you know you’re all used up.” 

Louis cautioned against the erasure of what he called the nation’s “brain trust.” He said he’s seen Sherri’s passion for her work firsthand, driving her back from Pittsburgh on a Sunday afternoon when inspiration struck on a particular project.

“She went in there and stayed four or five hours and figured out on this study that they’ve been working on,” Louis said. “You have a class of people here that are willing to give way more than teenage boys sleeping in buildings and cutting waste from the government. Let’s pay attention to what we’re doing here. The AFGE, the federal union, they’ve been an embodiment of the working class for quite some time, and we’re strong in West Virginia. We want to keep them strong in West Virginia.”

Workers and ralliers ask the public to keep making noise with elected officials and representatives.